The endowment numbers really don't change the world much for any of our Iowa colleges except for Grinnell. Their nearly $ 3 billion in endowment means they can just about do anything they want. For others, a hundred million, for example, given a spend rate that is typically at 5%, yields $ 5 million. On an endowment of, for example, a hundred million, the yield really gets swallowed pretty quickly. Conversely, the Univ of Iowa's $ 3 billion endowment, given the size of their budget and the complexity of the enterprise, is almost chump change. All Grinnell does is teach biology and history to 1700 undergraduates! At a 5% spend rate Grinnell probably wouldn't need to charge tuition -- their annual yield is probably 150 million. Oh, but one must not forget that endowments are created by donors who can and usually do place restrictions on how proceeds are to be spent.