Each year, the Commonfund Institute conducts a comprehensive survey of financial, governance and policy practices at educational endowments, foundations and health care institutions. These surveys are published, with analytical and descriptive commentary, in a series called the Commonfund Benchmarks Studies®. The results are made available to the nonprofit community as part of the Institute’s educational mission.
How to Order
Copies of the Commonfund Benchmarks Studies are made available at no charge to to Commonfund clients [and Study participants] at no charge. Others may purchase copies by clicking on the following link cf_orders@cfund.org.
Educational Endowment Report 2008 (FY2007)
- 767 Institutions
o 370 Private college and university endowments
o 209 Independent school endowments
o 62 Public educational endowments
o 126 State institution-related foundations (SIRF)
- $341 billion in assets
o 56 institutions over $1 billion
o 44 institutions between $501 million - $1 billion
o 210 institutions between $101 - $500 million
o 106 institutions between $51 - $100 million
o 246 institutions between $10 – $50 million
o 105 institutions under $10 million
Topics covered:
o Performance - one, three, five years
o Asset Allocation and Rebalancing
o Spending
o Gifts
o Debt
o Resources, Management and Governance
Foundations Report 2008 (FY 2007)
- 300 Institutions
o 226 Independent/ Private Foundations
o 74 Community Foundations
- $195 billion in assets
o 39 institutions over $1 billion
o 43 institutions between $501 million - $1 billion
o 172 institutions between $101 - $500 million
o 46 institutions between $51 - $100 million
Topics covered:
o Performance - one, three, five years
o Returns, Investment Objectives and Benchmarks
o Asset Allocation, Investment Policies, and Restrictions and Rebalancings
o Donor Stock
o Fund Flows
o Resources, Management and Governance
Operating Charities Report 2008 (FY 2007)**
- 2nd Annual Report exclusively for Operating Charities
o FY2004 - FY2006 operating charities were included together with charitable foundations
- $73.4 Billion in assets represented
- 119 Participating Operating Charities
o 49 Cultural
o 47 Religious
o 23 Social Service
Healthcare Institutions Report 2008 (FY 2007)
- 179 Institutions
- $754 million average total investable assets
o 46 institutions over $1 billion
o 40 institutions between $501 million - $1 billion
o 79 institutions between $101 million - $500 million
o 14 institutions between $51 million - $100 million
Topics covered:
o Sources of Revenue
o Asset Allocation and Rebalancing
o Debt
o Gifts & Donations
o Investment Policies, Restrictions and Issues
o Resources, Management and Governance Concerns
** Fiscal Year reporting data - Investment returns for all participating institutions are reported for the period ending December 31, 2007