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No More Cash to Endowment
Some organizations are caught up in an endowment arms race – communicating to constituents that “We need ENDOWMENT now to build and preserve ENDOWMENT for future generations.”
When ENDOWMENT, in and of itself, is NOT the goal! The goal is and always should be around Saving Lives, Changing Lives, Impacting Lives… now.
And if that doesn’t get your attention, how about: No More Cash For Endowment.
Cash is a very, very expensive and difficult way to increase endowment. Very few investors want to give you their money so that you can invest it, generate an average 5% return, and then use that interest to fund an important priority. Plus, many of these investors are making five-year commitments/payments and would have to ‘wait’ to see the results and actual use of the funds.
Here’s a pretty simple way to look at it: a 5% IMPACT vs. a 100% IMPACT.
Money to endowment (5%)OR
Money to fund people, programs, and places that help deliver your IMPACT – now (100%)
Note: As serial entrepreneurs who work with a lot of business and social entrepreneurs, we would ask this question: Would a great business or business model (one that is growing and scaling their IMPACT) take revenue (cash), put it in the bank, and then try to fund their growth from their INTEREST INCOME?!!!What every truly successful entrepreneur would do: They’d go to a bank, or to angels, or to the market, and BORROW MONEY (not put money in) so that they can LEVERAGE every dollar in order to GROW and SCALE their IMPACT RIGHT NOW!
