As the state of Kansas grapples with budget challenges, state appropriations to Wichita State University continue to shrink as a portion of its annual budget. The WSU Foundation has been asked to increase private contributions to offset this and to keep WSU on the cutting edge of educational opportunities. In addition, there are costs associated with conducting business such as gift processing, record-keeping, and auditing.

The Foundation is an independent and private organization. In 1974, its small staff was able to raise enough private money to provide $18,000 in scholarships and $106,000 in university support. In 2022, a staff of 45 distributed more than $7 million in scholarships and almost $25 million in university support. We must invest in the capacity of this staff to increase the support provided to WSU.

• Endowment Administrative Fee On July 1 of each year all endowment funds are charged a tiered fee ranging from 1.65 to 0 percent, depending on the funds market values. The fees are based on a 20 quarter rolling average of the market value.
• Liquidation Fee The Foundation assesses a liquidation fee on estate gifts received.
• Philanthropic Support Fee A one-time fee of 5 percent is assessed on all incoming gifts, including endowments gifts, capital building and capital equipment gifts. For example, if someone makes a gift of $1,000, $50 goes to the Foundation for operating costs and $950 goes to the purpose designated by the donor.

The fee is reduced for donors reaching lifetime giving as follows:

The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education conducts similar surveys. In its FY19 survey of institutionally related foundations, it found that 95 percent of those responding who support research/doctoral universities assess an endowment administrative fee and that 54 percent assess a gift fee to help cover the costs of foundation operations.