Listen Like a Doctor in Endowment Meetings

Adapted for fund managers pitching endowments from Chapter 4 of Capital Raising by Richard C. Wilson.

If you go to a doctor because your leg hurts, they don't hand you a prescription in two minutes. They ask where it hurts, what it feels like, when it started. They spend most of the visit asking questions and the last couple of minutes on the fix.

Raising capital works the same way. In my book I suggest spending the first 60% to 80% of an investor meeting asking questions, taking notes and confirming you understand them. Only then do you pitch.

With endowment staff, the questions count for even more. They have a process, a committee and a policy. If you don't know those, your pitch is a guess.

Questions to ask an endowment allocator

Adapted from the list in the book:

  • What experience have you had investing in this asset class?
  • What went well, and what didn't?
  • How does your investment committee work, and how often does it meet?
  • Other institutions we work with follow certain steps before investing. What is your process?
  • What do you look for before you commit?
  • Where do you want this part of the portfolio to be in two or three years?
  • What does your due diligence look like?
  • What is usually the biggest roadblock to investing in a fund like ours?

Listen for the hidden constraints

Endowment answers often reveal limits they won't lead with. Liquidity floors. A cap on new managers each year. A consultant who has to approve. An OCIO who actually decides. Write those down.

Then pitch to what you heard

Your pitch should answer their roadblock directly. If they said the committee worries about lockups, start with liquidity terms. If they said they lack lower middle market exposure, lead with that.

Frequently asked questions

Won't staff get annoyed by questions?

Not if they are good questions. Most appreciate a manager who listens.

What if they won't share their process?

Some won't. Ask what a typical path to approval looks like instead.

Should I send a recap after?

Yes. A short note of what you heard and the agreed next step.

Sources

  1. Capital Raising, Chapter 4, Richard C. Wilson .

More on manager selection and diligence

Listen Like a Doctor in Endowment Meetings | Endowments.com
Family Office Club Events
Text or WhatsApp (Not an AI Bot): (808) 600-9260
Endowments.com
Loading the directory…
Could not load data/endowments.json ({{ err }}).
Family Office Club: since 2007, 17M members, 340+ events

Endowment Fund Directory

The #1 most in-depth guide to endowment funds with in-depth profiles, infographics, resources, and research

What's inside Endowments.com

Directory · Research · Resources
Richard C. Wilson

Everything on this site is free.

I started Family Office Club 19 years ago. I would rather build a real relationship than sell you something. I am not a broker. I am not a bank. I do not charge for anything on this site.

Endowments are some of the most studied investors in the world, and the numbers are scattered across financial reports, press releases and student newspapers. This site puts each endowment's figures in one place, from its own reports first, names every source, and says plainly when a number has not been published.

Years operating Family Office Club19
In-person events a year16
Events hosted300+
Member transactions$1B+
Start here

What are you trying to do?

I run a fund and want endowment LPs
Tell me what you are raising for. I will tell you which endowments look like a fit, and which rooms are worth being in.
For Fund Managers
I work in an endowment investment office
Is your profile right? Correct it or claim it. It is free.
For Investment Offices
I am a trustee, donor or researcher
Compare value, returns and spending across endowments, with the source and the date behind every number.
For Trustees and Researchers
Benchmark study

{{ study.title }}

{{ study.desc }}

{{ studyImg }}
Source: NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments FY2025 · Data through FY2025

Featured guides

All {{ guideCount }} guides
{{ g.topic }}
{{ g.title }}
{{ g.desc }}
From the directory

By type

Playbooks

Events

Meet endowment and family office capital in person.

All events

We run 16 in-person events a year, 4 Super Summits and 12 masterminds, in NYC, Fort Lauderdale, Dallas, Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. 300 of them over 19 years.

"The Family Office Club is unique as a community. The thing I admire about you is that you started with your family, making that a priority."

Todd Heiner · centimillionaire, co-founder of Express Locations
Methodology

How we check facts

Each fact names its source and its date. When two sources disagree, we show both. When an endowment has not published a number, we say so.

Read the methodology

Endowment directory

{{ dirIntro }}

{{ rowsLabel }}Clear filters
{{ h.label }} {{ h.arrow }}{{ h.label }}
{{ r.name }}{{ r.name }} {{ r.type }} {{ r.loc }} {{ r.size }} {{ r.fy }}

Size is the tracked endowment market value in USD, mostly from the NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments FY2025 public table. Linked names open a full profile with the institution's own latest figures, dates and currency.

{{ s.title }}

{{ t.rate }}
{{ t.range }}
Applies here
{{ s.tierNote }}

{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}

{{ b.text }}
{{ c.v }}
{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}
{{ b.imgEl }}
{{ b.alt }}
{{ b.note }}

Frequently asked questions

{{ f.q }}+

{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}

Sources

  1. {{ s.url }}

Lists that include {{ p.institution }}
{{ art.kicker }}

{{ art.title }}

{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}

{{ b.text }}
{{ c.v }}
{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}
{{ b.imgEl }}
{{ b.alt }}
{{ b.note }}

{{ s.title }}

{{ t.rate }}
{{ t.range }}
Applies here
{{ s.tierNote }}

{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}

{{ b.text }}
{{ c.v }}
{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}
{{ b.imgEl }}
{{ b.alt }}
{{ b.note }}

Download the data

Frequently asked questions

{{ f.q }}+

{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}

Sources

  1. {{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}{{ g.text }}

{{ art.moreTitle }}

Guides

{{ guidesIntro }}

{{ gg.topic }}

{{ gg.count }}

Page not found

This page does not exist or has moved.

Endowment directoryGuidesHome
Home / Research

{{ rankTitle }}

Ranked from published profiles only, using each endowment's latest reported fiscal year. The basis and date sit next to every number. {{ stats.queued }} endowments are still in research and will be added as their profiles publish.

# Endowment Country Value Return Fiscal year and date
{{ r.rank }} {{ r.name }} {{ r.country }} {{ r.value }} {{ r.ret }} {{ r.fy }}, {{ r.asOf }}
Home / Playbooks

What are you actually dealing with right now?

Practical guides for raising from, working with and running endowments. Each one is being written now and will publish here, free.

{{ pb.title }}
{{ pb.blurb }}
In research
Home / For Fund Managers

Tell me your situation.

Tell me what you are raising for. I will tell you which endowments look like a fit, and which rooms are worth being in. I read these myself.

Text (808) 600-9260Not an AI bot WhatsApp(808) 600-9260 EmailRichard@Endowments.com
Useful to include
Fund size, strategy, asset class and geography
Fund number and track record
Endowment, foundation or institutional LPs already in
Which endowments on this site you think fit, and why
Home / For Investment Offices

Is your profile right?

Correct it or claim it. It is free. Send the page, the change and a public source, and we will update it and note the date.

Report a correctionRichard@Endowments.com Claim your profileAdd your latest report, team and how managers should reach you Text or WhatsApp(808) 600-9260
Home / For Trustees and Researchers

Compare endowments on the same terms.

For board members, investment committee members, donors, students and journalists. Every profile shows value, return, spending and allocation with the fiscal year and source next to each figure.

Largest endowmentsBy value, latest fiscal year Returns by fiscal yearRanked by latest reported return Reading an endowment reportWhat each headline figure counts Glossary{{ glossaryCount }} endowment terms, defined
Home / Methodology

How we check facts

Each fact names its source and its date. We start with the institution's own financial report, investment office report and press release, then official filings, then third-party reporting. Figures are tied to a fiscal year, because most endowments report once a year. When two sources disagree, we show both. When an endowment has not published a number, we say so rather than estimate it silently.

Status labels

Multiple sourcesTwo or more independent sources agree.
Single sourceOne source, usually the institution itself.
EstimateA third-party estimate or a conversion. Not stated by the institution.
PendingShown for structure; the figure or its source is still being confirmed.

Glossary

{{ g.term }}{{ g.def }}

Corrections

To report an error or ask for a change or removal, email Richard@Endowments.com or text (808) 600-9260.
Home / Answers

Answers

Short answers to the questions people ask most about endowment funds.

{{ a.q }}

{{ a.a }}
Home / Events

Family Office Club events

16 in-person events a year, 4 Super Summits and 12 masterminds, plus monthly webinars. Run by Family Office Club.

{{ ev.date }} {{ ev.title }} {{ ev.place }}
See every event on FamilyOffices.com
Home / About

About Endowments.com

Richard C. Wilson

What this site is

Endowments.com is a research resource on university, college and foundation endowments. It profiles 775 endowments, including university, college, foundation and hospital endowments, built from each institution's own reports and public filings, and runs the Endowments by Size Band benchmark study. Every figure carries its source and date.

Richard C. Wilson, founder of the Family Office Club

I started Family Office Club 19 years ago at 26, as my 12th startup and the first one that worked. All three of my daughters are in the business with me now. My father raised $1 billion for non-profits before I ever started, so I grew up watching this.

Since then: 300+ in-person events, 1,500 investors on stage, 250+ family offices created or formalized, 46 transactions off my own balance sheet, and CIO of a $180M single family office.

I am not a broker. I am not a bank. I do not charge for anything on this site. I built it because endowment figures are spread across hundreds of reports and press releases, and few places put them side by side with sources.

Text or WhatsApp me at (808) 600-9260, or email Richard@Endowments.com.

Keep exploring
Richard C. Wilson

{{ contact.title }}

I'm Richard C. Wilson. I started Family Office Club 19 years ago. I read the messages that come in through this site myself. Text or WhatsApp me at (808) 600-9260, or email Richard@Endowments.com. Thank you.

{{ contact.cta }}

This page is for general information only and is not investment, tax or legal advice. Figures come from the public sources listed and may have changed.