Five Questions for Barry Mills, Senior Advisor to BBH

January 26, 2022
Barry Mills, former president of Bowdoin College, shares some of his more important lessons for endowments and foundations as they seek to navigate the challenges and opportunities present in 2022.

As of November 2022, Barry Mills is no longer a Senior Advisor to BBH.

IV: Tell us about your professional background. What drew you to working with endowments and foundations?

My primary professional background is as an attorney and I was a lawyer at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York City from 1979-2001 with a practice in real estate, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. In the early 1990s, I joined the Board of Trustees of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. In 2000, I was appointed by the board to lead the search for a new college president but was drafted by the board to become president of the school instead. An interesting side note for your readers: prior to attending law school, I received a PhD in biology.

I was the president of Bowdoin College until I retired in 2015. From 2016-2018, I was also affiliated with University of Massachusetts Boston , serving as Interim Chancellor for one year. I currently serve on foundation and nonprofit boards and advise presidents and boards of nonprofits and for profit organizations. Most recently, I also joined BBH as a Senior Advisor to work with nonprofits, foundations and individual clients on endowment, philanthropic, leadership and management issues.

IV: Talk to IV readers about your approach to advising endowments and foundations. Where do you see the most need for guidance?

For every nonprofit and foundation, it as essential to understand their unique mission as well as the strategy and the tactics for success that they are employing. After all, the endowment is in service of the mission and strategy of the institution generally. Therefore, it is critical to link the goals for the endowment to the operations of the institution in order to advise on appropriate risk levels, liquidity tolerance and return requirements. And, in my experience, leadership can make or break this model. I find that there are often issues around governance and leadership where an outside perspective can be helpful. What matters most is that there is appropriate alignment between these interests – whether the endowment management is internal with a CIO or external, via an outside manager.

IV: What trends did you see emerge among endowments and foundations as they navigated the disruption experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

During the COVID period, many foundations and nonprofits re-examined their priorities to understand if some of the new and immediate challenges created by COVID could be addressed by the foundation or nonprofits, even if those ways did not necessarily fit with the ordinary course of their business pre- COVID. These considerations have led boards to consider subtle – and not so subtle – modifications to  mission and strategy to meet the perceived immediate needs of their communities (broadly construed).  Not surprisingly, these deliberations have led boards and leadership to reevaluate the appropriate levels of spending from their endowments. These conversations can be complicated and sensitive as board members think about doing business and providing supports that may be new to their organizations.

IV: What lessons did endowments and foundations learn over the past two years that they can bring with them as we head into the ‘new normal’?

I am not certain that anyone can predict what the ‘new normal’ will be across so many aspects of our lives. COVID has disrupted the way we live our lives in almost all ways! In many respects, COVID created new challenges or accelerated changes that seem destined to affect all of us, but over a longer time frame. Many nonprofits and foundations are established to support health and hospitals, K-12 education, higher education, economic development, social justice issues and child care – just to name a few. In all of these areas, we have seen disruptive change in the way that services are delivered, success is defined, and in the way we work as individuals collectively for common goals of our institutions.

Foundations and nonprofits are not insulated from these challenges in the way that they work nor in the way that the institutions or people they support will change over the near- and medium-term.  And so what I have seen in these foundations and nonprofits are the challenges of dealing with immediate issues at the “tips of skis”, while at the same time, understanding that the world around us is changing.  Foundations and nonprofits will have to change to reflect these new realities. This is challenging because we don’t know with any certainty how this change will play out in so many fields. Hence, there is more uncertainty and ambiguity about the paths forward. It is a time demanding both discipline and imagination.

IV: What are the biggest challenges and opportunities for endowments and foundations right now?

The biggest challenges facing nonprofits and foundations right now include balancing the historic and important role they have played in the past with what they might do in the uncertain future. These conversations are obviously complicated, and they are fraught with economic,  institutional and personal considerations. Strong leadership, constructive and candid discussion and analysis are more important than ever.

And, then there is the “good problem” to have – the dramatic growth of endowments over the past 18 months. The benefits of this growth are obvious but the challenges should not be underestimated: figuring out whether that growth is “money good” over the long haul, what it means for liquidity, and how it affects what the foundation or nonprofit can do over the near and medium term. The attraction of building out programs in response to this dramatic  endowment growth may be hard to resist, but the uncertainty of the the future of these endowments probably calls for very thoughtful consideration and analysis before jumping in.  

 

""
Up Next
Up Next

Selling Your Business Tax-Free: The Magic of Qualified Small Business Stock

The tax benefits for investing in or founding certain startup businesses can be incredible. Not all investors or founders can take advantage of these benefits, but for those who can, millions of dollars of tax can be saved – and with proper planning, potentially even more.

Opinions, forecasts, and discussions about investment strategies represent the author's views as of the date of this commentary and are subject to change without notice. References to specific securities, asset classes, and financial markets are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be and should not be interpreted as recommendations

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (“BBH”) may be used as a generic term to reference the company as a whole and/or its various subsidiaries generally. This material and any products or services may be issued or provided in multiple jurisdictions by duly authorized and regulated subsidiaries. This material is for general information and reference purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax or investment advice and is not intended as an offer to sell, or a solicitation to buy securities, services or investment products. Any reference to tax matters is not intended to be used, and may not be used, for purposes of avoiding penalties under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, or other applicable tax regimes, or for promotion, marketing or recommendation to third parties. All information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy is not guaranteed, and reliance should not be placed on the information presented. This material may not be reproduced, copied or transmitted, or any of the content disclosed to third parties, without the permission of BBH. All trademarks and service marks included are the property of BBH or their respective owners. © Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. 2022. All rights reserved. PB-05049-2022-01-23  

As of June 15, 2022 Internet Explorer 11 is not supported by BBH.com.

Important Information for Non-U.S. Residents

You are required to read the following important information, which, in conjunction with the Terms and Conditions, governs your use of this website. Your use of this website and its contents constitute your acceptance of this information and those Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree with this information and the Terms and Conditions, you should immediately cease use of this website. The contents of this website have not been prepared for the benefit of investors outside of the United States. This website is not intended as a solicitation of the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument or any investment management services for any investor who resides in a jurisdiction other than the United States1. As a general matter, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. and its subsidiaries (“BBH”) is not licensed or registered to solicit prospective investors and offer investment advisory services in jurisdictions outside of the United States. The information on this website is not intended to be distributed to, directed at or used by any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation. Persons in respect of whom such prohibitions apply must not access the website.  Under certain circumstances, BBH may provide services to investors located outside of the United States in accordance with applicable law. The conditions under which such services may be provided will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis by BBH. BBH will only accept investors from such jurisdictions or countries where it has made a determination that such an arrangement or relationship is permissible under the laws of that jurisdiction or country. The existence of this website is not intended to be a substitute for the type of analysis described above and is not intended as a solicitation of or recommendation to any prospective investor, including those located outside of the United States. Certain BBH products or services may not be available in certain jurisdictions. By choosing to access this website from any location other than the United States, you accept full responsibility for compliance with all local laws. The website contains content that has been obtained from sources that BBH believes to be reliable as of the date presented; however, BBH cannot guarantee the accuracy of such content, assure its completeness, or warrant that such information will not be changed. The content contained herein is current as of the date of issuance and is subject to change without notice. The website’s content does not constitute investment advice and should not be used as the basis for any investment decision. There is no guarantee that any investment objectives, expectations, targets described in this website or the  performance or profitability of any investment will be achieved. You understand that investing in securities and other financial instruments involves risks that may affect the value of the securities and may result in losses, including the potential loss of the principal invested, and you assume and are able to bear all such risks.  In no event shall BBH or any other affiliated party be liable for any direct, incidental, special, consequential, indirect, lost profits, loss of business or data, or punitive damages arising out of your use of this website. By clicking accept, you confirm that you accept  to the above Important Information along with Terms and Conditions.

 
1BBH sponsors UCITS Funds registered in Luxembourg, in certain jurisdictions. For information on those funds, please see bbhluxembourgfunds.com


captcha image

Type in the word seen on the picture

I am a current investor in another jurisdiction