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California State University, Los Angeles Foundation
The California State University, Los Angeles Foundation was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1985 to receive and administer private gifts that supplement state...
California State University, Los Angeles Foundation
The California State University, Los Angeles Foundation was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1985 to receive and administer private gifts that supplement state funding for the university. Board president Omel Nieves, COO and shareholder at California law firm Hunt Ortmann, leads a trustee roster that includes Mina Pacheco Nazemi of Barings, former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin, Mongwei Wee of EY, and Sally Zesut of Avison Young. The foundation's purpose is narrower than a general endowment — its mandate focuses on scholarships, academic programming, and student support services for a campus where the majority of students are the first in their families to attend college. The foundation's capital base is unusual in composition: alongside a conventional financial endowment portfolio, its balance sheet carries a donated real estate portfolio of mixed-use properties in California. The endowment investment portfolio is managed through institutional channels, though the foundation does not publicly disclose asset-class allocations, manager lineups, or target returns. Grantmaking concentrates on student-facing initiatives — scholarships, program enrichment, and the operation of campus cultural assets — rather than faculty research, reflecting the university's broad-access teaching mission. NACUBO membership places the foundation within the professional taxonomy of university business officers, though Cal State LA's endowment is modest by the standards of the association's larger research-university members. The foundation receives support from named philanthropic partners including the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Leonard Hill Charitable Trust, and the Sikand Foundation. Campus cultural holdings — the Luckman Fine Arts Complex Collection, the Billie Jean King statue, and the Golden Eagle statue — fall under the foundation's custodial umbrella, integrating cultural asset stewardship into a funding vehicle primarily designed for financial administration. Structurally, the foundation operates as a legally separate 501(c)(3) corporation from the university itself, a governance standard among CSU campus auxiliaries that creates a firewall between private donations and state appropriations. This architecture allows donors to make tax-deductible contributions restricted to specific programs without commingling those funds with state general-fund allocations. The trustee model — drawing board members from Barings, EY, Avison Young, and the former U.S. Treasury — embeds financial, real-estate, and legal expertise at the governance level, creating an oversight structure that mirrors the composition of far larger institutional investment committees.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1985
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Los Angeles
Corporate office
Los Angeles, California, United States
Principals
Omel Nieves
President of the Foundation Board
Mina Pacheco Nazemi
Foundation Trustee
Rosario Marin
Foundation Trustee
Mongwei Wee
Foundation Trustee
Sally Zesut
Foundation Trustee
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs the Cal State LA Foundation's investment decisions?
The foundation's board of trustees, led by president Omel Nieves — who serves as COO and shareholder at Hunt Ortmann — oversees investment governance. The foundation has not publicly identified a dedicated chief investment officer or disclosed whether day-to-day investment management is outsourced to an OCIO. Trustee Mina Pacheco Nazemi, co-head at Barings, brings direct institutional asset management expertise to the board table.
Does the foundation disclose its endowment size or asset allocation?
The foundation does not publicly disclose its endowment value or a detailed asset allocation policy. Unlike larger University of California endowments that publish annual reports with portfolio snapshots, Cal State LA's foundation has historically treated detailed financial disclosures as internal. What is known is that the portfolio includes a mix of financial assets and donated California real estate.
What is the foundation's relationship to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Sikand Foundation?
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Leonard Hill Charitable Trust, and the Sikand Foundation are among the external grantmaking entities that have provided funding to Cal State LA through the foundation's charitable vehicle. These relationships flow as donations into the foundation rather than the reverse — the foundation receives and administers their grants rather than making grants to them.
How does the donated real estate portfolio operate within the foundation?
The foundation holds a mixed-use donated real estate portfolio across California separate from the university's state-owned campus buildings. These properties likely generate rental income that supplements philanthropic gifts and endowment returns. The precise composition — whether commercial, residential, or specialty-use — has not been publicly detailed by the foundation.
Is the foundation a single-family office or a community foundation?
Neither. The Cal State LA Foundation is a university-affiliated 501(c)(3) auxiliary organization chartered specifically to support one campus — California State University, Los Angeles. It is legally distinct from the university but functionally integrated, with a board of trustees rather than a single-family governance structure. It does not serve as a community foundation for broader Los Angeles philanthropy.
How is the foundation's governance separated from the university's state funding?
The foundation is incorporated as a separate nonprofit corporation, a structure common across the California State University system. This separation ensures that private donations restricted to scholarships, programs, or cultural assets do not mix with state general-fund dollars. The board of trustees — populated by professionals from law, asset management, accounting, and real estate — possesses fiduciary authority independent of the university administration.
What role does former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin play?
Rosario Marin, who served as Treasurer of the United States under President George W. Bush, serves as a foundation trustee and owns Marin & Marin LLC. Her presence on the board provides high-level public-finance and governmental-relations expertise, connecting the foundation to federal fiscal policy experience at the governance level.
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