Page last reviewed on 12/3/2024. Pages are reviewed annually.
Planned or estate gifts are always endowed. Impact reporting should be shared with donors who give $10,000 or more to an endowed fund (and any other designated stewardees, such as next of kin or those added by special request).
Endowed funds are stewarded for as long as there are living stewardees to reach out to.
| ACTIVITY | OWNER | TIMING & DETAILS |
| Gift Receipt | Planned Giving | Receipts for planned or estate gifts are sent by the Planned Giving team rather than Gift Services. |
| Gift Acknowledgments | CAS Advancement Services & Administering Unit |
Issued when the commitment is made and/or gifts and payments are received. Acknowledgments are sent weekly on behalf of the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, if appropriate. Departments and centers should reach out to their Major Gift Officer or CAS Advancement Services before acknowledging an estate gift to clarify what stewardship actions should take place, and who stewardship should be directed to. |
| Henry Suzzallo Society (HSS) Membership | Planned Giving | Alumni and friends who have made a planned gift to the UW become members of the Henry Suzzallo Society (HSS), named after the University's 16th president. New members are welcomed with a welcome letter and HSS certificate signed by the UW President and UW Foundation Chair. Members are invited to the University's annual HSS event, receive an annual newsletter, and are listed in the Report to Contributors, unless they wish to remain anonymous. |
| Quarterly Stewardship Email | CAS Advancement Services |
Each quarter, donors to the College of Arts & Sciences receive an electronic newsletter with stories from the College and opportunities to engage further through events. This audience includes donors from the last 18 months as well as members of the Henry Suzzallo Society (HSS). |
| Department Newsletters | Administering Unit | Sent by most departments at least annually (and up to quarterly) with assistance from the Digital Production Team. This is a perfect vehicle for communicating broad-based stewardship and stories of impact to a wide audience of donors, alumni and others, as well as for alerting constituents to upcoming events and opportunities to engage. |
| Annual Planned Giving Gratitude Card | CAS Advancement Services | Each November, the CAS Advancement Services team sends a card to donors who've made planned giving commitments to benefit the College to express our gratitude. |
| Investment Celebration Email | Central EDS |
Sent the month after a new endowment is invested. CAS Advancement Services works with the Office of Planned Giving to make sure all appropriate stewardees are sent this notification, which includes:
(Only applies when new endowments are created.) |
| Endowment Welcome Packet | CAS Advancement Services |
Sent to Major Gift Officers to share with the donor and any additional stewardees after the new endowment investment celebration letter is sent out, this welcome packet confirms the investment date, reminds donor when the fund will begin to distribute to the unit, lets them know what stewardship they can expect (and when) moving forward, and reaffirms their best contact should any questions arise. If additional stewardship is planned, it is a good idea to include note of that in this communication so it feels complete to the donor. (Only applies when new endowments are created.) |
| Distribution Celebration | Major Gift Officer or Administering Unit | In the quarter that a new endowment begins to distribute funds to the benefitting unit, the CAS Advancement Services team will reach out to the appropriate Major Gift Officer so that they can celebrate this milestone with the donor. This is an ideal time to let the donor know when the unit plans to begin putting the distributions to use, and when the donor can expect more information about the impact the fund is making. (Only applies when new endowments are created.) |
| Consolidated Endowment Fund (CEF) Report | University Advancement | Published each year in November, the annual CEF Report provides information on the University's endowments including investment performance and distributions in the previous fiscal year. (For example, the report received in November 2024 will cover financial reporting for endowments in FY23. Depending on when it invested, a new endowment may not yet have financial information to report in the CEF report.) |
| Annual Report to Contributors | University Advancement | Published each year in November, the annual Report to Contributors contains a snapshot of the impact philanthropy has on the University of Washington and those we serve. |
| Annual Stewardship Communication | Administering Unit | If there is a living stewardee to engage (often an estate contact or next of kin), the administering unit should send annual stewardship appropriate for the type of support. (I.e. - student support, faculty support, or program support.) |
| Endowment Step-Up Celebration | Major Gift Officer or Administering Unit | In the event that an existing endowed fund reaches a level of support that triggers it to step up to a new type of fund, the CAS Advancement Services team will alert the major gift officer. This is a great moment to reach out to any stewardees of that fund to celebrate! |