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What is the University of Oklahoma Foundation, Inc.?
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The University of Oklahoma Foundation, Inc. is an independent, not-for-profit corporation that encourages and supports giving for the benefit of the University of Oklahoma. The Foundation acts as the principal organization through which private gifts are made and administered for the benefit of the University. The sole reason for its existence is to serve the University.  Top
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Why is the Foundation separate from OU?
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Oklahoma state law mandates the separation of state-supported universities and colleges and their foundations, as is the case with approximately 80 percent of public institutions in states throughout the nation. There are benefits from this arrangement.
- The independent, not-for-profit Foundation can assure donors of confidentiality since it is not a state agency and therefore is not subject to the open records or open meetings laws. This confidentiality extends to files containing the donor's personal correspondence and documents pertaining to the gift and to foundation board and committee meetings where that gift might be discussed.
- An independent Foundation is better able to protect donor intent in the use of the gift, free from any possible institutional or governmental pressures.
Its independence notwithstanding, the private funding program at the University of Oklahoma is a team effort. The Foundation works closely with the University
administration and faculty, particularly the Office of the President, the Office of University Development and the University of Oklahoma Alumni Association. Top
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Should all private gifts to OU be directed to the Foundation?
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Yes. The University of Oklahoma has designated the Foundation to receive, manage, invest and disburse private gifts to OU. The Foundation is uniquely equipped to fulfill this obligation through an efficient, experienced staff with expertise in financial management and investment. Also, the Foundation has some limited flexibility, made possible by several unrestricted gifts, to respond to the University's unanticipated and unbudgeted needs and opportunities. Top
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How have donors to the Foundation helped OU?
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Wherever you look on OU's three campuses-Norman, Oklahoma City and Tulsa-you see evidence of donor generosity to OU through the Foundation. Some of these gifts prominently bear the donors' names; others are less visible but equally important in the lives and careers of the people who have benefited from the gifts. Private support through the Foundation is the extra edge for excellence in University programs-over and above the basic needs provided to the University by state appropriations, tuition and fees.
The general categories of private support include:
- Facilities
- Scholarships and fellowships
- Faculty support through salary supplements and awards
- Equipment for both teaching and research
- Library acquisitions
Often a private donation serves as seed money for a new program whose success will grow far beyond the original gift. A single piece of research equipment from a donor's gift may enable a University of Oklahoma
scientist to pursue a line of inquiry that eventually could attract multimillion-dollar grants leading to undreamed benefits to the public. Top
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Who decides how gifts are used?
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You do. As donors to the Foundation, you determine where your money goes and the guidelines for its expenditure. The Foundation staff works with you and/or your legal and financial advisers to accomplish what you want. You may designate a particular department or program or you may make an unrestricted gift, giving the Foundation's trustees, in consultation with University officials, the authority to use your gift where the need is greatest. In either case, it is then the Foundation's job to see that your wishes are followed and to keep you informed on the status of your gift or any fund that you establish. Top
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What does the foundation do with the gift I make to OU?
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Contributions are deposited in either an existing fund or a newly created fund as you have determined. The principal of endowed funds is invested with only the income being available for expenditure. The expendable funds also are invested, but the entire value of the fund, principal and earnings, is available for expenditure in accordance with the purpose of the fund.
Each fund has an account sponsor, usually a member of the University's administration, faculty or staff. The sponsor requests expenditures from the fund following the guidelines established by the donor for that fund and by Foundation policy for all funds. Upon Foundation approval, the checks are issued. Top
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How much of my gift actually goes to the University?
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100 percent of the principal of every gift to OU is allocated to the purpose designated by the donor. None of the principal is used to cover operating costs. Top
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How is the Foundation funded?
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Operating costs are met primarily through a 1% charge of the market value of the endowment and all income earned in excess of 2% for expendable funds. Top
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Who governs the Foundation?
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A Board of Trustees comprised of 22 men and women elected for three-year staggered terms governs the Foundation. The Trustees are themselves donors to the University who have exhibited over time a dedication to OU and a willingness to give of their time, resources and expertise. The Trustees are drawn from many different professional and philanthropic backgrounds that are an invaluable resource to the University and the Foundation in attaining our private funding goals. Trustees are elected by the sitting Board from nominations made by alumni and friends of the University. Top
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Who manages the Foundation's investments?
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The Board of Trustees employs professional fund managers with demonstrated expertise in value and growth funds, large and small funds, and fixed income funds, both domestic and international. In addition, the board employs a separate firm whose job is to monitor and advise the board on the performance of the fund managers. Top
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What is an endowment?
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An endowment is a fund in which the invested principal remains intact in perpetuity and only the income may be spent for the purpose designated by the donor. Top
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How is the payout rate on endowed funds determined, and how does it compare to other universities?
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The Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees annually reviews the endowment earning distribution process calculated on a 12-quarter moving average of the market value of the portfolio. The rate for fiscal 2007-2008, for instance, is 5 percent. The Foundation reinvests any amount in excess of the payout to grow the principal to keep pace with inflation and to maintain a steady growth in money available to the fund sponsors. The Foundation seeks to avoid the extreme highs and lows in income that could damage the beneficiary program's long-term viability.
The average rate of payout according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers for 2006 was 4.6 percent. Top
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Endowment gifts may be important, but doesn't OU need current funding too?
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Yes, of course. Many gifts to OU are made in anticipation of immediate or short-term payout-new facility construction, equipment purchase, feasibility studies, conferences and speakers, for instance. But even short-term funds may be invested to increase the value of the original gift. There are some donors who make an annual gift, perhaps for a scholarship, preferring to have the entire amount expended each year, being not so concerned with perpetuity as with immediate assistance. The Foundation can accommodate those wishes as well. Top
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What kinds of gifts can I make to the Foundation?
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The Foundation accepts cash gifts, securities, gifts of property, deferred or planned gifts, life insurance, memorials and matching gifts. Thousands of corporations and foundations throughout the country match, most often dollar-for-dollar, the contributions of their employees to educational institutions. Top
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If a donor is unable to make an outright gift at this time, are there other ways to support the Foundation?
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Planned gifts are the backbone of a long-range private support program for the University of Oklahoma. They can be tailored to meet the financial, income tax or estate planning needs of the individual donor. These giving vehicles include:
- Charitable remainder unitrusts
- Charitable remainder annuity trusts
- Remainder interest in a personal residence or farm
- Bequests through a will or living trust
- Life insurance
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How does the Foundation fulfill its responsibility to be accountable?
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When you establish a fund within the Foundation, you sign a legal contract which ensures that the Foundation will carry out your wishes. Each donor, to either an existing or a new fund, receives a receipt for every donation to that fund. Expenditures are requested by the fund's sponsor and approved by the Foundation. The Foundation is audited annually by BKD LLP, a major accounting firm. Top
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How many people work for the Foundation?
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Twenty-three employees work in the Foundation's two offices-the main office at 100 Timberdell Road on the Norman campus and the auxiliary office in the Robert Bird Library Building at the OU Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. The staff includes one attorney, two certified public accountants, two computer specialists and an expert accounting and administrative staff. A two-member staff produces Sooner Magazine and Priority Newsletter, and other Foundation publications. The Foundation staff has vast experience in promoting, receiving, managing, investing and dispensing private gifts to the University. Top
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When will the end-of-month Foundation statements be ready?
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Foundation statements of account are placed online for account sponsors at the Foundation website, as soon as our accounting staff have closed that particular month. An accounting month is not closed at the Foundation, until the bank statement is received (usually about a week into the next month) and then reconciled with Foundation balances (usually about the end of the second week of the month following the one being closed).
Statements for the months of December and June generally take about two weeks longer than other months, due to the tremendous volume of data entry in December, as donors make year-end gifts for tax purposes, and due to fiscal year-end processing and the annual audit of the Foundation's financial records. Top
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