406 - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Policy on Endowment Income Reinvestment

Reason for Policy

The reinvestment of unspent distributions from endowment funds creates additional income with which to serve the University in the future. The Board of Trustees of the University Endowment Fund has approved this policy.

Policy Statement

An endowment fund is a gift with donor stipulations that:

  1. the principal be maintained intact indefinitely, or for a specified period, or until the occurrence of a specific event, and
  2. the income earned by investing the principal can be spent or reinvested.

Endowment income is distributed annually by the Investment Fund and credited to income accounts designated to support academic needs, including but not limited to, professorships, scholarships and fellowships. Adhering to donor-imposed restrictions, departments may choose to use the distributed income, invest it in the University Temporary Pool, or reinvest all or part of the income with the Investment Fund for a later withdrawal.

Reinvested income may be withdrawn with at least 30 days written notice prior to the end of a calendar month in order for a department to withdraw funds from the Investment Fund as of the first of the following month. Any exceptions must be approved by the University Controller. Reinvested income may be withdrawn with required notice without any additional action by the Department. Reinvested income, however, may not be withdrawn if the income was reinvested based on donor conditions intended to maintain a required level of endowed principal, or to meet other requirements of the endowed gift.

The availability of the Investment Fund should assist in preventing the accumulation of unspent income in the accounts by providing an additional investment choice. Under this alternative, the income to be invested in the Investment Fund will purchase units that will be separately identified from principal (non-donor equity) in the Investment Fund and also in the ConnectCarolina principal fund account. Distribution on these units will occur annually and will be credited to the existing income account.

Exclusions

None

Special Situations

None

Procedures

  • Finance Procedure 406.1 - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Procedure on Reinvesting Endowment Income
  • Finance Procedure 406.2 - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Procedure on Withdrawing Reinvested Endowment Income

Additional Information

Frequently Asked Questions

None

Related Data

  • Finance Policy 402 - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Policy on Investment/Endowment Income Distribution

Contacts

Policy Contact
Subject Contact Telephone Fax E-Mail
Investment Accounting (Acct. Serv.) Investment Accountant 919-843-4476 919-962-3306 investments@unc.edu

History

Revised:

  • November 19, 2015: Updated terminology in line with ConnectCarolina.
  • January 19, 2010

Details

Article ID: 131515
Created
Thu 4/8/21 9:10 PM
Modified
Tue 10/31/23 1:18 PM
Effective Date
If the date on which this document became/becomes enforceable differs from the Origination or Last Revision, this attribute reflects the date on which it is/was enforcable.
02/28/2018 12:00 AM
Issuing Officer
Name of the document Issuing Officer. This is the individual whose organizational authority covers the policy scope and who is primarily responsible for the policy.
Issuing Officer Title
Title of the person who is primarily responsible for issuing this policy.
Int. ED Assoc. Entities/Assoc Controller
Last Review
Date on which the most recent document review was completed.
02/28/2018 12:00 AM
Last Revised
Date on which the most recent changes to this document were approved.
02/28/2018 12:00 AM
Next Review
Date on which the next document review is due.
02/01/2020 12:00 AM
Origination
Date on which the original version of this document was first made official.
03/01/2002 12:00 AM
Responsible Unit
School, Department, or other organizational unit issuing this document.
F&O-Finance