|
Ferris Foundation uses MicroEdge|NPO Solutions' FIMS to centralize and automate complex task of managing funds and endowments
The Ferris Foundation supports the mission and goals of Ferris State University. In that effort, the Foundation manages and increases the privately funded resources of the University. The endowment funds have grown to over $26 million dollars. This will assist in making the dream of education a reality for many of their current and future students.
Ferris State University has always been about providing opportunities to students. The depth and diversity of their academic programs, the quality of life students experience on campus and the relationships established are central components of a real education at Ferris.
Ferris State University founder, Woodbridge N. Ferris, felt the world improved over time through human action. Today, the Ferris Foundation carries that message forward by strengthening the University and benefiting their students through endowed scholarships, grant funding, prudent stewardship and strong advocacy.
The Ferris Foundation has been steadfast in this mission and shrewd in its management of endowments, providing the best possible assistance to their students. In fact, according to the 2004 NACUBO (National Association of College and University Business Officers) Endowment Study, Ferris State University ranks in the top ten in the nation for endowment returns for fiscal year end 2004.
Tracking assets through multiple spreadsheets
Karen Thompson, investment and grants officer for Ferris State University and the Ferris Foundation, has been managing the investments and grants functions for the past 15 years. In 1997, responsibility for endowments was transferred from the University to the Foundation, with assets of the endowments totaling approximately $10 million.
Initially, Karen used a series of spreadsheets to track values for the endowment funds. But the process was quite labor-intensive. The spreadsheet method required a great deal of redundant data entry, and reporting was a lengthy and complex task-individual calculations had to be done each month, and it was difficult to obtain a historical view.
Looking for a better way
Not satisfied with the spreadsheet process, Karen spoke with other educational institutions that had developed their own systems, but these systems did not include much-needed unitization and tracking components that were necessary to improve the current process. The Foundation wanted to track endowments and their market value monthly, and to find a unitized system that could track changing unit values and accurately make the appropriate calculations. It was then that she heard about FIMS, an integrated solution that would provide the fund and account tracking, general ledger and fund management capabilities that the Ferris Foundation needed. In 1998, Ferris Foundation acquired the FIMS solution.
To test its viability in their organization, Ferris Foundation initially backtracked and set up FIMS with 13 months of prior historical data. "FIMS really covered everything," states Karen.
200 funds tracked and monitored with FIMS
Currently, Ferris Foundation is tracking 200 endowment funds in the pool with assets of the endowments at roughly $26 million. With the Fund and Account Tracking System (FACTS) module in FIMS, the Foundation can easily monitor pooled investments and allocate earnings and fees from the pool to individual funds as well. "Each month we have to allocate earnings to the funds on a very equitable basis, and FIMS automatically updates these financial records," asserts Karen. "It's easy to add funds, change spending requirements or calculate spending policies with FIMS."
Streamlines annual planning
Each year, the Ferris Foundation must determine how much will be spent from each of the funds, and FIMS handles those calculations readily. Looking at the funds assets and spending rate, it has the flexibility to run different scenarios for the Foundation. It also handles the administrative fee aspect of charging each of the funds for related operating expenses.
Easier FASB requirements reporting
FIMS allows Ferris Foundation to more easily follow the requirements of FASB, the accounting body that oversees financial accounting standards in the United States. The system can format, print or merge custom financial statements and other required schedules easily. "FIMS provides the detailed information we need for financial statements," declares Karen.
Superior value
The Foundation maintains that FIMS is very simple and intuitive to use. "We don't really ask for a lot of technical support, and the maintenance structure was reasonable," indicates Karen. "The overall cost was very reasonable and we find that FIMS offers good value, reliable operation and ease of use."
Significant time-savings
Although no formal measurement has been done on the time-savings that FIMS has enabled, Karen states that it has been significant. Now, the Ferris Foundation has the ability to take investment account activity, pool the values, allocate the earnings and fees, and then update the financial position of each of the funds, all within FIMS. "I can't even imagine how complicated it would be to manage 200 accounts using our old spreadsheet method," says Karen. "FIMS is a good fit for us, and I can see how it would be very useful for other educational foundations."
|
| |
|
