Standard 7.D
Description
Any organized development program to seek financial support from outside sources is closely coordinated with academic planning and reflects the mission and goals of the institution.
7.D.1 All college/university fundraising activities are governed by institutional policies, comply with governmental requirements, and are conducted in a professional and ethical manner.
7.D.2 Endowment and life income funds and their investments are administered by an appropriate institutional officer, foundation, or committee designated by the governing board. The organization maintains complete records concerning these funds and complies with applicable legal requirements.
7.D.3 The institution has a clearly defined relationship with any foundation bearing its name or which has as its major purpose the raising of funds for the institution.
Evidence
The College and the Foundation working together insure that fundraising activities by different College groups are coordinated and our community sees any solicitation of funds from a single source. The Foundation works closely with the College community to determine what fundraising and development activities would best serve the needs of the College
Organization
The institutional development program is administered by the Office of College Advancement, which includes management of The Evergreen State College Foundation, development including donor relations, development services and research, alumni affairs, marketing communications and college relations. Academic grant development is administered through the academic grants office under the auspices of the Provost’s Office. The Academic Grants Manger works closely with development officers in planning fundraising initiatives and identifying corporate and foundation prospects.
Historically the Foundation’s fundraising efforts have focused on providing financial assistance to students in the form of scholarships and activity grants, and increasing in recent years, providing support for faculty development and research. Significant foundation and corporate grants have helped expand and deepen the work of several of the college’s public service centers most notably the Longhouse Cultural and Education Center and the Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute.
As state funding for higher education diminished during the last decade it has become increasingly clear that private dollars will be essential for not only supporting students but increasingly to ensure the quality of public higher education. With this understanding clearly at the forefront in 2004 the college president secured the services of the Collins Group to review and assess the organizational structure of the Advancement Division and provide recommendations intended to move the operation to the next level. Significant recommendations included the need to more directly tie fundraising initiatives and long-term plans to the institutional strategic plan. Though not the only driver this was a significant factor in the decision to launch the recent update to the college’s strategic plan. Other major recommendations of the Collin’s Group included the expansion and maturing of the annual fund program which provides significant dollars for scholarships and other critical college needs, the need to establish a major local fundraising event and a number of organizational recommendations that would provide the level of resources both fiscal and personnel necessary for the college to consider entering into a major fundraising campaign.
Subsequent to these recommendations the Campbell Company was hired to help further enhance the Annual Fund Program. Working together we developed a three year plan to raise the level of giving and expand the numbers of alumni supporting the institution. In 2006, the first levels of recommendations were implemented and we saw a remarkable thirty percent increase in the annual fund from $338,000 to $448,000. For a mature annual fund program three to five percent increases per year are about what should be expected. The second level of recommendations was implemented in 2007 with another jump of over ten percent raising the fund to nearly $485,000. The goal for the current year is to raise a half million dollars in the annual fund and through the first months of the year we are substantially ahead of our tracking towards that goal.
Through the efforts of our president we were successful in 2005 in receiving a $1,000,000 grant from the Gates Foundation to help in building our fundraising program. These funds have provided the ability to work with additional consultants to train and develop staff, expand and deepen the fundraising infrastructure and fund additional staff for the effort. In addition the college itself through its internal budget process has provided significant new resources to college advancement as a whole. These new infusions of funds have provided resources for not only fundraising staff but also for our marketing and college relations staff and program. This assists our fundraising efforts by expanding the understanding and reputation of the college.
There have been significant changes to the staff in the past couple of years, both through turnover and through the additional resources for adding new staff positions. All of the leadership is relatively new. The Vice President, having served for 15 years as the Executive Associate to the President stepped into the leadership of this effort in August of 2006. In the past year she has hired a director of development, director of alumni affairs, executive director of marketing and communications, alumni assistant, administrative assistant, two major gifts officers and a new communications manager. While it is a relatively new staff it has already formed a closely knit and powerful team that collaborates well and understands how each of their areas can and must work together to assure a more stable financial future for the college and our students.
The Board of Governors itself has undergone intensive work in the past year to strengthen its ability to support fundraising efforts on behalf of the college. They have review and revised many of their policies, reorganized the committee structure and particularly strengthened committees for fundraising and development and evaluation of the board itself. In the summer of 2007 the board met in a two day retreat for the first time concentrating on understanding the major college initiatives in need of fundraising in the coming year. That work was guided by the college’s updated strategic plan. For the first time the Board has committed to assisting the college in private fundraising to improve the quality of academic programs through
Foundation Policies
The College Advancement Office serves as the principal liaison with the Evergreen State College Foundation. The executive director of the Foundation is also the Vice President for the Division of College Advancement. In addition to the executive director, ex-officio members of the Foundation Board of Governors include a member of the Board of Trustees, the College President, and the Vice President for Finance and Administration.
The Foundation was established by the college Board of Trustees in July of 1976 and is governed by Articles of Incorporation adopted that same year and by-laws which were most recently reviewed and significantly updated in the Spring of 2007. In 1988, the development office became a unit of the newly created College Advancement division. By policy adopted February 1, 1990, all campus fundraising is cleared through the office of College Advancement ?????
The Foundation is subject to rules and regulations of the IRS as a tax exempt, 501(c) (3) “public” charity, and to regulations of the State of Washington governing non-profit organizations, as specified in chapter 24.03 RCW. According to its by-laws, the Foundation operates “exclusively for the purposes of promoting, supporting, maintaining, developing, increasing and extending educational offerings and the pursuit thereof at or in connection with The Evergreen State College…” The relationship between the Foundation and the College is established through a contract signed by both boards which follows the State Attorney Generals model for foundations affiliated with public institutions of higher education. That contract provides for state support of staff and provisions of resources including offices in exchange for dollars raised to support the institution and its students. The contract is reviewed and renewed every three years.
College staff and members of the Foundation Board of Governors engaged in fundraising efforts are guided by a variety of policies, procedures and guidelines designed to ensure that fundraising is conducted in a professional and ethical manner. Board members annually sign a conflict of interest policy declaration. An independent private audit is secured each year to ensure ongoing adherence to gift accounting standards, consistent reporting procedures, and avoidance of conflicts of interest on the part of members of the Board of Governors. In order to assure that board and staff members stay current with ethical standards we are affiliated with a number of profession fundraising associations. We maintain an institutional membership in CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education), and individual staff memberships in NSFRE (National Society of Fund Raising Executives), the NPGC (National Planned Giving Council, AFP (Association of Fund Raising Professionals) and other local, regional and national groups. All of these professional associations provide ethical guidance. NSFRE has developed standards that provide guidance around issues of professional competence and commitment, stewardship, charitable mission, privacy, cultural diversity and conflicts of interest. The Standards of Professional Practice address issues involving civil and criminal laws, professional conduct, advocacy, compensation, and donor/prospect information.
New foundation board members attend an orientation session with staff and other board members at their first quarterly meeting. This orientation includes a review of ethical issues and considerations as well as information about legal and ethical requirements. Each board member has a Foundation Board Member Handbook covering these and other policies that is updated regularly. As part of annual evaluation of staff and the board we continue to provide professional development opportunities that keep us current and mindful of ethical obligations.
Administration of Endowment Funds
Through the Foundations work our students, faculty and staff now receive financial assistance from a range of endowment funds. Current funds are divided between those funds held by the Foundation and those held by the College. The College endowments are funds raised through the Foundation but matched through state matching programs. By statute those funds are then held by the college and invested according to state rules and not under control of the foundation. These funds have increased substantially since our last accreditation report.
Endowments 1997 value 2002 value 2007 value Percentage increase Foundation College
Management oversight of the foundation endowments is provided by the Vice President for College Advancement with day-to-day management, accounting, and record-keeping of all Foundation assets provide by the Vice President for Finance and Administration who also serves as the Assistant Treasurer for the Foundation. The Foundation signed an agreement with the University of Washington in 2003 to pool the Foundation’s funds with the University of Washington’s Consolidated Endowment Fund. The Foundation’s investment committee reviews the health of endowments on a monthly basis and the Vice President for Finance and Administration manages the pooling of any unrestricted cash balances.
The Foundation signed an agreement with the University of Washington in 2003 to pool the Foundation’s endowments with the University of Washington’s Consolidated Endowment Fund. This decision has dramatically increased the earnings potential for those endowments.
Total Giving 1990-91 1996-97 Increase 2001-02 increase 2006-07 02-07
increase 1997 – 2007
increase Dollars raised from all sources $498,608 $778,678 56% $1,038,807 33% 1,874,508 80% 141% Number of gifts from all sources 2,761 5,805 110% 5,560 -4% 7,305 31% 26% Dollars raised from alumni $39,087 $248,413 536% $182,919 -35% $370,488 103% 49% Number of gifts from alumni 889 2,836 219% 3,160 11% 5,152 63% 82%
Evergreen Annual Fund 1990-91 1996-97 Increase 2001-02 increase 2006-07 02-07
increase 1997 – 2007
increase Dollars raised from all sources $140,835 $187,352 33% $269,975 44% $484,506 79% 159% Number of gifts from all sources 1,812 3,665 102% 2,313 -58% 3,582 55% -2.26% Dollars raised from alumni $29,129 $87,456 200% $120,458 38% $252,441 110% 189% Number of gifts from alumni 761 2,247 195% 1,570 -43% 3,084 96% 37%
