University of Wyoming Foundation Annual Report on Giving

2024 Annual Report

University of Wyoming Foundation
Annual Report on Giving, 2023-24
 

What drives you—what gets you out of bed each morning, fuels your hard work, and inspires you to plan for the future? For us, it’s the students. That’s why we strive to connect donors with programs at the University of Wyoming that not only benefit UW but also align with the values of our supporters. By matching your passions with purpose, we ensure that your generosity makes the greatest impact. Thank you for playing such an important role!

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, the University of Wyoming raised $61.6 million in private support from 27,646 donors—an increase of more than 4,000 donors from the previous year. Our five-year fundraising average has now reached nearly $53 million, and UW’s overall endowment stands at $833.5 million.

The UW Foundation continues to carefully and proactively manage the university’s private assets while connecting donors to the programs they care about most. Our success is your success, and on behalf of the entire university community, thank you. Your investment directly supports the students, faculty, staff, and programs that define the University of Wyoming.

To see the impact of your support, visit our website at www.uwyo.edu/foundation. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at (307) 766-6300 or email foundation@uwyo.edu.

We are so grateful to you. Go Pokes!

Doug Stark
Board Chair
John Stark
President/CEO
True North
 

The reason for the existence of the University of Wyoming is students. It’s the reason, in 1886, Territorial Governor Frances Warren signed the act that financed the construction of the first building on campus, Old Main. President John Hoyt and five faculty then welcomed 42 students ages 12 to 23 into UW’s inaugural class.

Through world wars, social upheaval, and economic booms and busts, Wyoming’s university has adapted to changing times while honoring the traditions that came before us. Through it all, students have been our goal, our mission, our true north.

Thank you for joining the team that makes sure Wyoming’s students have the tools and support they need to complete their degrees and go on to fulfilling careers and lives. Thank you for choosing to support UW students with your philanthropy.

Your enthusiastic support has a big impact—in the low amount of debt students graduate with, the innovative research faculty and undergraduate and graduate students are able to perform, and the ability of UW both to honor our values and to adapt to changing times.

Today, UW is a nationally recognized land-grant research and teaching institution with over 700 expert faculty, top-ranked academics, world-class facilities, and a beautiful campus sprawling more than 1,000 acres. We still remember where we started and strive to keep the traditions of the West alive.

We have you to thank—your reason is our reason. We’re grateful to have you on the team that supports Wyoming’s students in reaching their fullest potential!

Stories of Impact
As you build your own story, be inspired by these.
 
  • Chandan Shilpakar

    never far from home

    CHANDAN SHILPAKAR

    There is a 12-hour time difference between Chandan Shilpakar and his loved ones. Thanks to UW’s Nepali community, he’s been able to thrive. Chandan is pursuing a Ph.D. in plant sciences and forage agronomy. Today, he works with ranchers, the Bureau of Land Management, and other stakeholders across the state to further research and development within the field of agronomy.

    Read more ...

  • Jack O'Neil

    represent

    jack o'neil

    One month before his 10th birthday, Jack O’Neil made the pivotal decision to have his leg amputated, after exhaustingly dealing with a congenital birth defect. The Paralympic Swimmer has never looked back. In that same year, he qualified for U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships—in addition to finishing second in the U.S. Triathlon ParaNationals. 

    Read more ...

  • Christian Cook

    Mom is my rock

    christian cook

    When you ask first-generation student Christan Cook what motivated him to get his kinesiology degree at UW, he says, “It was my mother.” He continues, “My mother is a fighter. She a single mother of three. That meant working two jobs and providing for us. I  talk to her pretty much every single day. She is my rock. She’s completely and utterly the best person in my entire life.”

    Read more ...

  • Ana Rodriguez

    it is possible

    ana rodriguez

    Undocumented immigrant. Single mother. Survivor of violence. The barriers of higher education were significant for Ana Rodriguez. Now on the cusp of completing her law degree, she’s become an inspiration and is giving back to her communities. “I got my residency through the Violence Against Women Act,” Ana says. “As soon as I got that, I hit the ground running." 

    Read more ...

  • Mary Algeo

    those who inspire

    mary algeo

    When Mary Algeo was a baby in New Hampshire, her family used to go to a nearby farm for breakfast. There is a photo of her dad holding her up next to a dairy cow. From that day, he always knew she would do something with animals, he says. And doing something with animals she does. Mary is a UW microbiology major with a minor in wildlife and fisheries biology and management. 

    Read more ...

  • Jacob Westover

    i'll be there

    jacob westover

    As a child, Jacob Westover remembers being asked by a counselor if he felt helpless. The word stung within the deepest parts of him. One parent diagnosed with terminal cancer, the other ensnared in the grip of addiction, Jacob grew up in the undertow of grief and abuse. Helpless. The word resonated so deeply it was like hearing his own name. “It wasn’t who I wanted to be,” Jacob says. 

    Read more ...

  • Ana Acevedo

    what motivates me

    ana acevedo

    The UW Foundation’s own Ana Acevedo is a nontraditional first-generation student working toward a degree in marketing. Family, community, and business are what get Ana out of bed in the morning. “I have the great fortune of having a really stable and amazing family that has supported me through many facets of life,” Ana says. “What motivates me is family.”

    Read more ...

  • McMurry Foundation

    difference makers

    mcmurry Foundation

    War Memorial Stadium brings Wyoming together. Your body vibrating from the stomping feet of thousands of screaming fans, the sun shining at your back, the breeze in your face, the canon sounding the Pokes’ latest touchdown. It’s experiences like these that make the War so important to Wyomingites. That’s the inspiration behind the Difference Makers Campaign.

    Read more ...

  • Ann Pickard and Dan Smith

    what inspires us

    ann pickard & dan smith

    Children can inspire their parents. That’s the case for Ann Pickard and Dan Smith. They decided to have children later in life and ended up adopting brother and sister Nathan and Rebecca. During her career, Pickard served across the globe in the energy industry, and so Smith retired from his job in the U.S. Navy and took care of the kids. “I was Captain Mom,” he says with a big smile.

    Read more ...

  • Wagonhound

    ranchers help ranchers

    wagonhound land & livestock

    If you break down on a Wyoming road, you can count on one of your neighbors stopping to help. Wyoming ranchers Art and Catherine Nicholas, who own Wagonhound Land & Livestock, are helping tomorrow’s ranchers on their road to the future. Their $2.5 million gift—doubled to $5 million by state matching—supports the UW Ranch Management and Agricultural Leadership Program.

    Read more ...

  • Martin and Gail Knauss

    desert cowboy

    martin knauss

    It was the dry air that made Martin Knauss feel at home. The climate in Laramie is both an ache and a gift. The valley wind is filtered through the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. It cracks the skin on your hands, on your lips. It’s thin and clear, scattering more light across the horizon. Our sunsets humble the mountains. Here, at 7,220 feet, you learn to breathe with gratitude.

    Read more ...

  • Giving Day

    uw giving day

    $3.6 million & 8,978 donors!

    UW Giving Day 2023 saw the highest number of donors in the history of this annual celebration of philanthropy—8,978. In just 24 hours, $3.6 million was raised that goes directly to students and the faculty and programs that support them. In addition to breaking the record number of donors, there was a record-breaking 207 campaigns created by units and student organizations. 

    Read more ...

  • Doug and Deniz Stark

    stark scholarship

    doug & deniz stark

    UW Foundation Board Chair Douglas Stark and his wife Deniz are both UW alums devoted to giving back to their alma mater. After earning his degree in ag business in 1980, Doug joined Farm Credit Services of America. He served as president and CEO from 2005 until his retirement in 2017, the culmination of a 37-year career. Deniz graduated in 1984 with her degree in agricultural business.

    Read more ...

  • Ellbogen Foundation

    NUCLEAR ENERGY

    JOHN P. ELLBOGEN FOUNDATION

    A major investment from the John P. Ellbogen Foundation will support the Nuclear Energy Research Center. The $1 million gift will be doubled to $2 million by state matching funds to establish the John P. Ellbogen Foundation Nuclear Energy Research Center Fund. It will support nuclear-related certificates and degrees and the nuclear center.

    Read more ...

  • Tallgrass

    CO2 STORAGE

    TALLGRASS & WILLIAMs

    Two corporate partners are supporting the CO2 Storage Excellence Fund at the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources. They are Tallgrass Energy, an industry leader with a commitment to achieving decarbonized energy solutions, and Williams, an energy infrastructure leader. Each contributed $250,000, which was doubled to $1 million by state matching.

    Read more ...

  • Dave and Melanie True

    DIFFERENCE MAKERS

    DAVE & MELANIE TRUE

    A significant investment by Casper’s Double 4 Foundation and Dave and Melanie True continues the remarkable momentum of the Difference Makers Campaign, University of Wyoming Athletics’s drive to raise millions of dollars in private support to renovate the west side of War Memorial Stadium and to build a new competition pool facility.

    Read more ...

  • Stewardship Award

    STEWARDSHIP AWARD

    mARK GUIBERSON & JOE CARVER

    Two University of Wyoming faculty members have earned the prestigious UW Foundation Stewardship Award for 2024. They are Mark Guiberson, head of the Division of Communication Disorders, and Joe Carver, director of Western Thunder Marching Band. “Connecting with our donors has been a true joy for me,” Guiberson says. “I am incredibly honored to receive this award,” Carver says.

    Read more ...

 

 

 

Financial Report

Your enthusiastic support has a big impact—in the low amount of debt students graduate with, the innovative research faculty and undergraduate and graduate students are able to perform, and the ability of UW both to honor our values and to adapt to changing times.
buttondashboard_2021.jpgbuttoninvestments_2021.jpgbuttonendowments_2021.jpg

 

 

Ways to Give

Thank you for joining the team that makes sure Wyoming’s students have the tools and support they need to complete their degrees and go on to fulfilling careers and lives.
 
1

Annual Giving

Annual Giving is the only fundraising program of the university that reaches all alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends each year to offer giving opportunities for direct support of UW's colleges, departments, and programs.

Read stories about Annual Giving donors
4

Gift Planning

Making a planned gift is a wonderful way to show your support and appreciation while accommodating your own personal, financial, estate planning, and philanthropic goals.

Read stories about Gift Planning donors
2

Corporate Giving

Some of the most significant impacts across the University of Wyoming campus have come from the remarkable support of corporations.

Read stories about Corporate donors
5

Foundation Giving

Foundations have made such a lasting impact on Wyoming’s students and the colleges, programs, and facilities that support them. Student by student, foundation-supported scholarships have built a wealth of human capital.

Read stories about Foundation donors
3

Major Giving

UW Foundation directors of development work closely with individual donors and with the university to focus on the priorities of each, helping to guide the significant and thoughtful commitments that have a major impact on the future of Wyoming’s university..

Read stories about Major Giving donors
6

Stewardship

Built on trust and transparency, stewardship is the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care, and at the university and UW Foundation, we are stewarding your private giving to the best of our ability..

Read stories about Stewardship

 

 

Previous Reports
Tilted Cover

 

 

 

“By matching your passions with purpose, we ensure that your generosity makes the greatest impact. Thank you for playing such an important role!”

>> GO TO THE 2024 ANNUAL REPORT (FLIP BOOK)

>> GO TO THE 2024 ANNUAL REPORT (PDF)

>> GO TO PREVIOUS ANNUAL REPORTS

 

Contact Us


UW Foundation
Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center
222 S 22nd Street
Laramie, WY 82070

Phone: 307-766-6300
Toll Free: 1-888-831-7795
Fax: 307-766-4045
Email: foundation@uwyo.edu

 

Give to UW



 

UW Foundation

 

True North footer