May 10, 2021
By News Director Jared Atha
The Board of Trustees of the Southwestern Oklahoma State University Foundation, Inc. recently convened for a regularly scheduled business meeting, and based on numbers provided at the meeting – fundraising appeared solid, even during the pandemic.
The meeting was held in the Timothy T. Day Business Enterprise Center on the Weatherford campus with remote trustees participated in the meeting via Zoom.
The trustees heard briefings from SWOSU President Dr. Randy L. Beutler and SWOSU Foundation, Inc. Executive Director Garrett King. The trustees commended Beutler for his leadership of SWOSU and thanked him for his close cooperation with the Foundation during his tenure to achieve significant philanthropic advancements benefiting the institution. The trustees presented Beutler with a certificate noting the establishment of the President Randy L. Beutler Endowment in honor of his service to SWOSU’s students, faculty and programs.
Departing Trustee Evangeline Vann Greer “Peewee” Andrews, SWOSU Class of 1960, was commended and thanked for her 10 years of service. Since acceding to the board in April 2011, Andrews has served as chair of the Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee and was inducted into the SWOSU Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in 2021.
The trustees reviewed FY 2020 reports and metrics including a 64% increase in philanthropic revenues over FY 2019 and a 15% increase in scholarships paid to SWOSU above the FY 2019 payments valuation. Trustees reviewed data indicating that, in 2020, only $0.05 out of every $1.00 donated to the Foundation went to fundraising costs (the national average is $0.20 according to the Association of Fundraising Professionals) and for every $1 the Foundation invested in fundraising activities, $18.57 was raised for the university’s benefit.
The trustees also noted that, in 2020, the Foundation investment portfolio earned a 13.15% return generating over $2.7 million of investment earnings to support the current and future needs of SWOSU. Over the longer term, the five-year average return on the portfolio of 10% exceeded the benchmark return of 9.84%.
