Curry College Financial Statements and Report of Independent Certified Public Accountants (May 31, 2021 and 2020)

Summary

Curry College’s most recent financial statements for fiscal year 2021, reviewed and certified by an independent third-party auditor, showed the College is in a strong financial position with assets over $237 million, a financial reserve and endowment of approximately $103 million, and operating cash of nearly $25 million.   Cost-cutting measures implemented in FY 2021 have been completed and the College has shifted its focus in FY 2022 to revenue generation with primary goals in two areas: improving retention and increasing revenues in the Continuing Education and Graduate programs.

Statement of Financial Position

Total net assets have increased to $153 million, a gain of $19.2 million or 12% for the year.

Cash and Investments

The cash and investment balance at year-end was $128.67 million, an increase of $21.8 million or 20.4%. The College had very strong market returns during the year.

Endowment

The majority (approximately 96%) of the College’s endowment is unrestricted and liquid within 30 days or less.  The unrestricted nature of the endowment provides financial strength for the College.   The endowment balance of $103.6 million increased $8.9 million or 10% since last year, primarily due to strong market returns. 

Debt

As of May 31, 2021, the College had $73.4 million in long-term debt outstanding compared to $76.7 million as of May 31, 2020. Principal and interest are paid twice annually.

Statement of Activities

Revenue

Total revenues for the year ended May 31, 2021, were $71.4 million compared to a budget of $73.14 million, down $1.77 million or 2.4%.  Tuition was down mainly due to the decrease in international travel from the global pandemic, impacting revenue from the College’s international student base.   Auxiliary (room and board) revenue followed the tuition revenue pattern.   Due to federal stimulus funding, the College realized a smaller deficit than originally budgeted. To date, the College has been awarded approximately $10.4 million in stimulus funding from the U.S. Department of Education under the federal stimulus programs.  Of the $10.4 million, $4.6 million has been or will be awarded to students and $5.8 million awarded to the institution. The College incurred costs of approximately $3.9 million in COVID-19 in FY 2021 expenses including personal protective equipment, testing, and additional health services staff. The stimulus funds helped to offset some of the costs related to the pandemic. 

The College ended FY 2021 with an operating loss of approximately $4.49 million. This represented a positive variance to budget due to cost cutting measures, efficiencies, and federal stimulus monies as described above.

Fundraising

Total contributions from gift payments and pledges were $1.25 million as of May 31, 2021.  The COVID 19 pandemic had a significant impact on the actual dollars received due to constrained visiting and outreach opportunities.  The College and the Advancement Office used the time to build and establish the infrastructure of a traditional college development operation.  Items such as variable giving and planned giving were added to the College’s suite of development opportunities.  Additionally, the College invested in building out the area with educational staff, including a major gifts officer, an annual fund director and dedicated administrative support.  With the current leadership and the buildout of infrastructure and staffing in the area of Advancement, the College is optimistic regarding its future fundraising potential

Expenses

Salaries and benefits in FY 2021 were favorable to the operating budget.  Efficiencies achieved in operations, along with a reduction in expenses such as travel, meetings, events and conferences due to COVID 19 resulted in non-salary expenses that were also favorable to the operating budget.

Curry College Financial Statements and Report of Independent Certified Public Accountants (May 31, 2020 and 2019)

Summary

Curry College’s most recent financial statements for fiscal year 2020, reviewed and certified by an independent third-party auditor, showed the College in a good financial position with assets over $221 million, a financial reserve and endowment of approximately $95 million, and operating cash of nearly $12 million.   The onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the closure of the College in March with all classes and offices moving to remote and resulted in the returning of $5.5 million in room and board refunds to students. The College anticipates revenue shortfalls and challenges in fiscal year 2021 due to the on-going effects of COVID-19. 

Statement of Financial Position

Total net assets at year-end were $134 million, a decrease of $5.2 million or 3.8% from the prior year.

Cash and Investments

The cash and investment balance at year-end was $107 million, a decrease of $9.7 million or 8.3% from fiscal year 2019. The College’s operating cash was negatively affected by the refunds issued to students after the close of the campus due to COVID 19 as well as increased costs for pandemic related expenses.

Endowment

The majority (approximately 96%) of the College’s endowment is unrestricted and liquid within 30 days or less.  The unrestricted nature of the endowment provides financial strength for the College.   The endowment balance of $95.1 million decreased $3.5 million or 3.7% since last year; the College withdrew $3.2 million to help with increased operating costs due to the COVID 19 pandemic. 

Debt

As of May 31, 2020, the College had $76.1 million in long-term debt outstanding compared to $79.2 million as of May 31, 2019. Principal and interest are paid twice annually.

Statement of Activities

Revenue

Total revenues for the year ended May 31, 2020, were $70.0 million compared to a budget of $78.4 million, down $8.4 million or 10.2% relative to budget.

Tuition was down mainly due to the decrease in international travel from the global pandemic, impacting revenue from the College’s international student base.   Auxiliary (room and board) revenue followed the tuition revenue pattern with an additional decrease due to refunding $5.5 million to students due to the closure of the campus because of COVID.  The College received almost $1 million in federal stimulus funding which helped to offset some of the pandemic related expenses.

The College ended FY 2020 with a total loss of approximately $4.8 million. This represented a positive variance to budget due to federal stimulus monies as described above and the expense savings due to the closure of the campus.

Fundraising

Total contributions from gift payments and pledges were approximately $1.0 million as of May 31, 2020.  The COVID 19 pandemic had a significant impact on the actual dollars received due to constrained visiting and outreach opportunities.  The College and the Advancement Office are looking ahead to fiscal year 2021 to build and establish the infrastructure of a traditional college development operation, keeping in mind the uncertain nature of the pandemic and its effects on fundraising.

Expenses

Operating costs were down approximately $2.5 million mainly due to the closure of the campus in March and the cessation of travel, meetings, and conferences due to the pandemic.

Salaries and benefits in FY 2020 were favorable to the operating budget. This was due mainly to the full effect of the reduction in force that occurred early in the year of 19 part- and full-time positions. Savings in expenses such as travel, meetings, events, and conferences due to COVID 19 resulted in non-salary expenses that were also favorable to the operating budget.

Curry College Financial Statements and Report of Independent Certified Public Accountants (May 31, 2019 and 2018)

Summary

Curry College’s most recent financial statements for fiscal year 2019, reviewed and certified by an independent third-party auditor, showed assets over $230 million, a financial reserve and endowment of approximately $98 million, and operating cash of nearly $18 million.  

Statement of Financial Position

Total net assets at year-end were $138 million, a decrease of $9.7 million or 6.5% from the prior year.

Cash and Investments

The cash and investment balance at year-end was $116.5 million, a decrease of $14.7 million or 11.2% from fiscal year 2018. The College began the construction of a new science building on the Milton campus which resulted in a $15 million increase in construction in progress at year end. This along with negative market returns contributed to the decrease in cash.

Endowment

The majority (approximately 96%) of the College’s endowment is unrestricted and liquid within 30 days or less.  The unrestricted nature of the endowment provides financial strength for the College.   The endowment balance of $98.5 million decreased $6.3 million or 6.3% from the prior year. 

Debt

As of May 31, 2019, the College had $79.2 million in long-term debt outstanding compared to $82.3 million as of May 31, 2018. Principal and interest are paid twice annually.

Statement of Activities

Revenue

Total revenues for the year ended May 31, 2019, were $76 million compared to a budget of $80 million, down $4 million or 5.1% relative to budget.

Net tuition revenue from traditional undergraduate students finished the year 3.27% below budget (approximately $1.1 million), which was due to lower enrollment.

The College ended FY 2019 with an operating loss of approximately $3.7 million. This represented an positive variance to budget due to salary and benefits savings and savings in some operating expenses.

Fundraising

Total contributions from gift payments and pledges were approximately $385K as of May 31, 2019.  The position of Vice President of Institutional Advancement was vacant for half of the year resulting in a shortfall of donations. The position was filled at the beginning of FY 2020 and the College is looking forward to a more robust fundraising program in fiscal year 2020.

Expenses

Operating costs were down approximately $2.9 million against budget and approximately flat to fiscal year 2018.

Salaries and benefits in FY 2019 were favorable to the operating budget due to vacancy savings for faculty and staff. Operating expenses were favorable to budget by $816K, mainly due to the unused contingency included in the budget.