How much of donated funds go directly to SCC?
This is a common question posed to nonprofit organizations that rely on private fund-raising to support their mission. A typical measure of nonprofit efficiency is the Administrative Expense Ratio (AER). The AER is calculated in the following manner: Administrative Expenses/Total Expenses. This ratio attempts to provide an indication of how much an organization is spending on providing services in relation to overall administrative operations. For example, an AER of 20 percent would assume that 80 percent of the organization's expenses are focused on providing services.
The Seminole Community College Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. However, its role as a Direct Support Organization (DSO) makes this ratio analysis a poor indicator of organizational efficiency for two reasons. First, the SCC Foundation receives salary assistance from the College that is included in our annual expenses. These dollars give a clear picture of the true costs to operate the Foundation; however it may be misleading to a donor, as private contributions are not used to underwrite this expense. Second, a large portion of the Foundation's fund-raising activity is focused on growing and maintaining our permanent endowment. The implication being that private dollars raised in a given year are not expressed as an output on our total expenses.
Cost Per Dollar Raised (CPD), calculated as (Administrative Expenses + Fundraising Expenses)/(Total Revenue), provides a better measure of our organizational efficiency and allows our donors to more fully understand how much support is being directed to Seminole Community College in proportion to our annual expenses.
How are we doing? How do we compare?
In Fiscal Year 2006 every $1 invested in the SCC Foundation returned $12 to the College in direct support. $312,000 was invested in overall Foundation operations, resulting in $4.1 million in annual revenue. The SCC Foundation's CPD was $ .08.
Community College Comparison
| DSO Organization | Fiscal Year | CPD | AER | Net Assets |
| Seminole CC Foundation | FY 2006 | $ .08 | .12 | $12.2 million |
| Valencia CC Foundation | FY 2006 | $ .14 | .41 | $49.7 million |
| Daytona Beach CC Foundation | FY 2006 | $ .05 | .07 | $20.6 million |
| Brevard CC Foundation | FY 2006 | $.09 | .20 | $12.9 million |