# Council of Independent Colleges

Council of Independent Colleges is an Endowment / Foundation based in Washington, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Washington, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 320, Washington, DC 20036, United States
- **Founded:** 1956
- **Assets under management:** $44M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** cic.edu
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/council-of-independent-colleges

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Founded in 1956, the Council of Independent Colleges is an association of over 700 nonprofit independent colleges, universities, and state-based councils. President Marjorie Hass governs an entity that functions as both an advocacy organization and a financial steward for member institutions — a dual mandate uncommon among higher-education consortia. CIC's investment strategy spans buyout, distressed debt, co-investment multi-manager, fund of funds, and special situations. The organization channels capital through a dedicated endowment vehicle, the CIC/UPS Educational Endowment, which is fueled by long-term corporate philanthropy. Lilly Endowment Inc. provided a $15.2 million grant in 2023 (per Altss research), reinforcing the endowment's capacity to fund scholarships and institutional programming. The estimated $44M endowment (Altss estimate) operates under the guidance of Vice Chair for Investment Paul Dimitruk, a co-founder of Partners Capital. CIC operates from One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC, sharing a policy ecosystem with the American Council on Education and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. The CIC/UPS Scholarship Program remains the primary vehicle for deploying philanthropic capital, complementing the endowment's investment activity. CIC's structural differentiator lies in its configuration as an association that directly manages an institutional-quality endowment alongside a grantmaking arm. Most trade groups do not run their own investment pools or partner with outsourced CIOs like Partners Capital; CIC's governance architecture embeds asset-management discipline inside a policy-advocacy body.

## Sectors

- Secondaries & Special Situations
- Buyout
- Distressed Debt
- Fund of Funds

## People

- Marjorie Hass — President
- Paul Dimitruk — Vice Chair for Investment

## Questions

### How is the CIC/UPS Educational Endowment capitalized?

The endowment is funded by long-term corporate and philanthropic partners. UPS is the namesake donor, and Lilly Endowment Inc. contributed a $15.2 million grant in 2023 (per Altss research). These grants support scholarships and member-institution programming.

### What asset classes does the CIC endowment target?

The endowment operates across buyout, distressed debt, special situations, and turnaround strategies. It does not publicize sector exclusions, but the strategy set skews toward opportunistic and value-oriented private-market allocations.

### Is CIC a foundation, an endowment, or a trade association?

CIC is all three in practice. It is a 501(c)(3) membership association that advocates for independent colleges, operates a named scholarship endowment, and receives major foundation grants. Its investment function is embedded inside the membership body rather than siloed in a separate foundation.

## Related profiles

- [Atwood Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/atwood-foundation)
- [I.B.E.W. Local 490 Pension Fund](https://altss.com/profile/i-b-e-w-local-490-pension-fund)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/council-of-independent-colleges

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology