Financial Information 2021
Piper Trust Annual Financial Report and Grants Compendium: Fiscal Year Ending March 2021
January 2022
Message from Carey Chambers, CFO
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust is pleased to provide its financials and grantmaking compendium for fiscal year ending March 2021. Piper Trust’s target asset allocation remains diversified, which should provide resilience in difficult economic environments and adequate returns in more favorable conditions. Despite another tumultuous year of living amidst the global health crisis caused by COVID-19 and operating with economic uncertainty across all sectors, many individuals and institutions with large investments in the stock market experienced extraordinary growth in the value of their holdings. Even with these two opposing forces at work, Piper Trust was one of the fortunate organizations that did experience prosperous financial gains in its investment portfolio—returns for the year ended March 31, 2021 totaled 35.3%. As such, Trustees felt compelled to share all of the earnings with the community in once swift action. In September 2021, Trustees announced a $123 million initiative—the Now is the Moment Grants Commemoration—which provided unexpected and unrestricted grant awards to 71 nonprofit organizations. You can read more about this historic day and initiative here.
As always, and particularly in light of the very successful financial returns this past year, we are grateful for the expertise and assistance provided by Cambridge Associates, the Trust’s investment consultants and our dedicated Investment Committee members: Trustees Jim Bruner, Paul Critchfield, and Steve Zabilski (Investment Committee Chair), along with outside members Dr. Jeffrey Coles, Jacque Millard, and Kent Misener. The Investment Committee diligently evaluated Cambridge’s recommendations, and reports, ensuring that investment managers continue to perform in accordance with their mandates, operate effectively, and in accordance with the law.
Carey Chambers, CFO
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust
Financial Results
Results of operations as reported in our audited financial statements are summarized in the following table. The data is presented on a GAAP, therefore accrual, basis. On a cash basis during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, grants and direct charitable activities were more than $46.7 million, and totaled $75.2 million over the two-year period. Each year operating and grantmaking expenses were in line with the budget approved by the board.
| (Accrual Basis) | 3/31/2021 | 3/31/2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Investment Activity, Net | 182,507,287 | (49,785,672) |
| Grant Awards and Direct Charitable Activities | (37,440,869) | (39,535,847) |
| Grantmaking and Administrative Expenses | (5,206,867) | (5,096,291) |
| Federal Excise Tax Benefit (Expense) on Net Investment Income | (1,883,706 | 1,008,973 |
| Contributions Received | 5,000 | – |
| Total Change | 137,980,845 | -$93,408,837 |
| (Accrual Basis) | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Beginning Net Assets | $435,797,028 | $529,205,865 |
| Ending Net Assets | $573,777,873 | $435,797,028 |
Asset Allocation
Under the guidance of the investment committee, the Trust’s endowment was invested in a diversified portfolio expected, in the long term, to generate returns to adequately support its mission. Actual and target allocations are reflected on the following charts.
Fair Market Value of Investments and Charitable Expenditures
The blue bars illustrate the fair market value of Piper Trust’s investments and the yellow circles show the level of charitable expenditures each fiscal year.
