A LETTER FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

GIVE. INSPIRE. TRANSFORM.

Today the emphasis of philanthropy is focused more on concerted efforts to improve the lot of the many rather than individual acts of charity. Circa 2000, the Central State University Foundation, through the establishment of a multi-million dollar endowment, made a decision to help the whole of the Alma Mater as well as provide benefits to you the donor.

Because the CSUF endowment is a permanent investment pool of individual funds, it serves as a reliable source of income to the University in perpetuity. The Foundation’s Board of Trustees, Executive Director, and professional investment managers govern the endowment. They work in consort to use appropriate investment instruments to govern the endowment and its spending policies. A written investment policy statement guides all investment strategies employed.

UNIVERSITY
Using the credit strength of its growing endowment, in 2003 and 2005 the Foundation secured $16 million in bank financing to design, build, and manage two 400-bed resident halls (Foundation I and Foundation II) to positively impact student enrollment. It was the University’s first such construction since the 1970s.

In 2007, the Foundation’s credit worthiness and relationship with Marathon Oil resulted in the Speedway gas station being built on campus. The acquisition of the $200,000 Kelly House and $500,000 new Presidential residence were made possible through the Foundation‘s endowment. Today the Foundation owns $28 million in real estate holdings benefiting the University.

Further, since 2008 the Foundation has awarded $1.3 million in scholarships to individual students. and, in 2017, the Foundation allocated $929,000 directly to the University. Gifts to the endowment have enhanced the financial stability, prestige, and the presidential residence was purchased by the Foundation.

DONOR
In addition to substantial tax benefits, an endowment gift establishes the donor’s legacy at the Alma Mater. Invested permanently, your gift serves as a lasting tribute and ties your family name, interests, and values to future generations of Centralians. You will receive great satisfaction from making a significant contribution to the Alma Mater from assets accumulated over your lifetime. Most often you can make a larger endowment gift using planned giving stratagems you never dreamed possible. Allow us to show you how.

By creating or adding to a permanent endowed fund for a designated purpose, the donor enables (indeed obligates) the Alma Mater to carry out his or her expressed wishes. Your wishes trump the needs of the university every time. For example, the vaunted Marauder football program in the late 1990s could not have been eliminated if it had a restricted endowed fund providing a consistent source of operating funds. Today, it has such a fund but it needs additional gifts.

The Foundation manages over 150 endowed funds, several of which can be located on this website to help in your decision making as you consider establishing your endowment. I would be delighted to work with you to create an endowment that meets your interests.

Finally, endowment donors are honored at the Foundation’s “A Night for Philanthropy” Gala. Depending on the size of your gift, you will be inducted into one of four Central State University Foundation Giving Societies.

We’ve achieved much, and together we can achieve so much more for the University and future Centralians.

Dr. Veronica R. Watkins
Executive Director