The college’s endowment is currently valued at $972 million, representing an increase of nearly $100 million from last year’s value, according to Vice President for Finance Patrick Flannery.
While donations were slightly down, Flannery said this reflects a national trend for nonprofits this past fiscal year. Without federal assistance, the college remains reliant upon gifts, tuition, and investment income.
“We’re fiscally strong,” Flannery said. “We look at our revenue in three different streams: gift, student, and investment revenue. Other colleges have a fourth revenue stream, which would be federal or state income. We obviously don’t have that fourth stream, so we kind of have to deal with that one leg of the stool that’s not existent. Usually if even one of those three streams are having issues, we still do fine.”
Associate Vice President of Internal Affairs Nancy Johnson said the decrease in giving may be due to the post-COVID economy. According to Giving Tuesday’s March 2023 quarterly report, national nonprofits experienced a 3.8% year-over-year decline in donors. Giving Tuesday is a philanthropic advocacy group that provides annual statistics through its Data Commons research group.
“Charitable giving is optional,” Johnson said. “When our country is in a depressed economy, people are more selective with their philanthropic dollars. Overall, our gift revenue in cash, binding pledges, and irrevocable trusts was second-highest in the college’s history.”
Johnson said despite the national downturn in charitable giving, the college has seen success with outreach events attendance.
“From a fundraising perspective, it helps to know that this trend was industry-wide across nonprofits, and it helps us to remain vigilant in reaching out to friends of the college, to keep them connected,” Johnson said.
According to the office of institutional advancement, the college experienced record attendance at outreach events.
“Our attendance last year at college receptions featuring Dr. Larry Arnn and lecture programs across the country were at an all-time high,” Johnson said. “I understand that the college recorded over 71,000 campus visits overall, for any reason, which is terrific.”
The college uses the endowment toward a variety of expenses, all of which relate directly to running the college. This year, student scholarships accounted for 48% of endowment usage, programs 33%, faculty chairs 16%, and the remaining 3% was unrestricted. Expenses for construction projects and marketing come from a separate fund.
Many smaller donations come from alumni, said Braden Vandyke, associate director of alumni relations. More than 12.5% of the student population becomes members of the 1844 Society per year.
“As far as students are concerned, they continue to consistently and graciously give back to what they love most at Hillsdale – be it a dorm or Greek house, club or organization, athletic team or academic department,” Vandyke said.
Contact Center Manager Mary Margaret Spiteri said there are many ways prospective donors can give to the college.
“The contact center helps the donation process, because we are for people who don’t want to go online to make a donation, or might not have a gift officer and want to know how to give to the college,” Spiteri said. “When you call into the contact center, a student agent or staff member will answer the phone, and they will be able to take the donation over the phone through our gift giving platform.”
Calling in, connecting with a gift officer, or donating directly online are some of the key ways friends of the college can extend a donation.
“The contact center takes donations, helping the mission of the college live on,” Spiteri said. “We have a legacy, and it helps us be able to defend that legacy. I know the students really enjoy talking to donors, taking donations, and thanking them because they make their education possible.”
Johnson said the college is already adapting to the future of fundraising, especially after this past year.
“We have implemented multiple new software programs and processes to handle donations more efficiently, although that is still a work in progress,” Johnson said. “Over the past couple of years we have hired additional people to handle the increase in activity across our department. We are always looking for opportunities with new technology.”
Flannery mentioned the importance of following the college’s mission when it comes to fundraising.
“The college is always going to adhere to what its mission is, so no matter what we’ll stick with that mission and find donors who identify with it, understand it, want to support it,” Flannery said. “I don’t see the college changing ever from that, because that’s our purpose, is to keep that mission. If there comes a time where people don’t want to support it, we’ll do our best to survive.”
