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Types of Funds Managed

The Campanile Foundation is responsible for receiving and managing gifts in support of San Diego State University.  In the discharge of this fiduciary responsibility, the Campanile Foundation receives and manages gifts for scholarships, program support, academic departments, colleges, and the University.  Gifts fall into two main categories: current use gifts and endowment gifts.

  • Current use gifts are made by donors with the expectation that they will be expended in the near future to achieve the purpose for which the gift was given.  These types of gifts are intended to support a wide variety of purposes but are similar in terms of the donor's expectation that they be expended completely to meet their philanthropic intent.  Current use gifts may be restricted (donor specifies how the gift is to be used) or unrestricted (the designated beneficiary of the gift decides how the gift will be used).
  • Endowment gifts are made with an expectation that only the earnings on the principal will be expended to meet the donor's philanthropic intent and that the funds will be invested for the long-term to provide an income stream in perpetuity to achieve the purpose for which the gift was given.

In order to meet the fiduciary responsibilities the Foundation has to donors, funds are segregated into three different types of accounts.

  • Scholarship gifts are put into A-Accounts and are, by board policy, exempt from administration fees.  Scholarship funds may come from annual current use gifts and/or income from a scholarship endowment fund.
  • Current use gifts (other than scholarships) are put into C-Accounts and are subject to a 6% administrative fee when expended.  These funds normally come from current use annual gifts but could also come from the quarterly distributions from designated endowment funds.
  • Endowment gifts are put into N-Accounts.  Endowment funds participate in the endowment investment pool in a manner similar to a mutual fund.  Each account has a pro-rata share of the endowment pool and will earn income based on the relative percentage of the market value of shares owned on each quarterly valuation date.  True endowments may not distribute any of the original principal of the gift to the program beneficiary.  The Campanile Foundation Board of Directors establishes on an annual basis a distribution rate for endowment income.  The rate for 2007-2008 is 4.35% of the three-year moving average of the market value.