SEMO DONATIONS DECLINE; BEQUESTS ARE FEWER THIS YEAR

Financial donations to Southeast Missouri State University dropped by 15 percent over the past fiscal year.

The university's fund-raising foundation raised $3.29 million in cash and in-kind gifts in the fiscal year that ended June 30. That was $566,489 less than the previous year. Many of the in-kind gifts involved donations of equipment.

The bottom-line figures don't dismay Wayne Davenport, who heads fund-raising efforts as vice president of university advancement and executive director of the foundation. Davenport said the drop in gift income occurred because the university received fewer bequests.

In fiscal 1999, the university foundation received nearly $1.2 million in bequests. Last fiscal year the university received $50,642, more than $1.1 million less in fiscal 1999, Davenport said.

After a person dies, it can take a year or two before the university receives the money from the bequest, he said.

While income from bequests dropped, Southeast received nearly $3.25 million in other cash and in-kind gifts. Davenport said that amounted to a 21 percent increase over the previous year. The increase for public and private colleges nationwide amounted to 11 percent on average, he said.

Southeast also saw increases in contributions from businesses, organizations and private foundations. Donations from businesses totaled more than $1.25 million, more than double the amount in the previous year. But contributions from foundations of firms and corporations declined.

Dollarwise, alumni donations dropped 21 percent over the past fiscal year while non-alumni donations plummeted 52 percent.

Southeast took in $971,123 in alumni donations and $951,799 in non-alumni donations over the past fiscal year.

"Southeast's fund raising comes largely from individuals," Davenport said.

Many of the financial gifts are from people who never attended Southeast, he said. In fiscal 1999, non-alumni contributed nearly $2 million to the school compared to $1.23 million from alumni.

Davenport isn't surprised alumni support isn't greater. He said the foundation's relatively short history is a factor. The university foundation was established in 1983. The "attitude and gratitude of giving" to the school is still being cultivated among alumni, Davenport said.

Another factor is that many of Southeast's graduates are teachers. They typically don't command the salaries that some other professions do, he said. As a result, they aren't in a position to donate large amounts of money to the school, Davenport said.

University Chancellor Dale Nitzschke reported in late July that he had helped raise more than $4.7 million in financial gifts for the university over the past 13 months. That figure included money from the federal government as well as private donations and money pledged to the school.

Davenport said the $3.29 million figure for fiscal 2000 reflects the gift income actually received by the foundation. It doesn't include federal funds or money pledged to be donated in the future.

Don Dickerson, president of Southeast's Board of Regents, is pleased with the fund raising. Dickerson said it is difficult to predict how much money the university will receive from bequests in any given year.

"From year to year you will see some peaks and valleys," he said. "Otherwise, it seems to me we are doing very well."

Dickerson said the university only started trying to secure donations from private and corporate foundations in the last few years.

Development of the polytechnic school and the River Campus arts school at Southeast should help attract funding from foundations, he said.

The university's foundation, he said, is still maturing.

"It takes a foundation probably a good decade to get itself on its feet, get people to knowing that it is a very viable foundation," he said.

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY FUND RAISING

* Total gift income: $3,865,284 in fiscal 1999, $3,298,795 in fiscal 2000, 15 percent decrease.

* Bequests: $1,188,377 in fiscal 1999, $50,642 in fiscal 2000, 96 percent decrease.

* Giving minus bequests: $2,676,907 in fiscal 1999, $3,248,153 in fiscal 2000, 21 percent increase.

* Business donations: $593,148 in fiscal 1999, $1,252,062 in fiscal 2000, 111 percent increase.

* Donations from corporate foundations: $53,983 in fiscal 1999, $45,769 in fiscal 2000, 15 percent decrease.

* Alumni donations: $1,233,484 in fiscal 1999, $971,123 in fiscal 2000, 21 percent decrease.

* Non-alumni donations: $1,964,781 in fiscal 1999, $951,799 in fiscal 2000, 52 percent decrease.

* Organizations: $23,801 in fiscal 1999, $61,090 in fiscal 2000, 157 percent increase.

* Private foundations: $53,377 in fiscal 1999, $60,310 in fiscal 2000, 13 percent increase.

* Unrestricted cash donations: $210,156 in fiscal 1999, $239,116 in fiscal 2000, 14 percent increase.