Drafting endowment policy statements requires balancing complex investment guidelines, spending formulas, UPMIFA compliance, and governance structures—a process that typically takes attorneys 4-5 hours of careful drafting and research. Nonprofit organizations need comprehensive policies that protect endowment assets while ensuring sustainable funding, but creating these documents from scratch is time-consuming and requires specialized expertise in both nonprofit law and investment management.
Nonprofit organizations struggle to create comprehensive endowment policies that balance fiduciary obligations, donor intent, and operational needs while ensuring UPMIFA compliance. Drafting these complex governance documents manually requires extensive legal research, investment expertise, and coordination between board members, counsel, and financial advisors, often taking weeks and costing thousands in professional fees.
CaseMark automates endowment policy creation by gathering your organization's specific details and generating fully customized, board-ready governance documents. Our AI produces UPMIFA-compliant policies with tailored investment guidelines, spending formulas, and governance provisions that reflect your nonprofit's unique structure, risk tolerance, and mission.
This workflow is applicable across multiple practice areas and use cases
Endowment policy statements are core governance documents that establish fiduciary responsibilities, investment oversight, and spending controls for nonprofit boards and committees.
Corporate governance for nonprofits heavily involves endowment management policies, board fiduciary duties, and institutional fund oversight—all central elements of this workflow.
Estate planning attorneys drafting charitable gift provisions need endowment policies to structure planned giving arrangements and ensure donor intent is properly documented and managed.
Many estate plans include charitable bequests and endowment gifts requiring clear policies on how funds will be invested and spent, making this workflow valuable for estate planning practitioners advising on philanthropic legacy planning.
Corporate finance attorneys advising nonprofits on investment strategies, asset allocation, and financial management need compliant endowment policies that address UPMIFA requirements and spending formulas.
Endowment management involves sophisticated financial planning, investment policy development, and compliance with financial regulations—core corporate finance activities that require proper policy documentation.
Securities attorneys advising institutional investors and nonprofit funds need endowment policies that comply with investment regulations and establish proper asset allocation and rebalancing procedures.
Endowment policies govern investment activities subject to securities regulations and fiduciary standards, requiring expertise in capital markets and investment compliance frameworks.
The Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) governs how nonprofits manage and spend endowment funds in most states. A UPMIFA-compliant policy demonstrates your organization's commitment to prudent stewardship, protects board members from liability, satisfies auditor requirements, and provides transparency to donors about how their gifts will be managed. The policy establishes clear investment guidelines and spending rules that balance current needs with long-term preservation.
CaseMark conducts a comprehensive intake process gathering details about your organization's legal structure, endowment composition, investment philosophy, governance framework, and spending preferences. The system analyzes your uploaded documents including bylaws, financial statements, and gift agreements to extract relevant information. It then generates a fully customized policy with your specific asset allocations, spending formulas, committee structures, and donor restrictions—eliminating all generic placeholder language.
Most nonprofits target spending rates between 4% and 5.5% annually, calculated using a moving average of market values over 12 or 20 quarters to smooth volatility. CaseMark helps you establish an appropriate rate based on your organization's dependence on endowment income, risk tolerance, and long-term preservation goals. The policy can include provisions for adjusting spending during market downturns and addressing underwater endowments where current value falls below the original gift amount.
Absolutely. The policy clearly delineates roles between your board, investment committee, staff, and external advisors or managers. CaseMark incorporates provisions for delegating discretionary authority to professional managers while maintaining appropriate board oversight, establishing performance benchmarks, and requiring regular reporting. The policy can be shared directly with your investment advisors to guide their management of your endowment assets.
Best practice requires annual review by your investment committee to assess whether objectives, asset allocations, and spending rates remain appropriate given market conditions and organizational needs. CaseMark includes provisions requiring formal annual review and establishes procedures for amendments, which require investment committee deliberation and board approval. You can return to CaseMark anytime to generate updated versions as your endowment grows or circumstances change.