Wichita State University needs private funding to provide students the best educational experience possible. It costs money to secure and to manage that funding.

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.

As an independent organization, fees are necessary to support the Foundation’s essential work in helping the university grow. The Philanthropic Support fee structure is periodically reviewed and approved by its Board of Directors. Currently, the Foundation has three distinct fees:

• 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 WSU Foundation did extensive research and comparison of public institutions and found that 85 percent of those surveyed assess an endowment administrative fee and 62 percent assess a gift fee. Gift fees for those surveyed range from 1 percent to 10 percent.

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.

Yes.

These fees do not affect the deductibility of your gift.

The Philanthropic Support fee does not apply to gifts-in-kind and the Shocker Fund gifts. Additionally, since WSU Athletics, and KMUW pay for their own fundraising staffs, gifts to those organizations aren’t assessed a Philanthropic Support fee.