Emily Clarke

What are Endowments?

Financial endowments are legal structures that allow non-profit organizations to earn investment income. The donations they receive are also referred to as endowments and can come in the form of monetary assets or property. Endowments granted to non-profit organizations are investible, but the organization must use the income earned for specific purposes.

Non-profits that can administer endowments include educational institutes, cultural institutes or service-oriented organizations. They're common among universities, religious groups, libraries,

hospitals, retirement homes and more.

How Endowments Work

In most cases, organizations administer endowments in the form of a trust. They can also organize them as a public charity or private foundation. Because these structures are complex, many non-profits utilize an endowments management platform or have third-party teams to handle the logistics. Maximize your impact: explore our endowments management platform now! https://www.savvywealth.com/services/foundations-endowments

Organizations typically keep the principal amount untouched whenever they receive an endowment donation. However, they use the investment income earned for charitable efforts. A certain percentage of the endowment's assets are often accessible, making the annual withdrawal a combination of principal and interest income. However, the principal-to-income ratio can change yearly based on market rates.

Components of an Endowment

Endowments have three primary components.

The first is the usage policy. It explains the purpose of the endowment fund and what organizations can use it for. For a university endowment, usage policies could cover establishing a scholarship fund, providing financial assistance to students with specific backgrounds or supporting particular departments. For a service-based organization, usage policies could stipulate that funds can cover service costs for specific people or other charitable activities.

Whatever the case, usage policies ensure that organizations use funding appropriately.

The second component is the investment policy. It outlines the investments an endowment manager can make with the funds and how aggressive they can be. Endowments typically have long-term goals, so having a solid investment policy and using an endowments management platform helps achieve set objectives.

Finally, the last component is the withdrawal policy. This component details how much the organization can take from the endowment fund. In most cases, the organization's needs go into determining the amount.

Author Resource:-

Emily Clarke writes about RIA and wealth management for financial advisors and more. You can find her thoughts at wealth management platform blog.