Who Owns the Fund? Tactics from the Field on Solving Fund Management's Hardest Question

From The Mine community — real conversations, real institutions, real solutions.

The Mine  is a community where fund management and stewardship professionals come together to share ideas, solve challenges, and learn from one another. In a recent discussion thread, members tackled a common question many organizations face and leveraged the wisdom of the group to develop some tactics everyone can use.

The Question That Started It All

A member of The Mine raised a simple, yet challenging question that resonated across the group: who is actually responsible for ensuring funds are utilized? When funds need attention, teams often spend valuable time trying to identify the right person to contact. Depending on the college, school, or unit, responsibility may fall to a development officer, fiscal officer, scholarship manager, department leader, or someone else entirely.

Without a clear owner, funds can sit unused, communication becomes inefficient, and accountability becomes difficult to maintain.

This was the challenge the group decided to tackle, and they landed on some ideas:

Tactic 1: Designate Ownership Early and Tie It to a Position

One of the strongest ideas shared was establishing fund ownership as early as possible in the gift agreement process.

One institution shared that fund champions were identified when gift agreements were created, along with the key individuals involved in managing the fund. Importantly, institutions were encouraged to capture titles and positions, not just names.

This approach becomes especially valuable when staff turnover occurs. When someone leaves, the responsibility remains attached to the role, creating continuity and reducing the likelihood that funds become disconnected from their intended oversight. Knowing that a fund belongs to a department chair, director, or development leader makes it significantly easier to determine who should be responsible when personnel changes happen.

Tactic 2: Treat Fund Activation as an Event

Many institutions make funds available for spending without a formal handoff process.

Participants discussed the value of creating a "fund activation" moment: triggering a communication when a fund becomes available for use. This message can identify the fund champion, explain the fund's purpose, and clarify expectations for utilization.

Rather than assuming someone is paying attention, the activation process creates visibility and accountability from the beginning. It also helps reinforce donor intent and ensures key stakeholders understand their role in managing the fund.

Tactic 3: Make Balances Visible and Connect Them to Donor Reporting

Visibility drives action.

Several institutions shared how dashboards, utilization reports, and regular reviews help departments better understand the funds available to them and the expectations tied to those funds.

One insight stood out: when departments know a fund's activity will be reflected in donor reporting, engagement often increases. Connecting fund utilization to stewardship responsibilities creates a stronger sense of accountability than balance reports alone.

Regular reporting also helps identify funds that may need attention before they become long-term utilization challenges.

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Tactic 4: Get Leadership to Carry the Message

Fund utilization efforts are often most successful when leadership is involved.

Several participants noted that messages coming directly from stewardship or fund management teams may not always create urgency on their own. However, when deans, vice presidents, or other institutional leaders reinforce the importance of fund utilization, departments are more likely to act.

In these cases, leadership helps drive organizational attention and accountability, supported by stewardship teams providing the data and insights.

What These Institutions Have in Common

It’s important to note, no institution has completely solved all aspects of fund ownership challenges. Staff transitions, organizational complexity, and competing priorities are realities everywhere.

But the organizations making the most progress share a few common practices: they formalize ownership, create visibility into fund activity, and establish clear moments of accountability rather than waiting for problems to surface.

The question of who owns a fund may never have a perfectly simple answer – or even the same answer at different organizations. But with the right processes in place, it can become much clearer.

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