In an era of stretched public coffers and cuts, endowments can offer financial resilience and independence. But they are likely to prove out of reach for smaller museums, which may find it hard to accrue donations for longer-term projects

Museum, under pressure to embrace equity while facing revenue losses, says the money will shore up its endowment and operating budget

There are plenty of funds with good Environmental, Social and Governance ratings, and the financial returns often outperform the S&P 500

In April, Harvard University announced plans to realign its $40bn endowment to reflect “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2050—other US institutions can do the same

While legal hurdles remain, the museum directors’ association will not penalise members who redirect restricted funds to cover operating expenses