Dive Brief:

• Amid the shock of hearing about Sweet Briar College’s closure this week, alumnae and others started asking questions on social media about the institution's $80 million endowment.
• Unlike other colleges that have closed with little to no money, Sweet Briar will have to find ways to spend down its endowment in ways consistent with the original intent for the money.
• Inside Higher Ed reports some money may be returned to donors, while other portions likely will go to nonprofits supporting the same goal of educating Virginia women and a good chunk will pay off the college’s existing debt.

Dive Insight:

There are not many examples of a college closing with as substantial a reserve as Sweet Briar seems to have. According to Inside Higher Ed, the board likely voted to close early to avoid a death spiral of sorts. Beyond the college’s endowment, its leaders must find a place or a use for everything on its 3,250-acre campus. The women of Sweet Briar, however, are not going without a fight.

Savingsweetbriar.com collected $1 million in less than two days and is hoping for $20 million to save the college. The hashtag #SaveSweetBriar has also received a lot of traction on Twitter with a new handle, @SaveSweetBriar, already garnering 466 followers. If the pledge drive doesn’t work, however, it seems like coordinators will have another large pot of money to disburse.