A decline in donations resulted in the ISU Foundation terminating the positions of nine employees last week.

After a morning staff meeting Oct. 27, nine employees were informed their positions were being eliminated, said Jason Menke, assistant director of communications for the ISU Foundation.

Menke said the layoffs were in response to the request made by the ISU Foundation’s board of directors to shave $500,000 off this year’s fiscal budget. The board approved the current budget in October, and it was evident cost savings needed to occur, he said.

The ISU Foundation has evaluated its expenses and looked at how to cut expenditures, he said.

“The decision to eliminate specific positions was made after a thorough review of the organization’s operations,” Menke said. “The eliminations were done strategically, so our fundraising efforts won’t be negatively affected.”

Menke said the ISU Foundation has around 75 employees, not including student employees. The areas where the firings occurred were in the support areas of the development staff, he said.

“We want to spend every dollar we have as effectively as we can,” Menke said.

Dan Saftig, president of the ISU Foundation, Julie Huisman, human resources director and Lisa Eslinger, interim vice president for finance, could not be reached for comment.

Menke said the economy has been a significant factor in the loss of donations received. Many of the donors are also experiencing small to no returns on their personal portfolios and investments, he said.

The economic downturn has been felt nationwide, said Sarah Buck, vice president for administration. However, people are still eager to donate to Iowa State, she said.

In the first two months of school, the ISU Foundation has seen a positive number of gifts being given, Buck said. Individuals who believe in what the university is doing will continue their support, she said.

“It hasn’t been an optimistic financial environment,” Menke said. “However, we are starting to see the optimism return.”

The return on the ISU Foundation’s endowment was negative 6.2 percent for the fiscal year 2002 and was a positive 3.4 percent for fiscal year 2003, he said.

Menke said he believed the economic indicators are positive and the market has stabilized. At this point, there are no more terminations planned, he said.