Many advancement (development) offices have a written plan for the various functions of the office, ranging from one year to three or even five years. Plans are invaluable when it comes to mapping a trajectory to follow: setting goals, establishing metrics, etc.
Why don't schools do the same for their endowments, specifically? To be sure, the overarching advancement plan may include sections on major and planned gifts, both of which feed into endowment growth (or so I would hope), but why not take the time to develop a standing endowment plan? Clear goals and data-driven metrics will help school leaders to determine whether more attention to the endowment is needed.
And in most schools, more attention is needed.
