Contact: Walter Conway Commonfund Inworks     (415) 293-8348 wconway@cfund.org

Paul Casey CollegeNET, Inc.     (503) 973-5200 paul@collegenet.com

Geoff Phelps Roy Chernus The Sherry Group (973) 884-8700 gphelps@dmbb.com rchernus@dmbb.com

Commonfund and CollegeNET Join Forces to Form Commonfund Inworks, Inc.

Former Visa USA Vice President will Head New Service to Automate Receivables and Reduce Costs through Aggregation

WILTON, CT, February 6, 2001 -- Commonfund, a leading manager of investment funds for college endowment and operating assets, and CollegeNET, a leading provider of Internet forms commerce service, today announced the formation of Commonfund Inworks, Inc., a new receivables management company for higher education and eventually other not-for-profit institutions. Commonfund Inworks will allow these institutions to automate and process receivables through the Internet, and enable them to invest these revenues immediately in short and intermediate-term funds. The company will be based in Commonfund's new San Francisco office and will be headed by Walter T. Conway, Jr., formerly vice president, Visa USA.

"Education institutions today are encouraging their students to register on the web. What Commonfund and CollegeNET have built with Commonfund Inworks is the ability for schools to accept payments over the web, too, and integrate those payments with their Treasury management operations," said Mr. Conway, president and chief operating officer, Commonfund Inworks. "With Commonfund Inworks, schools can accept all forms of electronic payment, including low-cost e-checks, for tuition and fees as well as alumni/ae giving."

"Commonfund Inworks can enhance an institution's image by greatly improving customer service while removing the paper from the billing and receivables management process," said Jim Wolfston, president, CollegeNET, Inc. "This joint venture combines each partner's strong suit - - CollegeNET with its more than 20 years of technological innovation and Commonfund with its more than 30 years of financial experience."

Commonfund Inworks will allow educational institutions to reduce costs, increase revenues, and improve customer service by receiving payments over the web for tuition, fees, housing, donations, books and many other services. The interface between institutions and their clients will be transparent, so the student or parent always feels they are dealing directly with the institution. The transactions will be processed electronically by Commonfund Inworks, and the proceeds will be invested immediately in Commonfund's short-term cash or fixed income funds. Completing the cycle, Commonfund Inworks will deliver a postable electronic message to the institution's back-office accounting system so the student account can be updated electronically.

Reducing Transaction Costs and Process Inefficiencies
Accounts receivable processing is a significant problem facing many educational institutions, hospitals and foundations. Commonfund Inworks will solve this problem by:

• Reducing the costs of the bill payment and collection processes
• Reducing employee labor by automatically posting transactions to institutions' existing A/R systems
• Reducing float by getting receivables into interest-bearing accounts quicker
• Optimizing the interest received on these funds
• Reducing banking fees for lock box and deposit items.

Commonfund Inworks will reduce costs by aggregating the transactions of many institutions and leveraging their collective buying power. It will function as a single deposit, investment and Treasury management resource eliminating duplications and inefficiencies among the some 5,000 banks now used by client institutions. One result is that float time will be greatly reduced, allowing clients to achieve quicker access to revenues and generate more investment income.

Commonfund Inworks will be easy to implement. Since it is completely web-based, institutions do not need to add equipment, software, or staff. With its unique, transaction-based pricing, Commonfund Inworks avoids any up-front software fees. And since it provides transaction detail electronically in the institution's own format, there is no need to change existing back-office computer systems.

Commonfund Inworks is developing a group of pilot institutions that will implement web-based payments in the Spring of 2001.

About CollegeNET, Inc.
CollegeNET, Inc. (corp.collegenet.com) is a leading provider of Internet forms commerce service to the education and non-profit sector. CollegeNET served forms create workflow savings for end-users and institutions by eliminating the costs, delays, and mistakes associated with paper-based forms processing. Forms transparently served by CollegeNET include admissions applications, financial aid applications, alumni registration, housing, contribution, and financial aid forms. CollegeNET, Inc. serves over 500 client institutions including Virginia Tech, M.I.T., Georgia Tech, University of Washington, and University of Nebraska. The Company is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.

About Commonfund
Founded in 1971, Commonfund is devoted to enhancing the financial resources of educational and other select non-profit institutions including endowments, foundations and healthcare organizations through superior fund management, investment advice, treasury operations and e-procurement services. Directly or through its subsidiaries, Commonfund Capital, Commonfund Treasury, Commonfund Realty, and Commonfund Asset Management Company, Commonfund manages in excess of $26 billion for more than 1,400 educational institutions and foundations, representing the largest pool of educational endowment and operating funds in the world. In response to the growing needs of non-profit institutions, Commonfund, together with its subsidiary companion organizations, offers more than 45 different endowment investment programs including funds for the management of short-and intermediate-term operating cash reserves. All securities are distributed through Commonfund Securities, Inc.
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