>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.