In Fundraising News
January 2022
Introducing New Online Giving and Event Forms
Agnes Scott is excited to have launched new online giving and event forms in coordination with the college’s new flagship website.
The Blackbaud NetCommunity forms provide a new simplified checkout experience for donations and event registration. They have a modern responsive HTML design that automatically adjusts to the device size — such as a smartphone or tablet — on which the page is being viewed.
The giving forms also provide donors a quick, basic donation by selecting a predefined giving level or entering their own gift amount. Because the form uses PCI-compliant Blackbaud Checkout, donors can be assured that credit card and merchant account information is processed and stored on a Blackbaud-hosted secure server.
Apple Pay is also now available as a secure checkout option.
ICYMI: Endowment Update
Ellwood Associates, the investment advisor for the Agnes Scott endowment portfolio, is happy to provide an update on the endowment to donors, alums and friends of the college. Ellwood has worked closely with the college's Board of Trustees, Investment Committee and staff to understand the needs and circumstances of the college and the endowment assets. Afer being hired in 2018, Ellwood has restructured the portfolio to better meet both the short-term and long-term goals of the college.
The portfolio performance continues to show meaningful improvement. For fiscal year 2021, the Agnes Scott endowment portfolio generated an investment return of 28%. The Ellwood Advised portfolio (which excludes cash, Coca-Cola stock and illiquid legacy investments) returned 31.4% for the fiscal year, compared to a benchmark return of 27.4%. The strong performance resulted in a fiscal year-end market value of nearly $246 million, the highest level the college has seen since 2015. Relative to other endowments, we also continue to trend in a positive direction. The Total Endowment portfolio beat 57% of similar-sized endowments in fiscal year 2021. If you exclude the high cash balance needed to accommodate spending, the portfolio outperformed 73% of peers.
Read the complete Endowment Update
Campaign for Main Update
The total amount raised for the Campaign for Main is now at $20.2 million (of the $31.8 million dollar goal). As we look to close out the much-need renovation, we need the support of the entire Agnes Scott community to raise the remaining $11.6 million to fund Phase III restoration work that will ensure all students can live — and thrive — on campus.