UCSF Chancellor's Discretionary Fund Uses

[UCSF Chancellor’s Discretionary Fund Uses (PDF 108KB)](http://budget.ucsf.edu/downloads/chancellors-discretionary-fund.pdf) UCSF continues to be hampered by the limited availability of discretionary funds to advance its mission and vision. Of UCSF's total annual $2.5 billion budget, less than 5 percent is available each year from discretionary funding and much of that funding is committed to ongoing projects. A significant portion of these discretionary funds is in the form of "opportunity" funds from the UC Office of the President, so named because they represent recoveries of costs which the University has already covered through other state allocations. Unfortunately, funding changes have made the initial funds unavailable and cost recoveries are increasingly needed to cover the cost of related activities. In fact, chancellor's discretionary funds have been used to cover basic facilities operating costs instead of being invested in programs to realize the UCSF Strategic Plan. Rather than strategically advancing the University by initiating or expanding innovative programs for the future, the chancellor has had to spend discretionary funds just to keep the lights on. Natural gas bills are expected to soar upward of 25 percent in FY 2008-2009, and other commodity costs are expected to increase in the 10 percent to 15 percent range, UCSF officials say. This chart illustrates how these discretionary funds have been used to finance facilities, academic and institutional support.

Resource Management, Planning & Allocation: An Update for the 2008-09 Budget Year