FROM: Susan G. Harris

SUBJECT: Minutes of the Meeting of the Advancement Committee on June 7, 2018

The Advancement Committee of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia met, in Open Session, at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 7, 2018, in the Board Room of the Rotunda. John A. Griffin, Chair, presided.

Committee members present: Frank M. Conner III, James V. Reyes, Barbara J. Fried, Robert D. Hardie, Tammy S. Murphy, Jeffrey C. Walker, and William B. Fryer.

L.D. Britt, M.D., Whittington W. Clement, Elizabeth M. Cranwell, Thomas A. DePasquale, Maurice A. Jones, Babur B. Lateef, M.D., James B. Murray Jr., Margaret F. Riley, and Brendan T. Nigro also were present.

Present as well were Teresa A. Sullivan, Patrick D. Hogan, Thomas C. Katsouleas, Melody S. Bianchetto, Jonathan D. Bowen, Susan G. Harris, Donna P. Henry, John C. Jeffries Jr., Patricia M. Lampkin, W. Thomas Leback, Mark M. Luellen, David W. Martel, Debra D. Rinker, Colette Sheehy and Robert M. Tyler.

Cynthia S. Fredrick and Patrick W. Stanley were the presenters.

Mr. Griffin recognized Mr. John Jeffries, who was Dean of the Law School from 2001 to 2008 and is the David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law. On August 1, Mr. Jeffries will assume the role of Senior Vice President for Advancement for three years to help initiate the capital campaign. Mr. Griffin introduced the presenters Ms. Cindy Fredrick, Associate Vice President for Engagement and Annual Giving, and Mr. Patrick Stanley, Director of Digital Engagement. He said the first agenda item was postponed until the September meeting because the donor was not available.

Before giving the floor to Mr. Luellen, Mr. Griffin, reviewed the following list of some of the accomplishments over four years. These resulted from a discussion with Mr. Luellen about Advancement being a center of excellence for schools and foundations.

Established partnerships with nearly half of the schools and a number of units.
Tripled the Corporate and Foundation Relations team.
Created a discovery team of recent University graduates.

Changed performance metrics, which resulted in over 35,000 donor visits during the last three years. Over 6,000 included a solicitation; 4,300 resulted in commitments.

Implemented technology changes - real-time campaign reporting from mobile devices, new e-mail distribution modules, wealth screenings, etc.
Sponsored over 4,800 engagement events with over 64,000 different participants.
Grew Reunions Giving from approximate $27 million a year to $88 million. This is a 33% growth rate compounded.
Initiated Giving ToHoosDay and expanded it to the entire University.
Raised over $100 million for need-based scholarships in 18 months versus $1 million in 2013.
Grew annual giving at an average 16% a year compounded rate.
Created an effective vetting process to name the campaign chair.
Set an overall campaign goal and timeline.

He credited President Sullivan, her leadership team, the volunteers, and the Advancement staff for these accomplishments.

Report from the Vice President for Advancement

Mr. Luellen reported on fundraising for FY 2018, the Bicentennial Scholars and Professors funds, and implementation of the recommendations from the campaign readiness audit made by Grenzebach Glier + Associates (GG+A).

He said FY 2007 was the University’s highest fund raising year and FY 2017 was the second highest. In FY 2007, the year the Batten family made their $100 million gift, $471.7 million was raised. In FY 2017, nearly $360 million was raised - a 14% increase over the prior year. As of two days ago, FY 2018 commitments exceeded $472.3 million - an increase of approximately 52% over the prior year. With a number of large commitments still in the works, the total could be close to $500 million. This year’s performance has been driven by five factors:

Large Gifts: Growth has been tied to large gifts. There were a total of five gifts of eight figures or above for the last three years. This year there have been eight. A few years ago, gifts of seven figures or above averaged 42 to 45 gifts per year. Now the University is approaching 75-80 gifts per year.

Incentives: The incentives put in place over the last 18 months for the Bicentennial Scholars Fund and the Bicentennial Professors Fund helped jump start philanthropy.

The Markets: The markets have been semi-strong and there were no negative impacts from the end-of-year tax changes.

The Presidential Factor: Most presidential transition years at universities are poor fundraising years. This has not been the case at the University. A number of people have honored President Sullivan by making gifts to her priorities. There were also people who have made gifts to make sure President-elect Ryan got off to a good start.

The Team: Almost every school and unit was ahead in fundraising for the year.

Mr. Luellen said that in less than 18 months the $100 million matching fund component of the Bicentennial Scholars Fund had been maximized, creating 143 endowments totaling $212 million. During the previous five years, the average was 65 endowed scholarships/fellowships per year. The fund accounted for five of the year’s eight commitments of $10 million or more.

Mr. Walker noted that many of the endowments were for the graduate schools and suggested an emphasis on undergraduates if a second round is to be implemented. Mr. Luellen said initial discussions are underway about a reboot with an emphasis on undergraduate scholarships. The rector said the initial intent of the fund was to support AccessUVA, but it was expanded to include graduate schools. A proposal to reload the fund will be brought to the Board. While it will have incentives for undergraduate scholarships, it will include the graduate schools.

Mr. Luellen said the University secured signed and verbal commitments for just under $37 million for the Bicentennial Professors Fund during its first five months. These gifts will create 13 endowed professorships, which is equal to the total number of endowed professorships created from non-deferred gifts between July 2013 and the start of the fund.

Mr. Luellen concluded with a report on the GG+A recommendations. Within the next three weeks, the number of corporate and foundation relations positions will have tripled. A search is underway for the head of corporate relations. Significant pan-University investments have been made in technology, which will provide operating relief to the schools, which were purchasing services on an individual basis. A number of the collaboration and coordination recommendations have been implemented. Three task forces focused on prospect management, annual giving, and stewardship were created. They looked at best-in-class practices for coordination, policies, and protocols. Their recommendations will be made by the end of the month.

Report of Giving ToHoosDay

Before giving the floor to Ms. Frederick and Mr. Stanley, Mr. Griffin said the Office of Engagement has been active. During the last 60 to 90 days, it coordinated 150 volunteers who made 1,500 congratulatory calls to accepted students; held 39 receptions around the world for accepted students; and organized a “College Fellows on the Road” series.

Ms. Frederick said alumni, parents, faculty, staff, friends, and students participated in the April 10 Giving ToHoosDay. In 24 hours, the University raised $4.45 million from 7,300 gifts from all 50 states and 26 countries. The three annual Giving ToHoosDay events held to date have raised $10.25 million from 20,000 gifts with nearly 1,800 coming from new donors.

Mr. Stanley said planning for 2019 Giving ToHoosDay focuses on streamlining communications and the donation process, personalizing communications, saying more while sending less, and striving to complete transactions in less than a minute. There will be an effort to encourage peer-to-peer challenges (matching gifts), which have been very successful in the past.

Action Item: Resolution Confirming the Campaign Goal and Timeline

Mr. Griffin said the proposed campaign goal is $5 billion with a timeline ending on June 30, 2025. Funds raised since the last campaign will count towards the goal.

On motion duly seconded, the committee approved the following resolution and recommended it for Board approval:

RESOLUTION CONFIRMING THE CAMPAIGN GOAL AND TIMELINE

WHEREAS, the University of Virginia is nationally known among institutions of higher learning for the success of its philanthropic efforts; and

WHEREAS, substantial philanthropic support is necessary for the University to maintain excellence in teaching, research, and service; and

WHEREAS, July 1, 2017 marked the beginning of the quiet phase of the University’s third century campaign, set to launch publicly in the fall of 2019; and

WHEREAS, the University has engaged in a comprehensive campaign planning process, drawing on the expertise of professionals in its advancement community and internationally respected consultants for guidance; and

WHEREAS, this process includes the necessary step of recommending an initial campaign goal, one that is both reasonable and aspirational, and appropriate to the lofty aspirations of our University in its third century;

RESOLVED, the University sets an initial campaign goal of $5 billion and a campaign timeline that extends through June 30, 2025, the 200th anniversary of the first classes being offered at the University.

Action Item: Commending Resolution for William B. Fryer and the Council of Foundations

Mr. Griffin said the Council of Foundations, which was originally called the Council of Chairs, was created during the early stages of the last capital campaign, which began in 2004. Its purpose was to bring foundation leaders together to share best practices for fundraising, engagement, and communications. In 2007, the Board’s Special Committee on Foundations recommended strengthening the relationship with the Council of Chairs. As a result, three “consulting member” positions were created to enhance communication with three Board committees: External Affairs (now Advancement), Finance, and Buildings & Grounds. In 2011, with most campaign-related construction complete, the consulting member for the Buildings & Grounds committee was re-assigned to Student Affairs & Athletics (now Academic & Student Life).

Since the University’s foundations are now stronger and have improved communications and partnerships with University Advancement, the Board is ending the role of the consulting members. Mr. Griffin thanked Mr. Fryer, who was present, for having served as the Chair of the Council of Foundations since the fall of 2014 and for serving as the Council’s consulting member to the Advancement Committee since that time.

On motion, the committee approved the following resolution:

COMMENDING RESOLUTION FOR WILLIAM B. FRYER AND THE COUNCIL OF FOUNDATIONS

WHEREAS, William B. Fryer took an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia’s College of Arts & Sciences in 1971 and a J.D. degree from the UVA Law School in 1974; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Fryer has served with great commitment on the Council of Foundations since its inception, both as Chair and as a representative of the Law School Foundation, and has represented the Council as a Consulting Member to the Board of Visitors Advancement Committee; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Fryer has been a dedicated alumnus and has contributed considerable time and talent in multiple volunteer roles across the University;

RESOLVED, the Board of Visitors offers significant thanks and appreciation to William B. Fryer for his generous support and dedication to the University of Virginia, and for representing the Council of Foundations before the Board of Visitors Advancement Committee.

----------------------

The chair adjourned the meeting at 11:10 a.m.

SGH:wtl

These minutes have been posted to the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors website: https://bov.virginia.edu/committees/180