As is customary with universities and other non-profit organizations, a gift assessment is applied to select current use gifts upon their receipt, providing essential support to the University of Washington’s advancement efforts and institutional priorities. The assessment is 5 percent and applies only to contributions over $1,000 and under $5 million.
Since 1990, endowed gifts are assessed an annual fee of 1 percent of a five-year rolling average, which supports the UW’s advancement efforts and offsets internal investment management costs.
FAQ’s
I’m finding it difficult to understand the assessments being charged to my fund; the 5% rule doesn’t seem to hold true.
The assessment is based on current use, cumulative gifts between $1,000 and $5,000,000 by a donor within a fiscal year. The first $1,000 donated is not assessed the fee, which may cause some confusion. For example, a $20,000 gift is not assessed a straight 5% fee of $1,000. The system processes it as ($20,000-$1,000) x 5% = $950.
In the case of a payroll deduction pledge, the first $1,000 in donations in a given fiscal year would not be assessed. Each subsequent payment after $1,000 will be assessed.
How can I tell which gift a particular JV applies to?
The number in Ref 3 is the Advance Receipt number, which ties the transaction to a specific gift. Using tab 3 of this report will allow you to select a school or an allocation, and will then list the gifts that have been assessed so far.