Who should I contact about making a gift? What is the difference between restricted and unrestricted gifts? I want my gift to go where the need is greatest. How is this done? What is the Annual Fund? What is the Huskie Telefund? How are alumni addresses kept current? What is NIU's Federal Employer Identification Number? What is the difference between endowed and expendable scholarships? What is an endowed fund? What is a "growing to endowed" fund? Why is there a Foundation? What role does the NIU Foundation play in fundraising for NIU? Does the NIU Foundation accept every gift that is offered by donors? Do matching gift companies match gifts to athletics?   What is the difference between restricted and unrestricted gifts? An unrestricted gift is one that is given to the university without any restrictions on its use. Unrestricted gifts enable the university to place the contributions where the most critical need exists. Restricted gifts, on the other hand, are earmarked by the donor for a specific college, department, program or purpose.     I want my gift to go where the need is greatest. How is this done? The NIU Foundation Board of Directors directs the use of unrestricted gifts based upon their direct knowledge of the university's priorities. Members of the Board of Directors are volunteers who serve in this leadership capacity to seek and manage funds to benefit NIU.     What is the Annual Fund? The Annual Fund is a comprehensive program for soliciting ongoing financial support for Northern's programs and students. The Annual Fund's Huskie Telefund and direct mail solicitations combine department, college, and other annual appeals into one simple and direct program that is more convenient and flexible for its donors.         What is the Huskie Telefund? The NIU Huskie Telefund is a fully-automated alumni outreach telephone system. The Annual Fund, through the Huskie Telefund, utilizes this outreach system to contact alumni, parents, and friends of Northern Illinois University. Current Northern students place these telephone calls for two important reasons. First, to establish a link between the university and the people it serves, and second, to gain support for the Annual Fund.     How are alumni addresses kept current? The Advancement Services offices within the NIU Foundation relies on a number of resources in order to maintain the most current addresses for all of Northern's constituents. Throughout the year, we receives about 12,000 address updates from mailing the alumni publication, Northern Now. Each year, we also receives approximately 45,000 address and telephone updates from the NIU Huskie Telefund. Colleges and departments often receive a change of address notification from their alumni and they pass those changes on to the Advancement Services office.   We also rely on alumni themselves to contact us regarding any change of address, telephone, employment or relational updates that need to be made on their record. This is the most reliable, accurate and preferred way to keep alumni information current.   We appreciate any and all information that will assist us in maintaining our constituent database, as it is the primary source for corresponding with Northern's alumni and friends.   What is NIU's Federal Employer Identification Number? NIU's Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) is 36-6086819. What is the difference between endowed and expendable scholarships? Endowed scholarships provide perpetual funds that are invested by the NIU Foundation. Every year, the designated scholarship recipient receives a portion of the interest earned on the endowed funds. The principal balance remains invested and is preserved in perpetuity. Expendable scholarships, on the other hand, last for only as long as the initial contribution does.     What is an endowed fund? An endowed fund is a sum of money that is invested in order to fund a particular project, such as a student scholarship. The initial investment, called the principal, is intended to continue forever, with the investment income from the principal providing perpetual funding. To endow a fund at Northern Illinois University, a donor must agree to provide a principal of $25,000 and sign guidelines indicating how the earnings on the principal will be used.     What is a "growing to endowed" fund? Endowed funds need an initial contribution of $25,000 before they can begin providing funding for a scholarship or other university need. Donors can begin investing towards the initial $25,000 principal by beginning a "growing to endowed" fund. Such a fund can be established for as little as $3000 to $5000. To establish a fund, donors need to sign an intent to fund agreement which indicates the endowments purpose and a schedule of intended payments towards the $25,000 goal.     Why is there a Foundation? Most public universities are organized with an affiliated Foundation. This helps to ensure that funding to the university from the state is not negatively affected by donor gifts. The Foundation is led by a volunteer Board of Directors who are responsible for ensuring gifts are used as donors have directed.     What role does the NIU Foundation play in fundraising for NIU? The Foundation plays a prominent role in raising funds from private (non-governmental) sources and in managing the money raised. Its volunteer leadership lends advocacy and professional expertise and utilizes contacts to drive direct fundraising involvement. It also facilitates the effective stewardship (thanking) of donors. The private fundraising by the Foundation allows for greater flexibility in expenditures since it is separated from public (state) funding that is very restricted as to use. This flexibility enables Northern to seize opportunities to support the university that might otherwise be lost.     Does the NIU Foundation accept every gift that is offered by donors? The NIU Foundation accepts most, but not all, gifts that are offered by donors. Cash gifts, and gifts which are readily or eventually convertible to cash (stocks, bonds, insurance policies, annuity contracts, etc.), are the most easily accepted. Gifts of real property (land, buildings, etc.) and tangible personal property (artwork, jewelry, historical artifacts, etc.) are accepted on a case-by-case basis after a thorough review of such factors as: fair market value, existence of restrictions, reservations, easements, other limitations, marketability of the property, clear title, location, environmental assessment, costs to NIU associated with ownership, and the likelihood of use for NIU's exempt purposes and educational mission. Specific policies, guidelines and procedures have bee adopted by the Foundation to uniformly regulate the review and acceptance of such gifts.     Do matching gift companies match gifts to athletics? A number of matching gift companies match gifts regardless of donor designation. However, there are some companies that will only match a gift to athletics if the gift is designated for an athletic scholarship fund. In some instances, there are companies that will match a donor's gift to athletics, but NIU must use the companies' matching funds for non-athletic purposes. There are also some companies that will not match a gift designated for any type of athletic fund.