According to the foundation it experienced a 15 percent decline in the number of donors and a 29 percent decrease in the value of gifts given, down from $8.6 million in 2008 to $6.1 million in 2009. According to a Chronicle of Higher Education article, the foundation experienced a loss of 17.8 percent in endowment value in 2009.
The decrease in gifts of 29 percent is greater than the 11.9 percent decrease in gifts U.S. universities and colleges experienced, according to a survey by the Council for Aid to Education. According to a Chronicle of Higher Education article from March 7, the national decline in endowments was 23 percent in 2009 compared to the foundation’s loss of 17.4 percent.
According to the foundation’s annual report, it experienced a decrease of net assets of 21 percent, down from $119 million in 2008 to $94 million in 2009
R. Scott Anderson, Marshall University Foundation chief financial officer, said the foundation had to cut its operating budget late in fiscal year 2009 including a reduction in staff of five positions in April 2009. These structural changes will carryover to fiscal year 2010.
Financial Aid Director Kathy J. Bialk said the amount of available scholarships for all students decreased from approximately $2.87 million in 2008 to $1.2 million in 2009.
“We haven’t seen our numbers for 2010-2011, but we are hoping they are better,” Bialk said.
Anderson said the foundation also reduced the amount of support to various Marshall University departments by 34 percent: from $14.5 million in 2008 to $9.5 million in 2009, according to the foundation’s audited financial statements.
“In fiscal year 2010, there were some specific endowed scholarships which did not have earnings available to award scholarships,” Anderson said. “The foundation continues to award scholarships in 2010, although in a reduced amount based on the market values of the endowment funds.”
Montserrat Miller, associate professor of history, said the history department has felt the decline in available scholarships. Miller said student awards once accompanied with a monetary award were given without a check while others were not awarded at all in the 2009-2010 school year.
“I was told that the ADK Doris C. Miller Scholarship was underwater,” Miller said, “and as a consequence we have taken a year off from naming a recipient.”
According to the 2009 Voluntary Support of Education survey conducted by the CAE, in which the foundation participated, charitable donations to colleges and institutions in the U.S. were down by 11.9 percent, the steepest decline in the survey’s history.
In a Feb. 3 CAE press release, Ann E. Kaplan, director of the VSE survey, said the decline in gifts to universities was expected given the economic conditions.
“Historical patterns indicate that as the economy recovers, contributions will rise again,” Kaplan said in the release. “However, 2009 was a difficult year for colleges and universities and, indeed, also for the individuals and institutions that care about them.”
According to the survey, prior to the 2009 downturn, gifts to universities and colleges had increased at an average rate of 4.1 percent over the past ten years.
According to the survey, gifts to operations experienced a modest decline of less than 1 percent, but gifts for capital purposes, which include gifts to endowments, for property, building and equipment, experienced a steep decline of 25 percent.
Foundation Gifts by Year
Marshall University Foundation Net Assets by Year
Sources: Marshall University Annual Financial Report 2006-2009
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