How the Survey of Nonprofit Endowments Was Compiled

The Chronicle’s endowment survey was based on data gathered from 232 large and small nonprofit organizations focused on a diverse array of missions, issues, and causes. The total value of the endowments in the study was $427-billion.

The data were gathered using a survey sent to more than 650 charities that reported private support of more than $5-million on their 2012 IRS Form 990 filings.

The figures reported here are based on each organization’s 2013 fiscal year end.

The median return on investments for 2013 was 12.4 percent, the first time it has broken double digits since 2010.

The size of endowments is affected by their return on investments as well as contributions and payout rates.

For the 230 organizations that provided data for both 2012 and 2013, the median year-over-year increase in endowment size was 9.8 percent.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation had the largest endowment in the survey, valued at $41.3-billion as of December 2013.

This year’s survey includes 93 endowments valued below $100-million, 36 of which have endowments worth less than $5-million.

To measure large endowments, The Chronicle sought figures from the 40 colleges with the largest endowments, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers, the 50 wealthiest foundations from The Chronicle’s Foundation survey, and organizations with endowments that appeared on the Philanthropy 400, The Chronicle’s annual rankings of the charities that raise the most from private sources.

Nonprofits that were included in last year’s survey were also invited to participate.

The Chronicle’s survey of nonprofit endowments was compiled by Lance Lambert, with assistance from Justin Myers, Anu Narayanswamy, and Avi Wolfman-Arent.