Abstract:
Endowment, in the vernacular, can refer to any asset of substance that allows a person, organization or country to excel in their pursuits of business or leisure. For example, economists specializing in international trade describe a country as having an “endowment” of abundant land for agricultural crops. A man or woman can be described as “well-endowed”, but this implies a topic more risque than a generous trust fund or accumulated retirement savings. Nonprofit sector “endowment” is analogous to a savings account. Organizations may have endowments of other types of assets (a beautiful campus, historic facilities, etc.), but their financial endowment is our primary focus.