Flash Poll Results: COVID-19 Endowment Impact Stwewardship Strategies
Survey
Jun. 2020
Sample Size:
333
Demographics:
administrators
Topics:
Covid-19
Funding
Top Findings:
- All of the survey respondents' endowments experienced losses in the first quarter; respondents reported an average first quarter return of -13.4 percent (net of fees). Institutions with smaller endowments reported larger losses in the first quarter than those with larger endowments.
- 72 percent of institutions responded that they expect to maintain their current policy spending rate.
- On average, this survey found that 20 percent of endowment funds were underwater at the end of the first quarter of 2020.
- While most institutions do not plan to borrow from their own endowments, 7 percent of private institutions reported that they will. One school reported, “We only anticipate borrowing from [the] endowment if we cannot open residence halls in [the] fall or see a significant enrollment decline for fall.”