Whitworth President's Report 2011-12

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Goal 8: Exercise diligent stewardship in growing Whitworth's financial and capital resources

OBJECTIVE
Engage and expand Whitworth's constituency base while fostering relationships and a culture of philanthropy that significantly increase giving to the university. Whitworth seeks to meet these objectives by achieving a 25 percent alumni giving rate, growing the endowment to $180 million, and establishing an annual strategic investment fund of at least $600,000.

KPI 8.1.2a-c: Increase Whitworth Fund giving by 5 percent per year (from $1.2 million in 2011 to $2 million in 2021), expanding trustee giving to $1 million annually to The Whitworth Fund and achieving a 25 percent alumni giving rate.

Support of The Whitworth Fund grew five percent in 2011-12, to $1.32 million. While we've hit our first milestone, support will need to climb about $75,000 per year to reach the goal of $2 million annually by 2021.

$1,318,351
Increase annual Whitworth Fund giving by 5% per year.
Goal: $2 million by 2021 (milestones in gold)
Baseline: 1,258,000
Current Performance & Goal (as of FY2012)

Trustee giving to The Whitworth Fund climbed from $276k in FY10 to $305k in FY11 – to an all-time high of $357k in FY12, a 29 percent increase in just two years. Continued support of the annual fund by this most significant group of university leaders is key to future success of our Whitworth 2021 goals.

$357,248
Expand annual trustee giving to The Whitworth Fund to $1 million.
Goal: $1 million by 2021
Baseline: $276,000
Current Performance & Goal (as of FY2012)

In spite of meeting our overall goal for The Whitworth Fund and celebrating the highest participation by a senior class ever (more than 50 percent of the members of the Class of 2012 made a gift to support the class project), alumni giving took a step back this past year as we went from 18 percent participation in 2010-11 to just 15 percent in 2011-12.

15.0%
Increase alumni participation/giving rate.
Goal: %25
Peer institutions currently at: 16.0%
Current Performance & Goal (as of FY2012)

KPI 8.1.3: Grow Whitworth's endowment from approximately $90 million in 2011 to at least $180 million in 2021 - through new additions to the corpus averaging $5 million per year ($50 million total) and annual investment returns averaging at least 4.5 percent above the Consumer Price Index (projected $40 million total).

$99.65 million
Grow Whitworth's endowment.
Goal: $180 million (total endowment)
Baseline: $99 million (total endowment)
Current/Past Performance & Goal (as of FY2012)

Whitworth's endowment ended the year within hailing distance of $100 million, a significant threshold for small-college endowments. The chart indicates the amount of the university endowment managed internally, as well as that held by others. It also shows additions, returns and disbursements (based on the spending rate reviewed annually by the board of trustees). Continued growth toward the 2021 goal will take place through a combination of bequests, matured gifts to The Whitworth Foundation, outright gifts, and managed growth.

KPI 8.1.5: Raise at least $150 million over 10 years for the annual fund, capital projects and endowment to support the Whitworth 2021 vision and strategic plan.

Thank you to the 4,265 individuals and households who contributed more than $9.8 million to Whitworth between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012, a significant increase over the previous fiscal year and one of the strongest fund-raising years in recent history. These gifts supported university operations and student scholarships, the creation of a new endowed chair in the School of Education, and outfitting Robinson Science Hall with new equipment and furniture in the months leading up to its grand opening.

OBJECTIVE
Execute an enrollment and financial aid plan that supports Whitworth's accessibility and economic sustainability while stabilizing traditional undergraduate enrollment at 2,300 students.

KPI 8.2.1: Stabilize full-time matriculated day enrollment at approximately 2,300 students in the 2014-15 school year, while achieving university goals for the academic and demographic profile of the student body.

2,249
Stabilize FTMD enrollment.
Goal: 2,300
Baseline: 2,202
Current/Past Performance & Goal (as of fall 2012)

OBJECTIVE
Initiate ongoing review and reallocation of existing resources to align with strategic priorities.

KPI 8.3.1: Through strategic reallocations and reductions of existing budgets, establish an annual Strategic Investment Fund of at least $600,000 by the 2013 fiscal year.

In November 2011, Whitworth's University Council issued a call for proposals to support the implementation of the strategic initiatives from Whitworth 2021. The resulting Strategic Initiative Fund received 22 requests for new initiatives, of which President Beck A. Taylor approved 17. Funding to support the initiatives came to just over $53,000.

These initiatives include the following:

Admissions-Professional Development will provide training to admissions staff in best practices for recruiting and retaining students from under-represented populations, including intercultural assessments and ongoing professional development.
Courageous Commitments will establish a local database of multicultural resources in Spokane, including those working with multicultural issues. This initiative will implement a training program for faculty, staff and students to increase multicultural competencies and create proposals for campus development.
"The Play's The Thing" Faculty-Student Play Reading will allow faculty and students to read and discuss a series of plays. Discussions will take place on Friday afternoons in a casual, cross-disciplinary environment.
"Coach ‘em Up" Leadership Training for Campus Leaders will provide leadership training to those currently in leadership positions, through which they will gain tools and strategies that successful coaches have used to achieve winning results.

OBJECTIVE
Develop and maintain facilities and grounds consistent with the campus master plan and the university's accessibility and sustainability goals.

KPI 8.5.1a: Pursue planning and construction of dining expansion.

Construction was completed in summer 2012 on a significant addition and remodel to the Hixson Union Building (HUB) dining hall. The $6.6 million project includes new food-court areas featuring two large woks for preparing a variety of Asian cuisines, and a WoodStone oven for Italian pasta dishes and pizza. The new space features seating for 200, including a mezzanine level that can be turned into a room for private functions seating 90.

KPI 8.5.1c: Pursue planning and construction of an intramurals/rec center.

The construction of a campus recreation center began in September 2012, with an anticipated completion date of August 2013. The $8 million, 32,000-square-foot facility will include three basketball courts for intramural sports, a fitness center, a climbing and bouldering wall, and a three-lane elevated running track. The campus rec center is located on the northwest side of campus, near the Scotford Tennis Center. Renderings and floorplans of the facility are available at www.whitworth.edu/reccenter.

KPI 8.5.4: Achieve LEED Silver certification or higher for all new building projects.

In fall 2011, Whitworth opened William P. and Bonnie V. Robinson Science Hall, the university's first facility to be recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council as a Gold-Certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building. Robinson Science Hall includes state-of-the-art laboratories and instrumentation that enable the faculty-student research and hands-on learning for which Whitworth is known.

Whitworth began applying for LEED certification in 2009, and since that time all of the university's new buildings have received LEED recognition. East Residence Hall, which opened its doors in fall 2009, is certified LEED Silver. And the campus recreation center, which is scheduled to open in fall 2013, will also be LEED-Silver certified.

This recognition signals another step toward Whitworth's realization of its ongoing institutional commitment to sustainability and its participation as a signatory of the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment.

OBJECTIVE
Enhance awareness and recognition of Whitworth's distinctive brand in existing markets and in selected Western U.S. markets outside Washington state.

Whitworth launched its inaugural branding campaign in March with the goal of increasing the university's visibility in major markets where larger populations of donors, alums and prospective students reside. Television, print (magazines), airport and social media channels were utilized, with focus in the key markets of Seattle, Portland and Colorado.

The creative strategy of the campaign was to underline Whitworth's mission of mind and heart by focusing on the work of the heart as seen through the lens of the mind. Media strategy was driven by specific geographic areas within key markets that had demonstrated active engagement with the university. The campaign reached 4.45 million people through television, print and airport advertising, with an impressive 57 million impressions reached through targeted social media channels. Of those 57 million, the campaign generated 99,000 clicks, with users spending an average of three minutes on the university's website.

To review additional KPIs related to Goal 8, click here.