A strong Endowment protects the school from the vagaries of the economy and ensures the school’s future. As a well-run institution with many decades of experience, ASIJ has always sought to maintain a sufficient cash reserve as part of its planning; however, the commitment to placing a significant amount of these funds into an Endowment is a relatively recent phenomenon at ASIJ. The difference, of course, between cash reserves and Endowment is that while cash reserves may be used (even, however unlikely, in its entirety) for immediate purposes, the goal of an Endowment is to preserve the capital while the return on its investment helps to fund ongoing operations. Quite often, donors establish a fund within the Endowment to support a particular goal, to ensure in perpetuity a program that is important not only to the school, but to the donor. For example, the fund may be restricted to the support of the teaching of entrepreneurship. In this case, the funds cannot be used for anything else, which then ensures that (despite any need for spending cuts), the Entrepreneurship program at the school will continue.Other funds are established with no restrictions on their use other than they be used wherever the school believes students will derive the most benefit.Restricted or unrestricted named funds may be established with a minimum gift of ¥5 million (pledges may be fulfilled over a period of no more than five years).
The Finance Committee of the Board of Directors will determine the investment strategy and management. The Finance Committee reviews, develops and supervises the implementation of policies relating to the school’s annual operating and capital budgeting, investments, borrowing and other financial matters.
Having a strong financial foundation in the form of an endowment is essential for the future of ASIJ. An endowment guarantees ASIJ’s vision of education will be available for future generations as it grows. We gave to the endowment to create a legacy of support for the ASIJ of tomorrow.
ASIJ’s primary goal is to build a meaningful endowment that will grow annually and each year provide increased resources that can be used to enhance ASIJ, while also reducing our high tuition dependency.
ASIJ has capital reserves that are used for future debt payment and a “rainy day” fund. We are well positioned to weather a potential future financial crisis or natural disaster. The endowment is separate from reserves and the principal is not considered generally available for daily operations.
