March 3, 2009
Fundraising office cutbacks affect 86 positions
Employment cutbacks in the University of Washington’s office of University Advancement, triggered by declines in the stock market, will affect 86 positions.
The cutbacks were necessitated by declines in the value of the UW’s Consolidated Endowment Fund, which has lost about 25 percent of its value in the past year. The fund is the major source of financial support for University Advancement, which houses the UW fundraising operations and support functions, as well as its alumni relations activities.
The unit will lose 70 permanent positions, effective May 1, of which 34 are currently occupied and the other 36 are vacant. In addition, another 16 full-time positions will be reduced to part-time.
“Sadly, this is the first wave of layoffs in the current economic climate that the university faces, but it is not likely to be the last,” says UW President Mark Emmert. “These cuts occurred because of losses in the stock market. A lot of good, talented people are being forced from their jobs as a result. When the state legislature adopts its budget for the coming two years, we are anticipating budget cuts that would result in much larger numbers of people losing their jobs here.”
The University has estimated that 600 to 800 state-funded positions would be lost under proposed budgets before the legislature.
Employees were notified of the changes today (March 2), which affect roughly 20 percent of the unit’s staff. The cuts will save about $6 million out of the unit’s $30 million annual budget.
Those being laid off are generally not involved directly in fundraising. They include communicators, support personnel, and those involved in data and gift processing. The cutbacks mean that reports on fundraising activity will not be produced as promptly, processing of gifts will take longer, and the general level of development services and activities will be reduced. It is impossible to predict the effect this will have on overall fundraising.
University Advancement is financed in part by a 0.8 percent allocation from the Consolidated Endowment Fund. Endowment funds are invested for the long term to achieve stable returns to academic units and student scholarship funds, the primary beneficiaries. This is the first time in UW history that the declining value of the endowment fund has led to staff layoffs.
