Jun 15, 2026 · 15 min · 11 segments
Endowments are one of the most misunderstood areas of nonprofit finance—and one of the most important. In this episode of *Joe Talks Nonprofits*, Joe Blatt breaks down the essentials every board…
Joe BlattHost
Term endowments, where the principal may be spent over a period of time or upon a specific event.
These are funds treated like endowments, but they're fully reversible by the Here's a critical governance point.
Boards that fail to document this distinction often create unnecessary constraints on themselves later.
I have seen time and time again where boards don't clearly document that the decision to establish the endowment was internal and that the funds were never restricted by outside donors, and years later, when they want to reverse the endowment, they can't.
Term endowments, where the principal may be spent over a period of time or upon a specific event.
These are funds treated like endowments, but they're fully reversible by the Here's a critical governance point.
Boards that fail to document this distinction often create unnecessary constraints on themselves later.
I have seen time and time again where boards don't clearly document that the decision to establish the endowment was internal and that the funds were never restricted by outside donors, and years later, when they want to reverse the endowment, they can't.
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