staff routinely check all campus fire extinguishers and alarm systems for proper
functioning .
100
— ■^WWrK^
Appraisal and Projection
In the past, crisis management and deferred maintenance for physical
facilities tended to be the mode of operation, as other needs were determined to
have priority for the College's scarce fiscal resources. The fire in 1983 and
new management of the Development Office prompted a re -examination of COA
priorities. The Board of Trustees determined that the time had come to develop a
comprehensive Master Plan to improve existing facilities, build needed new
facilities, and provide for the up-keep of the campus, as the description above
outlines .
During the past several years, improvements have been made to all existing
buildings. Extensive landscaping improvements have also taken place. A matching
grant of $30,000 for the Turrets from the Maine Historic Preservation Commission,
to be matched by an equal amount, has allowed much-needed repairs to be
undertaken on the exterior of that building. A list of the physical improvements
made over the last three years follows:
1985
Renovation and expansion of the Carriage House to a Science/Studio
Complex containing:
Four science laboratories, two classrooms, a darkroom, two
art/design studios, a writing clinic, nine faculty office spaces,
two greenhouses, and a taxidermy laboratory, totaling an addition
of 15,000 square feet.
Renovation of the Student Greenhouse to a Pottery
Studio.
New Buildings and Grounds facility.
Improved campus -wide storm drainage system.
1986
Development of a Japanese garden at the Pottery Studio (a student
project).
New roof for Turrets dormitory.
Extensive landscaping at Sea Fox and Turrets.
New furnishings for student housing.
102
1987
Renovation and addition of two bathrooms at Seafox
and Turrets.
Renovation of Turrets exterior, including outside pointwork on granite
and the rebuilding of basement stairs (in progress).
A recent review of the workload of the Director of the Buildings and Grounds
by the Personnel Committee confirmed that the department was woefully
understaffed. The Self- Evaluation done by the Director (TW) outlined his
recommendations for future changes in the organizational structure of the
department, including some future additional staff positions. The Personnel
Committee agreed to continue its review of these recommendations in the next
year. In the meantime, they recommended appropriation of funds for additional
temporary positions. These recommendations were accepted by AQ-I and
subsequently submitted to the President. The President included monies for these
additional positions in his recommendations and report to the Trustees at the I-Iay
29 meeting of the Executive Committee of the Board. The Trustees approved the
report, and the additional positions will be filled in the 1987/88 fiscal year.
The existing academic buildings have been greatly improved in the last year.
New furniture, better quality laboratory equipment, and acoustical and lighting
improvements have all contributed to an improved classroom environment.
Improvements to student housing, the pottery studio, and the greenhouses have
also been made. The minutes of the Canpus Planning and Building Committee provide
a more detailed discussion of these improvements (TW) .
The most pressing problem facing the Committee at the present time is one of
insufficient office space for faculty. With growing enrollment necessitating
additional faculty hirings, this problem has become severe. Already- crowded
conditions are on the brink of becoming stressful. Although plans exist for
future faculty office space in the Turrets dormitory after more student housing
is built, the need is inmediate and cannot be delayed that long. The CPB is
exploring the possibility of adding a second floor over the existing auditorium,
which would provide seminar and faculty office space. This study is expected to
be completed in the fall of 1987.
Student housing is fast becoming another problem. Growing enrollment and an
increased interest in living on campus have put a strain on existing housing.
103
Plans will be developed by the Conmittee aver the next academic year to add fifty
beds to the housing roster.
Although the College has made major ijnprovements in the condition of its
physical plant, there is still much to do. Space utilization studies of
classroom, office, and housing spaces done in the winter of 1987 (TW) have given
the Committee important information to use in assessing future directions and
growth. Priorities identified thus far have been endorsed by the All College
Meeting and forwarded to the President for consideration by the Board of
Trustees. The Development Office, in txim, will work with the President and the
Trustee Development Committee to determine how these priorities fit within the
economic realities of the College's financial position and the Phoenix Fund
Campaign.
104
FINANCIAL RESOURCES
Description
Since the self -study of 1984, we have continued our efforts to operate more
efficiently while maintaining close control of our financial resources. The
Chairs of the Board of Trustees and of the Finance Coimiittee of the Board have
become significantly more active in monitoring the current budget and projecting
future budgets.
Detailed budgets are prepared in the fall by faculty and administrators.
Faculty budgets are reviewed by the Provost, administrative budgets by the
Business Manager. The entire budget is coordinated by the President, the
Chairman of the Board, The Chairs of the Finance Committee, and the Treasurer of
the Board, with recommendations for action made by the full Board at the sunmer
meeting.
Long-range budgets are prepared using estimates of expected enrollment,
tuition increases, fluctuations in personnel, and cost-of-living increases. The
Board has a five-year projection, a detailed current year plus detailed second
year, and a general projection for the following three years available at all
times . In monitoring current year activities , an independently audited financial
statement of the year inmediately preceding is reported for comparison. The
audited financial statement is available to any interested party by request to
the Business Manager.
The complete computerization of the College's Business Office has now been
accomplished. This computerization has resulted in much better control over
monthly expenditures. Monthly statements listing expenditures to date by month
and year, as well as encumbered expenditures and accounts payable, are provided
to all individuals who have responsibility for budget centers. An effective
purchase order system has been put in place. All of these measures have been
designed to give accvirate and timely management information to those individuals
who plan the short-term and long-term financial affairs of the College.
This improved financial management information has enabled the Business
Manager and the Treasurer to hold meetings, usually weekly, to review the
College's current situation. Results of these meetings are reported to the
105
President regularly. Additionally, the Business Manager meets quarterly with
the Finance Committee of the Board and is in telephone contact with the Chair of
that committee as necessary.
The overall orchestration for all fundraising efforts, including the capital
campaign, the Phoenix Fund, and Annual Giving, is under the direction of the
President and the Vice President for Development and Public Affairs. They in
turn work in close association with the Trustees' Development Committee, which
includes the Phoenix Fund Committee.
The successful management of solicitations, proposal drafting, promotion
efforts, and design of materials depends greatly upon the capability of the
Development Office professional staff. Currently this staff consists of the Vice
President, the Assistant Director for Development, and the Executive Secretary
for the Vice President. When necessary, assistance for promotion and special
events is provided by the Assistant Director for Public Affairs.
Since the July, 1983 fire, the Board of Trustees also has played a more
active role in the development and management of the College's financial
resources, in close coordination with the Chairman of the Board, the President,
Treasurer, Business Manager, and the Development Office.
Appraisal
While the computerization of the Business Office has resulted in far better
fiscal controls , it has been a matter of considerable concern that only one
individual in the office is completely familiar with the operation of the
computer system. When that individual is away from the office, reports from the
system cannot be published and some information cannot be obtained. A second
terminal for the system has been added. Over the next few months each individual
in the office will be required to become familiar with the system and capable of
operating it.
Cash flow continues to be a significant problem but is being systematically
addressed in three ways:
(1) The Board of Trustees, under the leadership of the Chairman, has made a
balanced budget at the end of each fiscal year its hi^est priority.
(2) There has been a conscious attempt to strengthen the sunnier programs
(a) so that their income can provide operating funds for the physical
106
plant during the months school is not in session and (b) to provida
additional cash flow during the first two months of the fiscal year.
(3) Increased enrollment goals have been set that will provide a more even
flow of funds .
The Board of Trustees is a group of unusually distinguished individuals with
wide and varied experience. (Biographical information on the Trustees is
included in the Appendix.) It consists of 30 members who give, and have steadily
given, generously of their time and resources .
Policy for managing all funds and investments is established by the Board's
Finance Committee, and is subject to the approval of the full Board. Actual
investments are made by the Bar Harbor Banking and Trust Company, which relies on
the advice of Wright Investors of Connecticut, and by the First National Bank of
Bar Harbor, which uses the advisors of Provident National Bank of Philadelphia.
Current policy is to maximize income, with assets held either in bonds or
Treasury Bills . All endowment funds have collectively earned an average 7 . 1%
this fiscal year. COA has divested from all holdings in the stock market
including all companies doing business in South Africa.
As noted above, the Board of Trustees has a policy of budgeting to break
even. For the last year, 1985-86, the audited figures show a modest surplus of
$13,710. The approved budget for 1986-87 is at break-even with a contingency of
$50,000 to cover shortfalls in revenue or overruns in expenses. The information
contained in this study reflects the College's current fundraising policy and
long-term financial planning for the future.
Although a serious setback initially, the fire has given COA the opportunity
to design a campus tailored to its needs. A campvis -wide rebuilding effort is now
underway througih a $6 million capital campaign, the Phoenix Fund. Stage I of
this rebuilding program, a handsome new 15,000-square-foot building containing
science laboratories, art and design studios, greenhouses, and faculty offices,
was completed in September, 1985. A substantial portion of the funds for this
new facility was provided by a $400,000 grant from the Pew Memorial Trust.
As of May 30 of this year, the College had raised over $2.8 million in gifts
and pledges from Trustees, alumni, foundations, and other friends toward the
overall Phoenix Fund goal. Of this total $1.5 million has been expended for
Stage I, including a central system of utilities serving all buildings, as well
as campus planning and improvements, and campaign expenses. Of the $1.3 million
107
remaining In the Phoenix Fund, $0.33 million is restricted for Stage III,
construction of the Gates Auditorium.
Stage II of the rebuilding program, the new Kaelber Hall, calls for
construction of a three-level, 20, 000 -square -foot building of which the entire
top floor will be devoted to the new 10, 000 -square -foot Thomdike Library, with a
capacity of 50,000 volumes- -nearly three times the capacity of the former
facility. This building will be adjacent to the new laboratory/studio facility
on the site of the original Kaelber Hall. Like its predecessor, it will have a
commanding view of Frenchman Bay and the Porcupine Islands.
The projected annual operating and maintenance costs of the Kaelber
Hall/Thomdike Library complex, upon completion, are estimated at $50,600. The
current, temporary library building costs the College an average of $9,325 per
year for rent, heat, utilities, supplies, and maintenance. Therefore, the net
annual increase in operating and maintenance expense generated by the completed
building is estimated at $41,275. This expense will be covered by: a) Income
from endowment, raised specifically by the Phoenix Fund, to provide for the
maintenance of buildings constructed through the current campaign and by b)
Increased tuition income derived from increased enrollment and from a tuition
increase based on the availability of new academic facilities and student
services .
Projection
The medium through which the College will achieve the new Kaelber Hall
building, as well as long-term financial stability, including additional capital
and endowment fijnds, is a far-reaching capital campaign that has been created to
challenge the generosity of its alumni and friends, old and new, as well as new
sources of corporate and foundation sv5)port. This campaign, the Phoenix Fund,
was formally initiated in November, 1983. It is designed to go hand in hand with
both a strong and continuing Annual Giving campaign and an intensified promotion
effort designed to increase the College's visibility and enrollment. An
inqjortant objective of this long-range program is to identify new sources of
annual giving and capital svtpport for specific programs or projects, thus
broadening the base of donor support. The Phoenix Fund is viewed as the
beginning of a continuing development effort, although the immediate goal is to
108
achieve a minimum of six million dollars. Nationwide in scope, the campaign will
reach donors and resources heretofore untapped for (X)A support.
Within days of the fire of July 25 , 1983 , letters bearing checks and pledges
began arriving at the College. Inspiring and encouraging as this support was, it
presented a problem for the long-term success of a formal campaign. Before a
fundraising strategy and campaign master plan could be organized, concerned
friends and even strangers responded with gifts that, however generous, often
fell far short of the amounts that would have been targeted for them as prospects
in the Special Gifts phase of the campaign.
Therefore it was determined early in the campaign that appeals would har/e to
be made to these "spontaneous" donors for additional or increased gifts at a
later time in the campaign.
Four types of prospective Phoenix Fund support (grouped in three "phases")
have been identified and are now in various and continuing stages of cultivation;
PHASE I
Special Gifts and Pledges from Trustees and close friends of the
College. Of the $2.8 million raised by April 30, 1987, 31% has been contributed
by Trustees. Identification and systematic cultivation of individuals for
special/major gifts will continue through the entire campaign and beyond.
PHASE II
A. Major Grants and Pledges from fotmdations and corporations. An
intensive effort is now under way, and must continue at least over the next two
years .
B. Gifts and Pledges from alumni, parents, residents and businesses of
Mount Desert Island, and small foundations and corporations that have provided
support in the past.
PHASE III
Gifts and Pledges from new prospects identified t±irough continuing
promotion efforts and cultivation over the past two and one -half years. This
phase is just beginning to gain momentum and to realize gifts from new donors who
were introduced to the College during 1985 and 1986 through special receptions
and events.
109
After a strong start in late November, 1983 ($1 million was achieved by
January 19 , 1984) , the Phoenix Fund came almost to a halt for nine months
beginning in July, 1984. This was primarily because leadership energies, both in
the administration and among the Board, were diverted by the resignation of the
College's second President, who had been with the College for just two years. By
March, 1985, six months after the arrival of the third and current President,
confidence in the viability and future of the College was being rapidly regained.
An important step in leadership for COA at that time, significantly
strengthening the fundraising capabilities of the College overall, was the
formation in March, 1985, of a new Development Comnittee, consisting of 12
menibers of the Board of Trustees. Chaired by Charles R. Tyson, Director
(recently retired) of CPC International, Inc., of Philadelphia, it incorporates
the Phoenix Fund Subcommittee, chaired by Mrs. Amos Eno of Princeton, New Jersey,
who provides top stewardship and direction for the advancement of the Campaign.
Strategic planning for, and orchestration of, the Phoenix Fund on a day-to-day
basis is provided by the President, the Vice President for Development and Public
Affairs, and the Assistant Director for Development. Advice also has been
provided when needed by a professional consultant.
With this infusion of renewed and stronger leadership, and a positive
attitude building throughout the College conHnunity , the Phoenix Fund once again
began to gain momentum. It took a large leap forward with the award of $400,000
from the Pew Memorial Tmst, which made possible the completion of the new arts
and sciences building.
All capital fundraising energies and efforts are now directed toward raising
the funds to build the Kaelber Hall/Thomdike Library complex. More than ever,
it is recognized by all concerned that the construction of the library con^lex is
of paramount ijnportance if the College is to attract and retain facility and
students of the highest caliber, thus increasing enrollment and earned income.
Successful achievement of the Phoenix Fund and Annual Fund goals depends
primarily on the extreme generosity of a relatively small number of major-donor
prospects, in addition to continued major support by the Trustees. At the same
time, much effort is being directed toward increasing the base of donors for all
purposes. Over 500 new contributors have been gained since the beginning of FY
1985. At least 50% of these have made gifts, ranging from $25 to $40,000, to the
Phoenix Fund.
110
A number of key factors and developments over the past twenty months have
helped to build a positive and enthusiastic climate among the inmediate College
community, alumni, parents. Trustees, and other friends:
(1) Enrollment for the current (1986-87) academic year is up 20% over the
preceding year. As of May 15, 1987, applications for fall, 1987, are
running almost 50% ahead of the same time last year.
(2) Prudent financial management for the most recent fiscal year, 1985-86,
resvilted in a modest surplus of $13,710, as noted above.
(3) Annual GivinE for 1985-86 set a record of $915,000 raised for
operations, more than $400,000 over the previous year. Of this total,
$793j44A was for unrestricted purposes. Fundraising for all purposes,
including the capital campaign, resulted in a total of more than $1.91
million, an increase of almost $760,000 over the previous year. For
fiscal year 1986-87, $769,000 in unrestricted gifts is budgeted, to
provide 38% of the income needed to meet operating expenses.
Additional developments also had a major impact on the College's donor
constituency and fundraising results:
(4) In September, 1985, the College was awarded a grant of $84,022 over
three years iinder the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary
Education (FIPSE) of the U.S. Department of Education. The purpose of
this grant is to strengthen and expand the College's program of human
ecological teacher education. On February 11, 1986, in the second year
of the grant, the Maine State Board of Education approved COA's
application to qualify for the certification of teachers, on the basis
of the "unanimous and enthusiastic" recommendation of the Review
Committee .
(5) In October, 1986, a Title III grant of $591,000 over three years was
awarded to COA by the U.S. Department of Education for the purpose of
strengthening the College's academic and administrative capacities,
specifically for development of computer resources, an Office of
Institutional Research, and the Ecological Education program.
This latter grant enabled the Development Office to completely overhaul its
computerized record-keeping and reporting system. The Development Office now
uses an IM-PC compatible computer system, the standard configuration on the
111
College campus for academic and administrative applications, which pro'/ides
easier access to both software and hardware support. The new system features a
20-megabyte hard disk, which effectively doubles our data storage capacity, and
convenient tape-cartridge backup. In addition, the dBase III database management
software package, which is now used across the campus for a variety of data
retrieval purposes, provides the flexibility, timely custom reports and
statistical analysis, and mail-merge capabilities to make possible state-of-the-
art fundraising programs.
Building upon these recent elements of progress and strength, the Trustees'
Development Committee, the President, and the Development Office have intensified
the process of cultivation and solicitation of major prospects this academic
year. The basis of current efforts is a list of prospects, reviewed and ranked
constantly since the early stages of the campaign, who are targeted for gifts
ranging from $25,000 to $500,000. The list consists of a small number of key new
prospects, and a larger number of special long-time friends, including Trustees.
Teams composed mostly of two individuals from among the Trustees, working
closely with the President and the Chairman, have been assigned to prospects
within two categories: (a) those who have not yet pledged or given, and (b) those
who have already pledged and are being asked to increase their pledge or make an
additional gift.
As part of this all-out effort to complete Stage II of the Phoenix Fund
rebuilding program, the COA Alumni Association joined forces with the COA Board
of Trustees to hold a gala benefit event on April 11, 1987, to build momentum and
inspire all friends of the College to contribute to the Phoenix Fund. The
occasion was a reception- dinner -dance in honor of Founding President Edward
Kaelber and Mrs. R. Amory Thomdike, distinguished Trustee, for whom the library
is named (along with her late husband) . This event was held in Memorial Hall at
Harvard University and was the first major benefit ever held by or for the
College .
Over three hundred alumni and friends of COA attended the event. Net
proceeds were over $13,000. Even more important, enthusiasm on the part of the
Trustees concerning the positive response to the event and to the Phoenix Fund
inspired them to mount an additional campaign among themselves. The assessment
of the Trustees' Development Committee is that at least another $900,000 can be
raised from the Trustees alone in increased pledges and gifts.
112
Annual Giving
A most Important aspect of the College's financial position is the
successful management of its annual operating income and expenses . The Annual
Giving program, through gifts and grants from individuals , foundations , and
corporations, currently provides 38% of operating income.
A coordinated annual giving program has been carried out since 1983-84. For
the past two years an average of five separate letter appeals have been created
each year to raise both unrestricted and special funds. Two separate letters,
one personalized and directed to major donors, including Trustees, and one to the
general mailing list of approximately 4,000 names, are mailed in the fall.
Another set of two are sent to the same lists in early spring, and a final fiscal
year- end appeal is sent in late May to all prospects and prior donors who have