Although the American economy only grows at a rate of 3% every year, the endowment funds of famous American universities are growing at a double-digit rate every year. Although the endowment funds of American universities are managed in the form of non-profit, their yields are far behind those of some profit-making companies. Although many small colleges in the United States are still struggling with tight budgets, famous universities in the United States are getting richer and richer. Last year, the endowment fund of Harvard University increased by 23% to nearly $35 billion, Yale University by 28% to $22.5 billion, Stanford University by 23% to $654.38+0.72 billion, and Princeton University by 25% to $654.38+0.58 billion. The huge base and rapid growth make the endowment funds of these schools rank first among 4,000 universities in the United States. Historically, the average annual growth rate of American university endowment funds is 1 1%. As a charity, why does the American University Endowment Fund perform so well? Why do American famous schools have such outstanding achievements?

Generous alumni donations. Donating money to schools and alma mater is an indispensable part of American social and economic life, especially for successful people. The biggest source of donated funds is alumni. This is a kind of culture, a kind of tradition and a kind of inheritance. 1996 Microsoft founder bill gates and current executive director Steever Ballmer donated 25 million yuan to their alma mater, Harvard university. In 2007, Yahoo founder Jerry Yang donated $75 million to his alma mater, Stanford University, to build the Stanford Environment Building. In 2000, Patrick McGoven, the founder of International Data Group, donated a record $350 million to his alma mater, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to establish a brain research institute. In 2007, David H. Koch, vice president of Koch Industries, donated $ 1 billion to his alma mater, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to establish a cancer research center. Every big alumni donation activity always becomes the focus of news media, and further promotes the development of American social charity. In this cultural atmosphere, each university also regularly carries out large-scale fund-raising activities. Last year, Stanford University launched a fund-raising campaign of $4.3 billion, Columbia University and Cornell University each launched a fund-raising campaign of $4 billion, and Yale University launched a fund-raising campaign of $3 billion. The University of Pennsylvania recently launched a fund-raising campaign of $3.5 billion. The educational circles predict that Harvard University may launch a fund-raising activity of $5 billion soon.

Good fund management. The preservation and appreciation of donated funds and their service to the long-term development of colleges and universities need good fund management methods to ensure. Most universities employ external fund managers to manage endowment funds. Harvard University is one of the few schools with its own investment team. Famous American universities have created unique ways to manage their endowment funds. The endowment fund of Harvard University is managed by Harvard Management Company and is famous for its policy mix. In 2002, in the allocation ratio of policy portfolio of Harvard Endowment Fund, domestic stocks accounted for 15%, foreign stocks accounted for 10%, emerging markets accounted for 5%, private equity funds accounted for 13%, absolute income funds accounted for 12%, high-yield securities accounted for 5%, and commodities accounted for 5%. The endowment fund of Yale University is called the first absolute income fund. In the investment portfolio of Yale University Endowment Fund in 2006, the absolute income fund is as high as 25%, domestic stocks account for 12%, fixed income investment accounts for 4%, foreign stocks account for 15%, private equity funds account for 17%, and physical assets account for 27%. In the absolute return investment project of Yale University Endowment Fund, the fund manager adopts event-driven strategy investment company merger, company acquisition, bankruptcy reorganization and company derivative, and adopts value-driven strategy to invest in hedging assets and securities. It is these creative investment strategies that made Harvard's endowment fund increase at a rate of 265,438+0.990 to 2005, and Yale's endowment fund increased at a rate of 65,438+06% in the past two decades. The endowment fund of Princeton University has increased at a rate of 16% in the past 25 years. The endowment fund of Stanford University has increased at a rate of 15% in the past ten years.

Special use of specifications. Endowment funds provide a kind of insurance for universities that is not affected by the economic cycle. Of Harvard University's annual budget of $3 billion, 365,438+0% comes from endowment funds. In Stanford University's annual budget of $3.2 billion, 18% comes from the income of the endowment fund. American elite schools use endowment funds cautiously. The use of donated funds in the budget generally does not exceed 5% of the total funds. 1 1% growth rate (the growth rate of famous schools is higher), 5% use restriction, and the remaining funds are accumulated in the principal for regeneration year after year. Although the endowment fund of each university is huge, there are many kinds of endowment funds, such as Harvard endowment fund, which is close to 1. 1 10,000. Every donation fund has a very clear purpose. Donation funds are mostly used to set up professorships and scholarships. The establishment of professorship with endowment fund will reduce the burden of university budget and improve the reputation of professorship. The establishment of scholarships enables the school to select outstanding students, whether for students with financial needs or for students with excellent academic performance. For most excellent American universities, the establishment of professorships with endowment funds requires donations of one to three million dollars. The professorship or scholarship established with the endowment fund is not one year or five years, but permanent. Standardizing the special use of donations is an important principle of donation fund management. Patrick McGoven's Brain Research Institute, donated by MIT, has 16 McGowan researchers, including 10 interdisciplinary positions of Professor McGowan, and requires that 75% of the budget of the Brain Research Institute should be supported by the research fund, and the remaining 25% should be paid by the McGowan Endowment Fund. Endowment funds are not only bound by fund rules, but also supervised by donors or their descendants. 1995, there was a disagreement between Yale University and the donor on how to use the endowment fund, which led to Yale University compensating the donor for 20 million US dollars. In 2002, the descendants of two donors sued Princeton University, claiming that Princeton University did not manage and use the endowment fund according to their parents' wishes. The case has not been closed. If Princeton University loses the case, it will face the danger of losing 880 million yuan. These cases provide useful experience for colleges and universities to standardize the use of donated funds.