After the completion of the initial “pilot” period of UWC Mostar which was significantly supported by governmental institutions, a long-term financing model needed to be developed to secure the continuation of the College.

In 2013, Bridge to the Future, an UK endowment fund, was set up as a long-term solution to provide scholarships to UWC Mostar students. Bridge to the Future has established governance structures that ensure that the best-in-class stewardship of donor capital is put in place:

• Separate charity from the College set up to safeguard the assets and capital in the endowment fund
• Separate Board of Trustees and Investment Committee composed of senior, experienced and independent figures
• Focus on core principles of integrity, transparency, endurance and accountability
• Regulated as an UK Charity with the resultant strong governance and risk management frameworks
• Annual audited accounts produced
• Regular communication and reporting to donors to show performance of their individual endowment

The College has an annual budget of approximately €2.5 million, with places for 200 students. The cost of sponsoring one student a year is €12.5k. One endowment ‘costs’ €250k assuming 5% average annual return to provide funding for a scholarship every year into perpetuity.

The Endowment Fund will be founded on the promise that donors will be able to “to see their money working”. It's our goal to be excellent stewards of donor capital.

The core principles:

• The endowment has a fiduciary duty towards its donors, UWC Mostar and UWC Mostar’s students
• The Endowment should be fully transparent towards its donors in terms of fund allocation and distributions
• The Endowment should have in place worst case planning scenarios and should be prepared for periods of upheaval and severe difficulties

Taking care of the donor’s interests:

• The Endowment should facilitate what the donor wishes
• Legal and tax advisory service should be provided to the potential donors at set-up stage by PwC and Allen and Overy

The proposal is for donations to provide a tight link between each donor and the direct beneficiaries of the donation

• Donations will in general be linked to individual Endowment Scholarships which fund individual students

Once the Endowment Fund is up and running, there will be full transparency to all donors through timely and extensive communication

• Every February the donor will receive a report from the endowment on past year’s performance and on other organisational matters
• Every September the donor will receive a report from the College how the past academic year has been. This will be a frank and open report where all issues are discussed.
• Every June the donor will receive a report from the student whom he or she is sponsoring
• Every two years an event will be organised with the donors at UWC Mostar
• If there any urgent matter of importance related to the Endowment Fund, the College or the sponsored student, the donor will be immediately notified. This will be in line with our principles of integrity, transparency and accountability.

A strong governance structure for the Endowment Fund has been put in place to ensure that the capital donated to the Fund is managed in line with the objectives of the donors.

The Endowment has been set up in the UK, incorporated under UK Law and registered with the Charity Commission

The Endowment will have two principal bodies, namely the Trustees and the Investment Committee:

• The Trustees will have the ultimate responsibility for the Endowment and for the approval of the use of funds generated by the Endowment
• The Investment Committee will be responsible for making overall asset allocation decisions, for the selection of professional money managers of Endowment funds and for the day to day operations of the Endowment

Subject to annual approvals by the Trustees, the Endowment will distribute funds to the Foundation ‘Education in Action’, which is a legal entity incorporated under Bosnian law responsible for the long-term funding of UWC Mostar
The annual approval process will be based on a combination of a) an annual budget for UWC Mostar presented to the Trustees and b) bi-annual update reports that set out how the school is performing against pre-agreed key performance indicators

The funds will be disbursed to UWC Mostar through the Foundation and the Executive Board of UWC Mostar, which has the day-to-day operational and administrative responsibility of running the College