Westmont Magazine Financial Facts for FY '97
During the 1997 fiscal year (July 1, 1996–June 30, 1997), Westmont kept well within its budget of $30.7 million and increased its net assets by $5.3 million.
Revenue sources
As the chart and figures on page 15 show, nearly half of the college’s total income came from tuition and fees. As a young institution still building its campus and endowment, the college continues to rely primarily on tuition. Endowed funds currently yield only a small amount of revenue for academic programs and scholarships. As the college adds to its endowment, investment income will fund an increasing number of programs on campus.
The second largest category of income, auxiliary enterprises, includes payments for room and board, college store sales, and fees received from summer conferences. Gifts also provided important revenue (see the section on giving below).
“Other” income represents unrealized gains and losses on investments ($1,748,501) as well as the change in the value of actuarial obligations ($105,979).
Expenditures
Funding Westmont’s entire educational program represented the greatest expenditure. The cost of operating the residence halls, dining commons, and college store accounted for the next largest amount (25.1 percent for auxiliary enterprises). The category “other” includes interest on indebtedness ($494,463) and depreciation and amortization ($1,553,592).
The college actually designated much more to financial aid than shows under “Expenses FY ’97” on page 15. In all, students received about $7.9 million. Westmont provided $7 million of this amount in the form of institutional grants and scholarships.
Giving is growing
Gifts to The Westmont Fund increased 40 percent during the 1997 fiscal year, with the greatest growth occurring in contributions from foundations (up 260 percent), corporations (up 148 percent), and alumni (up 130 percent). The Westmont Fund provides support for ongoing programs such as student scholarships, faculty compensation, and campus maintenance.
Currently, alums donate 40 percent of the gift income. However, the percentage of alumni who give annually continues to fall considerably below the national average. According to the Council for Aid to Education, 21 percent of alumni at colleges and universities nationwide support their alma maters, with 27 percent of those from private colleges making donations. During the 1997 fiscal year, only 17 percent of Westmont alumni contributed to the college. Increasing alumni giving remains an ongoing and important challenge. See page 23 for a list of alumni donors by class.
A more aggressive effort to seek support from corporations and foundations produced increases in both those categories. See page 36 for a list of foundation gifts. “Other” includes religious organizations ($15,875) and funding consortia such as the Independent Colleges of Southern California ($118,890).
Westmont’s growing assets
During the 1997 fiscal year, Westmont’s net assets grew by $5,260,161. Most of this growth occurred in endowed funds (such as scholarships) and the Student Loan Fund that provides interest-free loans to graduates of California high schools. The net investment in facilities on campus also increased more than $750,000 after depreciation.