Posted on: Friday, June 21, 2002

'Turmoil' decried at UH Foundation

By Frank Cho
Advertiser Staff Writer

The incoming chairman of the University of Hawai'i Foundation, the university's nonprofit fund-raising arm, said the organization needs a new direction if it expects to raise the large amount of money the school says it needs to grow its programs.

Insurance executive Robin Campaniano, who takes over as foundation chairman July 1, said the foundation has no chief financial officer, no fund-raising officer and a largely new staff.

Campaniano, president and chief executive officer of insurer AIG Hawaii, said he believes that the foundation needs to look at all of its operations and integrate its private fund-raising activities with the academic culture of the university if it hopes to raise money for scholarships and school programs.

"The foundation is not exactly where it should be; it's in turmoil," he said. "Now is the time to set it right. It's not like it's falling apart, but we have our work cut out. ..."

The foundation completed the largest fund-raising drive in its history last year, raising more than $116 million over four years under former UH President Kenneth Mortimer's "Campaign for Hawai'i." However, a large amount of those donations came in the form of software, old computers and deferred contributions that could take years for UH to collect, according to a recent foundation report.

Of the $116.4 million raised, the foundation included donated equipment and services it valued at about $19 million, according to the report. Another $29.1 million that Mortimer reported raised came in the form of deferred contributions.

According to the fund-raising report, about $28.3 million also has still not been collected.

"The in-kind contributions were larger than I think we expected at the time," said Campaniano, who was expected to brief the UH Board of Regents this afternoon about details of the fund-raising drive.

The report said the foundation spent about $11.2 million over the past four years to raise the $116.4 million, or about 9.6 cents per dollar. The report said that compared with a national average of about 10 cents per dollar for fund-raising activities.

"This is something we need to look at, how efficient are we at raising money," Campaniano said.

The UH Foundation has 57 full- and part-time employees, with an annual operating budget of $5 million. About 19 percent of its annual budget is spent on administration, with 78 percent going toward fund raising and other programs.

Alumni and their parents contributed $12.2 million, or about 10 percent in the latest drive. The largest group of contributors comprised corporations and foundations, which gave $56.4 million, or more than 48 percent of the $116.4 million pledged.