Summer Small Shop Roundtable-Presentation

Presentation

Pdf Summary

The June 2026 Virginia Higher Education Foundations CFO and CEO survey summarizes accounting, finance, governance, and fee practices across 13 university foundations and 72 Virginia institutions overall.<br /><br />Among the 13 foundation CFO respondents, month-end close times ranged from 7 business days to about 5 weeks, with investment data and alternatives causing the biggest delays. Most foundations use actuals rather than estimates, though many true up at year-end. Accounts payable maturity varies widely, from cutting checks manually to adopting tools like Ramp, SAP Cloud ERP, and Blackbaud automation. Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT and MIP are the most common accounting systems, and all foundations operate their systems separately from their universities.<br /><br />Endowment administration fees cluster near 1%, ranging from 0.8% to 1.92%. Current-use gift fees vary much more, from none to 5–7%. Fees generally support foundation operations but rarely cover the full cost of advancement. Boards review fees annually, and donor sensitivity is the main concern.<br /><br />On donor and charitable contribution issues, endowment restriction removals are rare and handled case by case. Gifts of precious metals are usually accepted and quickly liquidated. Foundations generally avoid using funds for donor athletic travel beyond limited ticket expenses.<br /><br />On risk, systems, and AI, most foundations lack internal audit functions, though some are outsourcing them. ERP modernization is underway at several organizations. Only one foundation has a formal AI policy, but AI is already being used for email, summaries, policy drafts, analysis, and invoice capture.<br /><br />Service provider RFPs are uneven, with investment and audit services most often governed by policy. Common vendors include Brown Edwards, PBMares, Cherry Bekaert, Grant Thornton, CornerStone Partners, Hirtle Callahan, RCM&D, and Indaco.<br /><br />Key takeaways: members want continued annual meetings, technology adoption is accelerating faster than formal policy, and the group has a strong shared vendor ecosystem and willingness to benchmark and share practices.

Keywords

Virginia higher education foundations

CFO survey

CEO survey

accounting practices

finance governance

endowment fees

Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT

ERP modernization

AI policy

vendor benchmarking