University of California, Merced Foundation

University of California, Merced Foundation

The University of California, Merced Foundation was established in 2000 as the philanthropic engine for the newest UC campus. Chair Monya Lane, a former Associate Director at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, leads a board of trustees drawn from business and community leadership across the Central Valley. The foundation raises and administers private support for teaching, research, and public service — channeling gifts into the UC General Endowment Pool, which is managed by the Regents of the University of California alongside the assets of all ten UC campuses. Investment strategy is delegated entirely to the UC Regents, whose Office of the Chief Investment Officer manages a multi-asset pool spanning public equities, fixed income, private equity, venture capital, real estate, and absolute-return strategies. The foundation itself does not make direct investments; its primary deployment is grantmaking to UC Merced deans, faculty, and student support programs. MacKenzie Scott is the most visible recent donor, contributing $38 million in 2025 and $20 million in 2021. The foundation also stewards unique non-financial assets, including the Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture Collection and the Merced Vernal Pools & Grassland Reserve, both held on behalf of the campus. The foundation runs the Boldly Forward Campaign, a $200 million comprehensive fundraising push supporting scholarships, faculty chairs, and capital projects on the Merced campus. UC Merced opened in 2005 and now enrolls more than 9,000 students, the majority of whom are first-generation college attendees. The foundation's board includes ex-officio representation from Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz, who assumed the role in 2020. The UC system is a signatory to the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, governing the endowment pool's environmental, social, and governance integration. The foundation operates as a single-campus auxiliary rather than a standalone investment office — all fiduciary investment decisions reside with the UC Regents in Oakland, making this structure unusual among private university foundations that often retain separate investment committees. Its board functions principally as a fundraising and advocacy body, with real-estate holdings like the Virginia Smith Trust Land parcel in Merced providing additional operational assets independent of the endowment pool.