Endowment Administration - Columbia University

IFor CU internal inquiries, please contact the Endowment Administration team at endowmentadmin@columbia.edu.

Media requests regarding the University and its endowment should be directed to the Office of Public Affairs.

The Office of Alumni and Development oversees the solicitation, acceptance and stewardship of gifts, pledges, and bequests. These gifts, pledges, and bequests may establish endowment funds.

The Columbia Investment Management Company manages the investment of the endowment pool.

Learn about the Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing

Need to process a Gift Check? For internal parties interested in more information about CU Gift Policies and procedures, go to Campaign Central. For determining whether funding should be considered a gift or a grant, contact Sponsored Projects Administration.

Endowment funds are an important part of the University’s operations and play an integral role in helping the University achieve its goals. Endowments provide Columbia with a permanent source of funding to support professorships, financial aid, research, capital projects, schools, departments, institutes, centers, and more.

CU endowment funds:

True Endowments are created by donor-restricted gifts, and require the University to maintain the fund in perpetuity.
Either a donor or the University may create a quasi endowment, which is a fund treated as an endowment but where the principal may be fully expended.
Each School or Department may spend the annual Trustee-approved endowment spending distribution, in accordance with the Terms & Restrictions for each endowment and is responsible for compliance with those Terms & Restrictions of each endowment.

The Office of Endowment Compliance serves as the centralized resource for the administration and compliance of endowment funds. Please see the Endowment Administration and Compliance internal website (www.endowmentadmin.columbia.edu) for:

Policies, procedures, and forms relating to the administration of endowments.
Endowment Term Sheets: A web-based tool that departments access for key Terms & Restrictions information
Registration for training: Those making decisions about or approving expenses on endowment accounts are required to attend Endowment Admin & Compliance training. This training is also required for access to the Endowment Term Sheets.

>> GO TO ENDOWMENT ADMINISTRATION