You are a board chair at a nonprofit that has spent years building something real. The organization is doing important work. The staff is committed. The community it serves shows up because they trust you.

And then there is the endowment. Around $12M, sitting with an advisor who sends a report every quarter, rarely calls unless you call first, and has never once asked about the organization, let alone showed up to an event.

This letter is for you.

You Are Allowed to Expect More

The fiduciary responsibility of an endowment board is one of the most serious obligations in the nonprofit sector. You are stewarding assets that belong to the organization’s future, sometimes assets tied to a donor’s life work. That is not a back-burner responsibility.

And yet the way many endowments at the $5M–20M level are managed communicates something different. Infrequent contact. Generic reporting. A portfolio that has never been connected to the organization’s operations or grantmaking. Board members who feel like they are too small to deserve real attention.

You are not too small. And the discomfort you have been sitting with regarding your relationship with your advisor is worth taking seriously.

What a Real Advisory Relationship Looks Like

A board chair should expect the following from an endowment advisor. Not as extras. As baseline.

• Proactive outreach that does not require you to initiate every conversation
• Quarterly reviews that explain performance in the context of your organization’s goals, not just against a benchmark index
• An advisor who has read your strategic plan, understands your priorities, and can speak to them by name
• Board education that makes your finance or investment committee stronger, not one that keeps them dependent on the advisor to interpret everything
• A portfolio that has been intentionally constructed with awareness of what your organization stands for

If your current advisor is not doing these things, it is not because they are bad at their job. It is because they are not set up for this kind of relationship. Their business is built around different clients.

The Cost of Staying

There is a real cost to staying with an advisor who is not built for your organization.

It is not always visible in the returns. Sometimes the performance is fine. The cost shows up in board confidence. In the investment committee, members stopped engaging because they did not feel their questions were welcome. In the strategic disconnect between the endowment and the rest of the organization. In the missed opportunity to use every lever available, including your capital, to advance the mission.

It also shows up in what you model for the field. Nonprofits led by women and people of color, doing work at the center of racial equity and community health, deserve to have their capital managed by someone who understands the stakes of that work. A team that understands the weight of your mission and treats you and your team accordingly.

What to Do With This

If you are reading this and nodding, you are not alone. In our experience with some nonprofit boards, the feeling of being overlooked by your endowment advisor is one of the most consistent things we hear from board chairs at organizations under $20M.

You do not have to fire your advisor tomorrow. But you do deserve to ask the question out loud, with your finance committee, in a real conversation: is this relationship working for us?

Andrew Tudor, CAP, CFP® | Zenith Wealth Partners

All written content is for information purposes only. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of Zenith, unless otherwise specifically cited. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources and no representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness. All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation.