304 Endowment Management and Gift Agreement

5%

Status

In Process [In Process]

5% complete, updated on Thu 7/10/25 12:20 PM by Julie Force

Summary 

Project activity was light over the past week. Behind-the-scenes efforts continue to move the contracting process toward completion. Meanwhile, planning for both the project kickoff and implementation phases is steadily progressing. 

Activity This Period  

  • Planning for the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) meeting with key subject matter experts.  
  • Project Kick-off planning.  
  • UPL Contracting meeting held and next steps identified.  
  • Vendor SOW – requested. 

Activity Next Period  

  • Advance contracting activities.  
  • ​​​​​​​Kick-off meeting on 7/17/25. 
  • Preparations for the work breakdown structure meeting.   

   Milestones 

The Phase 2 Milestones are in development and are anticipated in late July 2025. The milestones listed have not been agreed upon by the team. They should be considered as placeholders.  

Estimated Timeline 

Actual  

Due 

Project kick-off 

 

6/13/2025 

Contracting Complete   

 

07/15/2025 

Current State Mapping 

 

06/30/2025 

Implementation Planning 

 

07/31/2025 

Wireframe Reports 

 

8/28/2025 

Gift agreement RFP Complete 

 

11/03/2025 

Gift Agreement Solution implemented 

 

2/ 19/2026 

Donor Financial Report Developed 

 

05/30/2026 

Donor Financial Report First Run 

 

06/30/2026 

Transition to Operations Complete 

 

09/30/2026 

Sunset L2104 

 

11/30/2026 

Close  

 

 

11/30/2026 

 

  

 

  

Cause Mitigation (active) 

N/A 

Issues (active) 

N/A 

Risks (active) 

N/A 

Current Spend 

N/A 

Details

Dates
Mon 7/15/24 - Mon 11/30/26
Acct/Dept
VICE PRESIDENT UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT | 10069864
Type
General / Enterprise Project
Health
Green - On track
Portfolio(s)
Created
Mon 7/15/24 2:28 PM
Modified
Thu 7/10/25 12:20 PM

1. Details

Project Requestor
Who submitted the request for this project?
Justification
A description of why the project is necessary, the benefits that will be realized and any risks if the project is not completed. This should include any measurable long-term effects, as well as the magnitude and extent of the project.
Increase overall spending rate to its intended size. Approximately 3.5% is spent instead of the board approved 4.4%. This would add approximately $36-$56 million to the University’s budget.​
Reduce the cycle time of gift and endowed agreements, which can take weeks-to-months due to extensive routing processes currently.
Increase the size of endowment gifts by 1.5x to 2.5x times the current average endowment gift. Increase the amount raised in the endowment from ~$70 million annually to ~$140 million annually.
Strategic Plan Pillars
The 2030 Strategic Plan pillars does this project aligns with. https://strategicplan.msu.edu/strategic-plan
Student Success
Stewardship and Sustainability
Strategic Plan Alignment
How this project aligns with the 2030 Strategic Plan. https://strategicplan.msu.edu/strategic-plan
Student Success also Stewardship and Sustainability
Urgent or Critical Nature
A description of how failure to complete the project in a timely manner would expose MSU to increased risk, loss of productivity, out of compliance or loss of revenue. If this project is not urgent or of a critical nature, enter N/A.
Loss of opportunity for increased overall spending rate of endowments to its intended size. Loss of opportunity for reduced cycle time of gift and endowed agreements. Loss of opportunity for increasing the size of endowment gifts.
Urgency of Request
Project Manager Needed Immediately
Progress to Date
Any work or initiatives that have been explored prior to this request.
High level scope is defined, benefits are defined. The cost of the implementation has been estimated. No costs are associated with the RFP portion of the program.
Anticipated Project Duration
1 Year to Less Than 2 Years
Complexity
If this project requires process re-engineering, organizational change management or other complex enterprise initiatives, please describe.
Higher level of complexity - A change to new technology and enterprise organizational change of business processes.
Identified Risks
Are there risks if this project is not completed? Financial impacts, compliance, reputational or operational risks?
Implementation of new business processes around endowments
Relative Size
Large

2. Funding

Funding Organization
The organization is primarily responsible for funding this project.
MSU IT OFFICE OF THE ACIO | 40000401
Estimated Total Cost of Ownership
An estimation of the total of all project-related costs, both one-time and ongoing, including FTE dedication to support and operational/maintenance costs over a 5-year period.
$100,001 - $500,000
Funding Secured
Specify if funding has been approved for the project. If there is no associated cost for the project, enter N/A.
Yes
Funding Fiscal Year
The fiscal year the funding has been approved for. If there is no associated cost for the project or funding has not been approved yet, enter N/A.
N/A

3. Resources

Technical Sponsor
The technical sponsor/lead for the project.
Functional Lead
Identify the person from your department who will serve as the dedicated functional lead on this project.
Functional Users
List the functional users who are available to support this project and will be part of the project team.
Katherine Daugherty, Lane Adams, Beth Moore
Other Associated Organizations
Do you have buy-in from key leaders and the wider organization?
Finance

4. Approvals

Governance Review
05/19/2025

Description

Work across units at MSU to publish an RFP for endowment management and gift agreement software to replace the current software (L2104)​. This entails defining requirements, publication of the RFP, evaluating responses, selection, and contracting.
The expected outcomes of implementing the selected software include: reduced gap between reported performance and actual investment performance; implement a beginning of period unitization methodology​; reinvest earnings until a fund reaches endowment threshold​; centralize endowed donor financial reports​; and implement restriction “caps” on endowed fund agreements

Manager

JF
Julie Force

Alternate Manager(s)

RM
Roushell Mignott-Nesbitt

Sponsor

KT
Kim Tobin

Stakeholders (10)

BF
Beth Forbes
Consulted
Investment Office
Fri 8/16/24 8:26 AM
JN
Justin Norris
Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed
Is a contracted executive on this project. Designed the Endowment Management and Gift Acceptance program.
Tue 8/20/24 1:10 PM
KT
Kim Tobin
Responsible
Sponsor
Fri 8/16/24 8:03 AM
LF
Lisa Frace
Consulted, Informed
Cp-Sponsor
Thu 9/5/24 1:46 PM
LG
Lisa Garvey
Responsible, Consulted
Business Analyst
Tue 8/20/24 1:10 PM
MU
Matthew Uebel
Informed
Procurement & Payment Services
Fri 8/16/24 9:09 AM
RC
Richard Czarnecki
Consulted, Informed
Co-Sponsor
Thu 9/5/24 1:47 PM
RR
Rosemary Ridsdale
Responsible
Business Owner
Wed 7/17/24 1:58 PM
RM
Roushell Mignott-Nesbitt
Consulted, Informed
Alternate PM
Wed 7/17/24 1:58 PM
SK
Sara Kiszka
Informed
Core
Fri 9/6/24 10:18 AM