Comment by skadamat

6 days ago

Re: endowments, really good post on why universities can't just tap into endowments for budget shortfalls:

https://medium.com/@myassa_62896/why-you-cant-just-use-the-e...

>It’s more like a patchwork of locked treasure chests, each with its own key and its own label: this one funds scholarships, that one supports cancer research, another pays for upkeep on a library.

Explain why direct donations cannot accomplish the same. I suspect that universities want endowment donations because they grow tax free.

  • My understanding is that a large part of endowments comes from large (really, huge) donations.

    If I was to donate 9 (or 10) figures to an institution, I would want to make sure it is used to support what I want it to support (cancer research, scholarships, libraries, etc), rather than be used as a general slush fund.

    It's not entirely about what the organization wants, but also what the donators/sponsors want.

    • >If I was to donate 9 (or 10) figures to an institution, I would want to make sure it is used to support what I want it to support (cancer research, scholarships, libraries, etc), rather than be used as a general slush fund.

      You can make that restricted donation outside of the endowment. I thought endowments were for the support of students, not research.