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Sometimes charities are criticized for setting aside too much money and not spending more each year. For example, the [[Wikimedia Foundation]] has been criticized for using persistent fundraising to receive much more money than it plans to spend. Some colleges have been criticized for paying out only a portion of endowment income (to hedge against future inflation) rather than using more of the income for [[financial aid]] or for lowering [[tuition]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/education/25endowments.html|work=New York Times|title= Senate Looking at Endowments as Tuition Rises|first=Karen|last=Arenson|date=January 25, 2008|accessdate=November 21, 2012}}</ref> In general, [[conservative]]s try to protect endowment so that it can meet the needs of future generations, while [[liberal]]s seek to maximize the present benefits of endowments.
Sometimes charities are criticized for setting aside too much money and not spending more each year. For example, the [[Wikimedia Foundation]] has been criticized for using persistent fundraising to receive much more money than it plans to spend. Some colleges have been criticized for paying out only a portion of endowment income (to hedge against future inflation) rather than using more of the income for [[financial aid]] or for lowering [[tuition]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/education/25endowments.html|work=New York Times|title= Senate Looking at Endowments as Tuition Rises|first=Karen|last=Arenson|date=January 25, 2008|accessdate=November 21, 2012}}</ref> In general, [[conservative]]s try to protect endowment so that it can meet the needs of future generations, while [[liberal]]s seek to maximize the present benefits of endowments.
Colleges and universities try to have as large an endowment as possible so that the income from those financial investments can subsidize the operating expenses of the institution. Here is a table of the United States universities which have the largest endowments:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nacubo.org/-/media/Nacubo/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2019-Endowment-Market-Values--Final-Feb-10.ashx|title=U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Endowment Market Value and Change* in Endowment Market Value from FY18 to FY19 (Revised) |accessdate=September 6, 2020}}</ref>
Colleges and universities try to have as large an endowment as possible so that the income from those financial investments can subsidize the operating expenses of the institution. Here is a table of the United States universities which have the largest endowments in order of overall size, but also showing size on a per student basis:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nacubo.org/-/media/Nacubo/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2019-Endowment-Market-Values--Final-Feb-10.ashx|title=U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Endowment Market Value and Change* in Endowment Market Value from FY18 to FY19 (Revised) |accessdate=September 6, 2020}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
!Rank!!School!!Size
!Rank!!School!!Size||Per FTE student<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nacubo.org/-/media/Nacubo/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2019-NTSE-Endowment-Market-Values--FINAL-February-10-2020.ashx?la=en&hash=8C83583411EECB5F691661A15158182940D6E754|title=U.S. and Canadian 2019 NTSE Participating Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2019 Endowment Market Value, Percentage Change in Market Value from FY18 to FY19, and FY19 Endowment Market Values Per Full-time Equivalent Student (Excel)|accessdate=September 16, 2020}}</ref>.
|-
|-
|1||[[Harvard University]]||$39.4 billion
|1||[[Harvard University]]||$39.4 billion||$1,607,596
|-
|-
|2||[[University of Texas System]]||$30.9
|2||[[University of Texas System]]||$30.9||163,514
|-
|-
|3||[[Yale University]]||$30.3
|3||[[Yale University]]||$30.3||2,267,714
|-
|-
|4||[[Stanford University]]||$27.7
|4||[[Stanford University]]||$27.7||1,635,946
|-
|-
|5||[[Princeton University]]||$26.1
|5||[[Princeton University]]||$26.1||3,145,372
|-
|-
|6||[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]||$17.5
|6||[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]||$17.5||1,533,234
|-
|-
|7||[[University of Pennsylvania]]||$14.6
|7||[[University of Pennsylvania]]||$14.6||629,826
|-
|-
|8||[[Texas A&M|Texas A&M University System]]||$13.5
|8||[[Texas A&M|Texas A&M University System]]||$13.5||109,786
|-
|-
|9||[[University of Michigan]]||$12.4
|9||[[University of Michigan]]||$12.4||216,758
|-
|-
|10||[[University of California]]||$11.8
|10||[[University of California]]||$11.8||N/A
|-
|-
|11||[[University of Notre Dame]]||$11.3
|11||[[University of Notre Dame]]||$11.3||906,400
|-
|-
|12||[[Northwestern University]]||$11.1
|12||[[Northwestern University]]||$11.1||554,576
|-
|-
|13||[[Columbia University]]||$10.9
|13||[[Columbia University]]||$10.9||394,763
|-
|-
|14||[[Duke University]]||$8.6
|14||[[Duke University]]||$8.6||517,710
|-
|-
|15||[[University of Chicago]]||$8.3
|15||[[University of Chicago]]||$8.3||512,297
|}
|}
Many industry experts argue that it is better to compare endowment per student rather than the over all endowment size. Although endowment size is a relative measure of a college's financial strength and stability, there are many other factors that influence the quality of a school. For example, many of these schools include hospital systems with a portion of the endowment supporting hospital operations. Also, public universities generally have lower endowments than private institutions, but public universities receive annual taxpayer appropriations that can make up for a lower annual endowment income. In general, over time, universities earn an average of 4% per year on their endowment investments. So, a $100 million endowment investment may subsidize annual operations by $4 million per year.
Many industry experts argue that it is better to compare endowment per student rather than the overall endowment size. Although endowment size is a relative measure of a college's financial strength and stability, there are many other factors that influence the quality of a school. For example, many of these schools include hospital systems with a portion of the endowment supporting hospital operations. Also, public universities generally have lower endowments than private institutions, but public universities receive annual taxpayer appropriations that can make up for a lower annual endowment income. In general, over time, universities earn an average of 4% per year on their endowment investments. So, a $100 million endowment investment may fund annual operations by $4 million per year.
Endowment size generally confers a competitive advantage to colleges with larger endowments, as shown by this table with the top 100 colleges holding 78% of all college endowment assets:
Endowment size generally confers a competitive advantage to colleges with larger endowments, as shown by this table with the top 100 colleges holding 78% of all college endowment assets: