We do exactly what the donors tell us to do with their gifts. Typically, 96-98 percent of gifts are designated by donors for a particular campus, school, department, or program. These are called restricted gifts. We deposit 100 percent of each gift into one of 5,113 accounts established at the Foundation by IU chancellors, deans, department chairs, and program managers to hold their gift funds. The designation is confirmed on the thank-you and a receipt is sent to the donor.
Gift money is actually spent by the IU administrator, faculty, or staff manager who is in charge of each of these accounts. Upon that person’s request, and after ensuring that the request meets the guidelines established for the account, the Foundation processes a payment for a scholarship, equipment, or other purpose. During fiscal year 2007, over $93 million in gift funds were expended to support Indiana University.
Of the small percentage of unrestricted gifts, the University typically uses about two-thirds to encourage student development in leadership and other areas, to recognize outstanding teaching and academic performance, to recruit outstanding faculty, and to conduct activities or events that showcase Indiana University. The remaining third of the unrestricted funds is used by the Foundation for donor communications and fundraising or, at IU's request, to support important University initiatives for which other funding is not available.
