Optimizing University Endowment Funds through Cash Waqf Schemes: An Islamic Social Finance Approach to Sustainable Development in Indonesia

Abstract

This study aims to reconstruct the endowment fund collection system of the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) in Indonesia and to establish the rationale for allocating the endowment fund to a Cash Waqf-Linked Sukuk private placement. This research employed a qualitative approach with a holistic single-case study design at the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember in Surabaya. Data were obtained through interviews, documentation, and observation. This research design was used because this study examines a single unit of analysis comprehensively. The initial research findings indicate that ITS's endowment fund collection is conducted through an integration of donations and waqf, supported by both internal and external funding sources. Fundraising is developed through strengthening alumni networks, digital platforms, collaboration with the Indonesian Waqf Board (BWI), naming rights programs, and strengthening a culture of philanthropy on campus. ITS's endowment fund collection leverages social capital in the form of networks, norms, and trust developed within the academic community. The collected funds were placed in a Cash Waqf Linked Sukuk (CWLS) instrument through a private placement mechanism because it offers investment security, competitive and stable returns, characteristics aligned with the endowment fund philosophy, and guarantees of professional and sharia-compliant governance by BWI as nazir. This study highlights CWLS as an innovative model for integrating university endowments, productive waqf, and sustainable higher education financing.