your investment in the university of rhode island’s future

this report was prepared by the uri foundation to provide an overview of the investment

performance and impact of uri’s endowment.

endowment report june 2015

The URI Foundation, on behalf of the University of Rhode Island,

secures and encourages charitable giving to the

University, including those gifts from our alumni,

parents, corporations and foundations, and friends

that are intended as endowment gifts. These gifts,

which are invested as part of the University’s overall

endowment, help ensure a legacy of support for

URI students, faculty, and programs in perpetuity.

This report has been prepared primarily to share

investment performance information related to the

University’s overall endowment portfolio. Our donors

and fund stewards are our partners in progress and

we are pleased to share this report with them.

The primary objective of the endowment is to support the long-term needs of the University

by maintaining a strong and healthy endowment and

by growing the inflation-adjusted value of the assets

over time by investing a portion of the endowment’s

earning and appreciation back into the fund each year.

This principal growth is intended to help offset the

negative implications of rising inflation and dips in the

business cycle over time. The University’s endowment

provides long-term stability and support and helps offset

variations in state appropriations supporting URI.

Gifts to URI by Typen endowment: 42.6%n direct/expendable: 57.4%

1,075 795 17endowed funds

endowed scholarships

new funds created in fy2014

as of 12/31/14

URI’s Endowment Value in Millions:

State Support of URI’s Overall Budget

1999 23% E 2015 8%

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ E$$$$$$$$$114.3

Endowed Funds by General Purpose based on total number of funds

74.5% scholarships 20.4% academic/program support 2.6% other 1.5% chairs and professorships 1.0% buildings and equipment

Annual Endowment PayoutThe following graph represents the total amount of

endowment-generated funds distributed to URI each

year, based on the Foundation’s spending policy,

for use over the five-year period shown.

$4.0

$3.0

$2.0

$1.0

$02012 2013 2014 2015 2016

3.02.7 2.9

in millions

3.4 3.7

the endowment by the numbers…

Asset Allocation

25.9% Us Equity 24.5% Marketable Alternatives 14% Global ex-Us Equity 14.9% Deflation Hedging 10.1% Emerging Markets

Equity 8.6% Inflation Hedging 1.8% Cash and Equivalent 0.2% Private Investment

december 2014

Annual Distribution of Earnings: The payout from the

investment of the endowment portfolio to the University varies

each year, based on both endowment value and the spending

policy, adopted by the URI Foundation Executive Board, for

that given year. For use in the upcoming academic year,

2015/2016, $3.7 million will be distributed to support donor

specified purposes, including undergraduate and graduate

student support; faculty support and professorships; program

support, including those relating to experiential learning

opportunities; and, vital capital project support.

Named Endowment Fund Opportunties: Endowments are a meaningful way

to create a permanent legacy and to ensure that your long-

term philanthropic goals will be fulfilled. A new fund can

be established and named with a $25,000 gift and will pay

out to support its designated purpose once fully funded

(typically required within 5 years). Donors may also choose

to support an already-existing endowment that aligns with

their goals and wishes with no minimum gift requirements.

Development professionals at the URI Foundation are

available to help determine the best choice for you.

34.5% alumni 32.3% corporations/

foundations21.4% friends11.8% other

Who Gave to the University

A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A

URI Students Receiving Financial Aid: 75%

The University endowment is made up of a pool of over 1,000 individual endowment funds, each established

through the generosity of donors. Each fund is

established with a donor-specified purpose at the

time it is created, and each has been prudently

invested in order to preserve its principal value

over time, while generating earnings used to

make a meaningful impact for this and future

generations of students. The portion of funds

generated from the investment of the entire

pool of endowed funds and contributed to the

University each year is a very important piece

of the overall impact of charitable giving at URI.

Last year (FY 2014), a combined $11.5 million

in endowment earnings and expendable gifts

(non-endowed gifts received) was made available

to support the students, faculty and programs

at URI. Additional gifts of $6 million directed to

further enhance the University’s endowment,

were also raised in FY 2014.

alumni, friends and parents supported uri

last year with gifts, including those supporting the endowment

12,290

The Investment of URI’s EndowmentPerformance: The portfolio’s performance is calculated on a total return basis, which, for purposes of this report, represents the combination of income, dividends, and gains and losses for the time period reported, net of investment management fees and distributions. The value of the portfolio, which includes all individual endowed funds, was $114.3 million as of December 31, 2014.

URIF Spending Policy: The URI Foundation Executive Board voted to increase the spending rate for the academic year to 4.8 percent — up from 4.7 percent last year. This rate contains both the University distribution and the Foundation’s management fee. For the upcoming year, the distribution to the University will equal 3.5 percent of the rolling prior twelve-quarter average market value on the designated calculation date (December 31), up from 3.4 percent last year, and 3.1 the prior year. The management fee has been set at 1.3 percent, matching last year’s rate, which had been lowered from the prior year’s 1.4 percent, as the Executive Board moves toward a more impact-centric balance in the breakdown of the overall spending rate.

As is customary with many universities across the country, a one-time gift fee is deducted from all donations to provide essential support to the University’s overall development activities.urifoundation.org

A complete listing of endowed funds can be found on the URI Foundation website at www.urifoundation.org/endowmentfunds.

If you have any questions about your fund or the endowment in general, please contact Adam Quinlan,

Chief Financial Officer, at 401.874.4490 or aquinlan@uri.edu.

79 upper college road, kingston, ri 02881 (401) 874-7900 | foundation@uri.edu

ConclusionThe benefits of endowment gifts are felt far and wide

across our campuses, with every dollar helping to

support the things that distinguish URI from its peers:

its students, faculty and programs. These investments

help shape URI’s character and its future, while

contributing to its competitiveness on the local, state,

national and international levels. The generosity of the

University of Rhode Island’s many endowment donors

is deeply appreciated. On behalf of the entire university

community, we extend to those donors, our heartfelt

and most sincere thanks.

Annualized Return on InvestmentThe annualized return on the University’s endowment

portfolio, as of June 30, 2014, was 14.9%. The annualized

returns for the past five years, using the June 30 point-

in-time date for comparison, are as shown below.

13.7%

22.1%

11.3%

14.9%

-3.3%

2010

2011

2013

2014

2012

increase/decrease as of june 30