Ways that college trustees can manage endowments are considered. It is suggested that endowment may be a key to survival for institutions facing serious financial difficulties. A frequently overlooked source of potential income is cash balances, which should be a concern of trustees, and one that should not be passed to professional managers. It is possible to develop a consistent set of objectives including growth of the endowment to maintain purchasing power, spending for curriculum use, an investment strategy to aim at the required investment return. It is important that trustees be aware of the performance record of their endowment funds, that they compare this record with the performance of the funds and of market indexes, and that they do not allow themselves to be misled by deceptive comparisons. Individual trustees must take the responsibility for identifying and eliminating conflicts of interest. The difficult task of selecting and evaluating professional managers for endowment funds is another trustee responsibility. The use of pooled funds is an alternative when institutions do not have large enough endowments to demand separate management. (SW)