Lead story
Editor's note:
The Trump administration is clearly displeased with many of the nation’s colleges and universities. To punish institutions of higher education it says are spreading liberal bias and failing to protect Jewish students from antisemitism, the federal government is cutting research funds. It’s also rescinding visas issued to some foreign students. Because these steps and others that could be on the way will reduce revenue, questions are arising about why schools with large endowments can’t just tap those funds to fill gaps as they open up.
The Conversation U.S. asked Todd L. Ely, a scholar at the University of Colorado Denver who has researched how colleges and universities manage their finances, and Ellen P. Aprill, a law professor who is now based at the UCLA Law School's Lowell Milken Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Law, to answer some of those questions.
Both scholars emphasized the restrictions in place that limit how much money can be drawn from an endowment in a short period of time. “Annual payouts are generally modest,” Ely writes. “That leaves endowments ill-equipped to respond to abrupt and large shifts in their funding needs.”
At the same time, these institutions may have more leeway than they have taken advantage of in the past, Aprill observes: “Most colleges and universities are freer to dip into their endowments than they may realize when conditions get stormy.”
News and trends
Marguerite Casey Foundation dips into endowment to grant out $130M this year
It plans to fight what it calls threats to the independence of civil society organizations.
By Thalia Beaty/The Associated Press
The first three months of President Trump's second term have stunned, transformed, and weakened the nonprofit sector.
By Alex Daniels/Chronicle of Philanthropy
Commentary and analysis
‘Five alarm fire': How new tax law could decimate nonprofits – and what can be done
Local nonprofit leaders in Republican districts need to speak out against proposed changes and ensure lawmakers understand the consequences.
By Steve Taylor, Charitable Independence Initiative, for the Chronicle of Philanthropy
Since 1971, the US has led the world in funding cancer research and developing new treatments that have driven down death rates. This may soon no longer be the case.
By Jeffrey MacKeigan, Michigan State University, for The Conversation U.S.
Other nonprofit news of note
- US philanthropists warn against capitulating to Trump: ‘We need to step up’ (The Guardian)
- Zuckerberg and Chan founded 2 Bay Area schools. Now they’re closing (New York Times)
- In an extraordinary move, MFA to return prized African art to wealthy donor and close gallery (Boston Globe)
- Bay Area executive admits to embezzling from nonprofit supported by Steph Curry (SFGate)
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