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University of Wisconsin Foundation
The University of Wisconsin Foundation was chartered in 1945 as the official fundraising and gift-receiving arm for UW-Madison. In 2014 it was folded into the...
University of Wisconsin Foundation
The University of Wisconsin Foundation was chartered in 1945 as the official fundraising and gift-receiving arm for UW-Madison. In 2014 it was folded into the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association, a combined entity led by President and CEO Alisa Robertson that houses both development and investment management under one roof. The structure is rare among public-university endowments, which typically keep fundraising and alumni relations separate from the investment office. Stohler's team allocates across hedge funds, private equity, real estate, natural resources, and a dedicated secondaries and special-situations book. The foundation also makes direct co-investments and holds a small venture portfolio that skews toward university-adjacent sectors — agriculture technology, healthcare services, biotech, and AI/ML applications. A confirmed digital-asset position includes both bitcoin and bitcoin cash, a niche holding among endowments that drew attention when it was first disclosed in public filings. The portfolio's geographic footprint is concentrated in North America, consistent with the foundation's mission to support a single flagship campus. Total assets under management are estimated at $5.4 billion, placing UWF in the top quartile of US public-university endowments by size. The foundation also stewards a collection of non-financial assets, including the 1848 Building on University Avenue, the University Research Park, and the Chazen Museum of Art collection. Donor recognition flows through the Bascom Hill Society, while the foundation maintains operational ties to UW Health for managing healthcare-directed gifts. May 2024: CIO Michael Stohler was a featured speaker at the NACUBO Endowment and Debt Management Forum, discussing liquidity management across the endowment's short-term investment fund. UWF's structural differentiator is its post-2014 architecture as a unified foundation-and-alumni-association — a model that concentrates fundraising, donor stewardship, and investment management in a single organization. This allows capital to move from gift receipt to deployed investment without the bureaucratic handoffs common at multi-campus university systems. The foundation invests in commingled funds, direct deals, and co-investments alongside external managers, operating with the flexibility of a mid-sized family office rather than the committee-layered governance typical of public endowments.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1945
AUM
$5.4B (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Madison
Corporate office
Madison, WI, United States
Principals
Alisa Robertson
President and CEO, Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association
Michael Stohler
Chief Investment Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the University of Wisconsin Foundation?
Michael Stohler serves as Chief Investment Officer and leads the investment team. He is responsible for asset allocation, manager selection, and direct co-investment decisions across the endowment's $5.4 billion estimated portfolio. Stohler reports within the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association structure, which President and CEO Alisa Robertson leads.
How is the Foundation structured relative to the University of Wisconsin-Madison?
The Foundation is a private, nonprofit corporation that operates independently from the university's state-funded administration. In 2014 it merged with the Wisconsin Alumni Association to form the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association, consolidating fundraising, alumni engagement, and investment management. This private structure allows it to manage gifts and endowment assets with greater flexibility than a state agency.
Does the Foundation hold any unusual or notable assets?
Yes. The Foundation has held positions in bitcoin and bitcoin cash, making it one of a small number of university endowments with direct digital-asset exposure. The portfolio also includes real assets such as University Research Park and the Chazen Museum of Art collection, which are unusual non-financial holdings for an endowment of this size.
What role does the Bascom Hill Society play?
The Bascom Hill Society is the Foundation's premier donor recognition group. It acknowledges individuals and organizations that make significant lifetime gifts to UW-Madison. Membership is not an investment club; it functions as a stewardship and cultivation vehicle within the larger Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association ecosystem.
Does the Foundation invest directly in startups?
The Foundation's portfolio includes startup and venture-stage exposure, particularly in sectors adjacent to UW-Madison's research strengths such as biotechnology, healthcare services, and agricultural technology. These investments are typically made through fund commitments and direct co-investments rather than a standalone venture capital arm.
How does the Foundation interact with UW Health?
The Foundation manages donations designated for UW Health and its affiliates, serving as the gift-processing and investment vehicle for healthcare-directed philanthropy. This relationship extends the Foundation's asset base beyond purely academic gifts to include clinical and research funding streams tied to the university's academic medical center.
What investment stages and asset classes does the Foundation target?
The portfolio spans hedge funds, private equity across buyout, growth, and mezzanine strategies, real estate, natural resources, timber, and a secondaries and special-situations book. The Foundation participates in both commingled funds and direct co-investments, with a strategy that balances long-duration private assets against a short-term investment fund for near-term liquidity needs.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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