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Gift fund compliance: Tackling underutilised funds
Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing,
9
(3),
262-272
(2024)
Abstract
‘Millions of philanthropic dollars found unspent in university coffers!’ A headline no one wants to read on the front page of a newspaper. For fundraisers, telling a donor that their donation has not been utilised to fulfil the intended purpose is detrimental to soliciting further support. For university leaders, institutional reputation not only drives enrolment but is also political capital to influence legislation and unlock government funding. If the cost of higher education becomes insurmountable, how can it be that scholarship support does not reach students? If cancer has not been cured, why is research funding not being spent? Is it greed or is it a systematic disconnect between advancement services and the fund managers that they are working so hard to support? This paper describes how we are tackling the all-too-common problem of underutilised or untouched gift funds through a multi-layered approach, combining data, training and conversations to unlock these funds given for the common good.
Keywords: compliance; underutilised; utilisation; spending; report and fund
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Shannon Mcbratney is the Director of Gift Compliance at the University of Colorado (CU) Foundation. She has worked in philanthropy for 10 years, currently serves on the AASP's Ethics Committee and, in 2018, received the McCord Award in Excellence for her work in gift compliance. As the Director of Compliance, Shannon assists in the development, implementation and management of the CU Foundation's strategic plan for compliance which includes gift fund auditing, fund utilisation reporting, handling of special projects and educating campus partners on spending gift funds in compliance with donor intent. Prior to joining the CU Foundation, Shannon served as the Senior Records Specialist at the University of Denver and as a collections specialist at the Denver Art Museum.
Saskia Sawyer is the Assistant Vice President for Gift Services at the University of Colorado (CU) Foundation. She has worked in advancement services for over 15 years and is currently responsible for gift compliance, gift management and gift and grant administration. Before Saskia started at the CU Foundation in 2015, there were no resources dedicated to gift compliance. Having seen the need for comprehensive gift fund management at higher education institutions, she and her team were able to create a sophisticated gift compliance programme that has gained international recognition. Throughout her career, Saskia has served on various non-profit boards and committees and spoken at numerous advancement conferences. She also received the University of Colorado and University of Colorado Foundation 2016 McCord Award in Excellence for upholding the highest ethical standards and motivating those around her to achieve their best.
