The University of Wyoming Foundation was established in 1962 and is appointed by the University Board of Trustees to raise, receive, and manage private gifts to maximize support for the University of Wyoming. It is an independent nonprofit corporation with a Board of Directors comprised of up to 30 members.
But what exactly does that mean?
The University of Wyoming Foundation connects with alumni, friends, and donors to raise financial resources for UW. With most faculty, staff, and university administrators focusing on the day-to-day activities of UW, the full attention of the foundation is to support UW’s land-grant mission through private giving.
The State of Wyoming continues to be a dynamic supporter of UW, but this support is greatly enhanced by the power of philanthropy. Private giving allows the university to connect and form lasting partnerships with its alumni and friends.
Part of the UW Foundation’s mission is to create enduring relationships with those who give to UW. Many of the donors who give back to UW are alumni. Their educations prepared them to be successful in their lives, and they want to give back—they want to create opportunities for others to become as successful as they are.
The foundation works with colleges, departments, and programs at UW to determine fundraising priorities, then partners with donors who might be interested in helping. Sometimes, donors want to give to UW but may not have a specific place in mind to give to, so the foundation—guided by UW—helps maximize their support by directing their funds to where they can have the greatest impact. And then there are times when a donor knows exactly where they want their donation to go, so they work with the UW Foundation to make sure their wishes are fulfilled.
The role of the UW Foundation is to make sure that both the university and the donor are satisfied with the support that is given. The foundation, directed by UW, makes sure that the gift has the biggest impact it possibly can and that it benefits the people it was intended to benefit.
The foundation also keeps donors informed with what is going on with their contributions. Donors enjoy hearing the latest news and about how their donations are making a difference at UW. The UW Foundation facilitates a strong connection between UW and its supporters.
The UW Foundation distributes several reports throughout the year, in addition to other communications, to let friends, alumni, and donors know how much of an impact their gifts have made on UW. They also keep everyone updated on what is happening through social media and stories that are published on the web.
Facilitating connection is also an area that the Alumni Association excels in. While both the foundation and the Alumni Association have similar goals and work closely together, they are two separate organizations. The Alumni Association’s goal is also to keep alumni connected to UW, but their focus is different. Their main priority is not philanthropy. Their mission is “to promote the excellence, distinction and uniqueness of the University of Wyoming to the people of the state, the nation, and the world and to foster a spirit of loyalty and community among its alumni, students, and friends today, tomorrow, and forever.”
When a donor gives to UW, their support can be directed in many ways. By far the most common way people give is through Annual Giving. These gifts—no matter the size—make a fundamental impact on UW. Contributors to UW Annual Giving programs may designate their gifts to any area, college, department, or program within the university. These gifts are used at the discretion of the university, and they create a vital and dependable source of non-legislative support for Wyoming’s university.
Annual Giving is the only fundraising program of the university that reaches all alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends on a yearly basis to offer giving opportunities for direct support of UW.
For those donors who have the desire to give more significant donations to UW, there are several options to make an impact. One of the most common ways is by establishing an endowment. This allows the funds to be used in perpetuity, and endowments have the added benefit of allowing UW’s colleges and units to budget more accurately because they have a predictable and reliable source of funding.
A minimum amount is needed to create an endowment, but the donor gets to decide where the gift goes and who benefits from the endowment’s payout. For example, say the donor is a graduate of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and wants to create scholarships that benefit students from Goshen County. The donor’s wishes are added to the framework of the endowment, and the UW Foundation upholds the desires of the donor and money can only be distributed within these guidelines.
When an endowment is created, the gift buys shares—much like mutual funds—in the endowment pool. There is a one-year waiting period for the fund to grow and interest to accumulate, then after that, funds are distributed in accordance with the donor’s wishes. Every year, in accordance with its payout policy, the UW Foundation distributes millions of dollars to the university for expenditures such as student assistance, faculty support, library acquisitions, academic program support, and building/equipment purchases and maintenance.
Donors also have the option of creating scholarships that aren’t endowments. Again, the donor gets to decide where their support goes and who gets it. There is a minimum amount needed to initially establish the scholarship, but then the donor gets to decide how many scholarships and what amount will be awarded from their donation. They also get to decide how long they want to donate and what the criteria for the award is. For example, they may decide that the scholarship will be for students majoring in music that play the flute and have a 3.0 grade point average. It’s all up to them, and the foundation makes sure that their wishes are adhered to.
In addition to having a direct impact on students, donors can also decide to support faculty by creating excellence funds, which is an endowment or annuity that provides funds that can be used to promote the excellence of a specific university program. These can be separated into university excellence funds, which impact the entire university; dean’s or director’s excellence funds, which impact specific colleges or units within a specific college; or department or program excellence funds, which support specific departments or programs.
Donors can also create named faculty positions, which include a named chair, professorship, faculty fellowship, visiting professorship, or deanship. These types of positions are prestigious honors for faculty and allow UW to attract and acquire high-quality faculty who pass their knowledge and expertise on to students. The amount needed to create a named faculty position depends on exactly what type of position the donor wants to create, but since it is placed in an endowment, it is created in perpetuity.
Scholarships are very important, as are fellowships. Fellowships support graduate students, who assist professors and do much of the work of research. Fellowships also reward promising students and allow them opportunities that they may not otherwise have.
These are just a few examples of how donors can—and do—support UW and its students. There are several more ways to give and make an impact.
Individual donors make a huge impact on UW, but they aren’t the only ones. Some of the biggest impacts across the University of Wyoming campus have come from the support of corporations and foundations. Student by student, corporation- and foundation-supported scholarships have built a wealth of human capital. Gifts campus-wide have built buildings, created new programs, and underwritten research that changes the world as we know it. As with gifts from individuals, these gifts are donor-directed, meaning the corporation or foundation gets to decide the best way for their money to be used and how it will impact students and UW.
The partnership between UW and the UW Foundation has existed for more than 50 years, and it has raised many millions of dollars to improve education and facilities at UW. The UW Foundation raises an average of $47.1 million a year in private support—money that goes to students and the faculty, staff, and programs that support them. This private support helps to make UW the best educational institution possible.
