The main idea of this research focuses on analyzing certain institutional characteristics and determining whether similarities among large endowments provide a plausible explanation for endowment growth. Three institutional characteristics that are found to be statistically significant in explaining the endowment growth include student to faculty ratio, student enrolment and SAT score. SAT score is often associated with institution’s selectivity and prestige, it is shown to have a positive impact on the endowment growth. Total enrolment also has a positive impact on the endowment growth as large institutions tend to attract large number of students. It is plausible to assume that these institutions also have variety of faculties, which attracts different types of donors. Lower student to faculty ratio leads to a higher positive endowment growth, hence its negatively correlated with the endowment growth.
Keywords: endowment, institutional factors, philanthropy