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Tracklines & Waypoints By the Investment Committee, USCGAAA
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eflecting back on the last four years on the Investment Committee, one thing is clear – there is a real story of continued year-over-year maturity in the organization. Maturity manifests in several ways, however, that of organizational capabilities is probably the most important.
A Board-term in Review In 2016, the size of the endowment at year end was approximately $28 million. As we near year end for 2020, the endowment is close to $39 million. This growth has been largely attributed to an aligned Investment Committee and Investment Advisor relationship – there is no day-trading, rather there is a long-term orientation and open line of communication about today and tomorrow. The tracklines we’ve been on and the waypoints we’ve been through have enabled the Alumni Association to execute its mission in a greater capacity. Instead of an annual proffer of $1 million to $2 million, the Association can now proffer $3 million to $5 million per year. This level of support enables the Academy to pursue big projects to make continuous improvements to execute its mission.
Voyage-Planning Considerations To understand how the Association can provide this level of support year after year, it helps to understand how strategy is created and then executed. The graphic here highlights the organizational strategic execution flow for the Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association (and is generally applicable to any organization). The vision and the mission of the Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association are set by the foundational charter for the 501(c)3 and are monitored for relevance by the President and the Association Board of Directors. The Organizational goals are set by the President and staff; the most recent rendition of this is the “Achieving More Together” strategic plan for the Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association 2020-2025. An important input that informed the strategic plan was the Coast Guard’s Strategic Vision for the Coast Guard Academy 2019-2023. Several objectives from each inform the Investment Committee’s actions in regard to the management of the endowment portfolio from the Academy’s goal to “Foster a Culture of Fiscal Sustainability” to the Association’s goal to “Maintain Financial Stability and Stewardship.” [You can view both strategic plans at www.cgaalumni.org/ Dec20.] Overall, the strategy informs the execution of not only operation, program and project management, but also the management of our endowment portfolio ensuring alignment across the organization and with the Coast Guard Academy.
Setting Tracklines All of the above counts as it informs the cycle of committee work currently in-process. Every five years, the Investment Committee revisits the Investment Policy Statement 22
December 2020/January 2021
