University of Wisconsin Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
390743975
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Madison, WI, United States
Phone
608-263-4545
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$680,868,045
Expenses
$658,424,352
Assets
$6,317,679,254
Liabilities
$430,104,924

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

56 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL M KNETTER (CEO (UNTIL 12/31/24))
  • ALISA A ROBERTSON (PRESIDENT/CEO (AS OF 1/1/25))

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL L STOHLER (CIO): $1,998,774 total reported compensation
  • CHRISTOPHER A MOORE (DEPUTY CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER): $1,049,757 total reported compensation
  • RICHARD J SHEPLEY (SR. MANAGING DIRECTOR OF INVESTMENTS): $1,001,863 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The UW Foundation is the official fundraising and gift-receiving organization for the University of Wisconsin–Madison; it encourages individuals and organizations to make gifts and grants, and each year transfers gift and investment income to UW–Madison to support campus priorities including scholarships, building projects, research efforts, and initiatives of specific schools, colleges, and programs.

What it reported doing in 2024

Publications - "on Wisconsin" is a quarterly publication, mailed to approximately 400,000 alumni, faculty, donors, waa members, and other stakeholders, serving as the official university of Wisconsin alumni magazine. "awards" is an annual publication, mailed to approximately 90,000 alumni, waa members, and other stakeholders. "badger insider" is sent to waa members only (approximately 25,000 households) semiannually, serving as the member forum. "digital badger insider", an email companion to the badger insider magazine is sent monthly to approximately 16,000 waa members via email. "flamingle" is a weekly email, sent to approximately 80,000 alumni, containing various articles of interest. "badger vibes" is a monthly email sent to approximately 48,000 waa members and alumni of color. "the uw now weekly" is a weekly email, sent to approximately 130,000 alumni and donors.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 65% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 94% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 88.8%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 97.3%; rating input score 97; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.3%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.6; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.5%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 36 of 37 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $584.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $2M · 56 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $11.6M reported
  • Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 22 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 7 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.