THE SUSTAINABLE ENDOWMENT

An engaging breakdown of investment strategies for maximizing security and growth in nonprofit endowments.

Veteran portfolio manager Demmert (The Journey to Wealth, 2016) draws on decades of experience to point out common mistakes in nonprofit investing. He highlights 10 clearly developed, easy-to-understand principles that nonprofits may use to maximize their assets. He begins by focusing on the structures that put nonprofits on courses for financial success, such as a clearly defined staff and board of directors with follow-through, as well as spending policy and investment policy statements that will govern the nonprofit when leadership changes. Many suggestions are about organization and delineation, such as Principle 2, which concerns getting the right people with the right experience onto finance and investment committees. The rest of the text focuses on investment itself, showcasing how safe investments are helpful in volatile markets, but that truly maximizing one’s endowment requires “aggressive pro-active management” to both avoid major losses and see major gains. He rejects the popular advice to “Set and Forget” one’s endowment in a diversified investment portfolio, as a whole-market crash will substantially reduce assets in that scenario. Instead, he wants nonprofits to understand the strategies that financial asset managers use, stressing how the market is cyclical. This work employs an earnest, thoughtful tone, and it will be clear and understandable to those outside the finance world. Even nonprofits with less substantial endowments will benefit from the organizational structures that he suggests. As he points out, “Clearly this new era of investing requires in-depth research, time, and experience. Success today requires a disciplined process and tools that can help manage risk and return.” He also leaves room for new developments in investing and suggests that nonprofits continue to actively evaluate available options.

A digestible collection of insider tips to maximize nonprofit gains.