The Grasshopper or the Ant: A Review of Endowment Giving Policy Options for the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Arts Programme (2006)

Written at the request of programme staff at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, this paper is intended to provoke discussion about the tradition, necessity, and benefits of endowment funds in the arts. It provides a point of view about alternatives to endowment funding which are available to arts organisations, and poses questions about how endowments help achieve mission. The paper reflects research and analysis of a broad sampling of the literature on this subject and also reflects the operational experience of the author in the performing and visual arts.