刚才我查了一下词典
endowment给出的英语解释是 money that is given to a college or hospital,etc.in order to provide it with an income,or the giving of this money
也就是说,这个词只要指的是这笔捐赠的“钱”,或者“捐赠”这个行动,比如 an endowment of 3,000 dollars
foundation 在词典里的意思是 an organization that has been established in order to provide money for a particular group of people in need of help or for a particular type of study
也就是说,这个词用来指“基金会”这个组织的时候使用,比如例子 the Environmental Research Foundation
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这是这两个词在一般用法上的差异.
当然有些机构的名字也有使用endowment的,在google上可以查到,但这不是一般规律.