A key priority for leaders is to build assets and increase their organization’s impact. The TIAA Institute supports the sector’s efforts through our focus on foundation and endowment performance and impact.
Also produced by the TIAA Institute, Insights features reports addressing prominent issues in financial security, higher education, and philanthropy. While typically written for a primarily non-technical audience, Insights are prepared using the same level of academic rigor found in our other research publications, and can serve as valuable sources of information for a diverse group of readers.
Over the past decade, foundations and other entities awarding higher education grants have shifted their focus toward programs that encourage student retention and graduation, particularly for low-income and first-generation college students.
In 2007, Davidson College became the first private liberal arts college to offer its students a financial aid package that meets 100% of their demonstrated need without any loan component.
Endowments are stocks of financial and real assets held by colleges and universities to generate income for current and future operations. Donors often place specific restrictions on the use of their gifts.
Original research produced by the TIAA Institute—both independently and in collaboration with noted scholars—examines topics of interest to the academic, nonprofit and public sectors. The reports combine statistical findings with thoughtful, data-driven observations and conclusions to provide in-depth analyses that are informative and appropriate for both technical and more academic audiences.
Can a university’s characteristics be a better indicator of an endowment’s effectiveness than endowment size?
In the aftermath of the 2008-09 recession, many individuals are worried about their short-term and long-run financial security.
This paper summarizes a survey of university endowment funds, with a particular focus on the composition of endowment investment committees and how this composition is associated with a number of key activities.