What is the SF State Foundation?
Why do we need the SF State Foundation?
Who oversees the SF State Foundation?
How Does the SF State Foundation Differ from the University Corporation, San Francisco State?
Who provides the financial administrative functions for the SF State Foundation?
What is the process for establishing an endowment? Is there a form for establishing an endowment?
What is the current payout distribution?
How does the project director know if the endowment is underwater?
What is the process to transfer funds from the endowment to the scholarship or campus program spending account?
Is there an Investment Policy available?
How do I access my financial reports for the endowment accounts I manage?
What is the SF State Foundation?
The SF State Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established to manage all philanthropic support to San Francisco State University. It provides a clear system for making sure we receipt, acknowledge and use donor’s gifts properly as well as manage the university’s endowment to maximize returns. The Foundation also provides a means, through membership on the Board of Directors, to engage prominent alumni and community members in the life of the university.
Why do we need the SF State Foundation?
The SF State Foundation will provide direct management of the university’s endowment. It will streamline the donor receipt process and provide for better accountability and stewardship of the university’s endowed funds.
Who oversees the SF State Foundation?
The President of the SF State Foundation is Robert J. Nava, Vice President of University Advancement. The Managing Director is Debbie Chaw, who is the Chief of Operations of University Advancement and works closely with the SF State Foundation’s Board of Directors. The Advancement Services unit reports to the Chief of Operations and is charged with collection, reporting, acknowledgement and stewardship of funds received.
How Does the SF State Foundation Differ from the University Corporation, San Francisco State?
The SF State Foundation and University Corporation will work closely together. The SF State Foundation will manage all activities related to the university’s endowment. This includes being the legal recipient of all endowment contributions; managing the distribution of the spending payouts; investing the endowments to maximize returns; and stewarding the funds and reporting back to donors. The University Corporation will continue to be the auxiliary organization charged with receipt and oversight of all federal and state contracts and grants, in addition to managing business services which support the university. It will also be the legal recipient of all non-endowed contributions and have financial administrative oversight of the non-endowed funds and endowed spending accounts.
Who provides the financial administrative functions for the SF State Foundation?
Similarly to University Corporation, the SF State Foundation does not have any central office employees but instead will contract out the financial and administrative functions to the Auxiliary Business Services unit of the university.
What is the process for establishing an endowment? Is there a form for establishing an endowment?
Please review the Foundation’s Endowment Policy for guidance on establishing a new endowment. University Development’s major gift officers will work with the donor and you to establish a new endowment. A signed gift agreement from the donor and a completed Endowment Agreement form are required and should be submitted to the Foundation. University Development will work with the donor to complete the gift agreement. To find the University Development contact for your college, please visit http://www.sfsu.edu/~develop/contact.htm.
What is the current payout distribution?
As stated in the Foundation’s Endowment Policy, the targeted payout rate is currently 4%. However, due to the negative investment returns experienced in 2008 and part of 2009, many of the permanent endowments were underwater. The improved economy and stock market over the last 1 ½ years has resulted in improved investment returns, but some of these accounts have not recovered completely. To ensure these accounts have adequate funds available for the future, the Foundation’s board has approved the following guidelines beginning with distributions for FY 11/12:
- In order for project directors to plan for the next fiscal year, endowment balances as of March 31 of the current fiscal year is the stake-in-the-ground for determining the above/below water status of an endowment.
- Projects with Balances more than 4% above Contributions: Distribute 4% to projects spending account on or near July 1 of every year. (Some scholarships are awarded for summer session so distributions may need to occur prior to July 1.)
- Projects with Balances Above Water but less than 4% above Contributions: Distribute 2% to projects spending account on or near July 1 of every year. (Again, some distributions may need to occur before July 1.)
Projects with Balances Below Water: No distribution is allowed.
How does the project director know if the endowment is underwater?
Generally, an endowment is underwater if the account balance is less than the total of all gifts/donations (e.g., the principal) made to the endowment.
What is the process to transfer funds from the endowment to the scholarship or campus program spending account?
The Project Director should complete the Request to Transfer Funds from Endowment Fund to Spending Account Form and submit it to SF State Foundation. We will review the request and once approved, will forward it to Auxiliary Business Services for processing. In order to receive the payout distribution for July/August 2011, your form must be submitted by June 30, 2011. Forms received after this date will be processed accordingly, but there may be a lag in the timing of the distribution of funds.
Is there an Investment Policy available?
Yes. The Foundation’s Investment Policy can be found under the Policies link on the left hand side of the Foundation’s web site.
How do I access my financial reports for the endowment accounts I manage?
Financial reporting for the endowment accounts will be the same process as the one used for University Corporation. The new finance reporting application using Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE) technology has been recently implemented and has replaced the PeopleSoft Financial Management System (FMS) reports. This new reporting solution is immediately available to all current FMS users. Please visit the fiscal affairs web site at http://fiscaff.sfsu.edu/ to obtain more information about this new finance reporting application.
