University of Georgia Foundation’s Fall Meeting Held in Athens
Foundation announces spectacular investment results, excellent donor support and new initiatives that continue to enhance academics at the University of Georgia

For Immediate Release
ATHENS, Ga. (October 2, 2007) – The University of Georgia Foundation concluded its fall meeting in Athens over the weekend and announced several new developments that will further enhance its mission of supporting academics at the University of Georgia.
 
Responsible Stewardship of Funds Highlighted
The foundation’s investment committee announced that final, audited figures show it achieved a spectacular rate of return on investments of 20.4% for fiscal year ending June 30, 2007.  This helped the foundation continue to grow its total assets, which now sit at an all-time record of approximately $676 million.

University of Georgia Students Managing a Portfolio for the Foundation
Investment Committee Chair Joe Frierson announced to the board of trustees that the foundation received a gift of $100,000 for a new initiative called “SMIF” – the Student Managed Investment Fund administered by the Banking and Finance Department of the Terry College of Business.

Unlike hypothetical investment scenarios often created in classrooms, SMIF will allow a group of 15 University of Georgia students to invest and manage funds in a real life setting.  The program requires that the team provide the foundation with an annual report on results and offers a superb learning experience that helps prepare participants to work as investment professionals and to manage personal funds.

Donors continue to show extraordinary generosity
The University of Georgia Foundation continues to prove itself to be an avenue of choice for donors who wish to see their funds handled responsibly and effectively.  The foundation announced that it received approximately $28 million in new gifts and pledges in fiscal year 2007.

“It is truly gratifying to know that donors continue to place their trust in the University of Georgia Foundation,” said Chairman Bill Young, Jr.  “We regard it as a sacred responsibility to assure that their funds are managed in such a way that each gift yields the maximum benefit to help the University of Georgia fulfill its academic mission.”

University of Georgia Study Abroad Program achieves another milestone
The University of Georgia’s study abroad program got a major boost when the foundation purchased a new facility for the Oxford program last summer.  The foundation announced at its fall meeting that extensive renovations had been completed on schedule and in time for students to move in for the fall semester.  This development allowed the foundation to complete the sale of the smaller facility in which the Oxford study abroad program was originally housed.

Trustees’ endowment – makes first award to the university
The full-board approved a measure that established The Legacy Endowment of the University of Georgia Foundation Trustees as an annual giving program and reported that Trustees contributed more than $100,000 to the fund last fiscal year.  The fund is structured to allow the Trustees to make the decisions each year on programs to support within the university.

To that end, the board unanimously approved the first funding from the endowment in the form of a $5,000 award to the “Dean’s Promise Fund” in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

“I’m truly appreciative of my fellow trustees for supporting this effort,” said Young.  To know that our trustees voted to make it an annual commitment in addition to their other giving to the university, speaks to the quality of the people who are on this board and I couldn’t be more pleased with the results.”

About The University of Georgia Foundation:
The University of Georgia Foundation was founded in 1937 with the sole mission of enriching and enhancing academics at the University of Georgia.  It accomplishes its mission by accepting and managing a broad range of financial gifts offered by supporters. 

At present, the foundation administers approximately $676 million in total assets, approximately $600 million of which are donor restricted funds that pay for scholarships, professorships, endowed chairs and other academic enhancements including the prestigious Foundation Fellowship and Ramsey Honors Scholarship.  The foundation also provides funding in other areas with academic enhancement in mind, including endowed chairs, professorships and faculty salary supplements.

The foundation’s Investment Committee has proven to be a responsible steward of donor funds, having earned a rate of return in excess of 10% annually on foundation investments for more than a decade. This enviable track record betters the vast majority of foundations in the U.S. and also tops such benchmarks as the Dow-Jones Industrial Average and the S& P 500.