The University of Arizona Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works to oversee fundraising for the UA. 

The foundation, which is separate from the university, uses these funds for the school in different areas like research, capital improvements and student financial aid. The donor specifies where these funds will be used for the majority of donations to the foundation, according to the foundation’s website.

Related: John-Paul Roczniak named UA Foundation president.

The funds can come from individuals, corporations or foundations, according to Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Andrew Comrie, who is working with the foundation on fundraising projects. These funds are used in core areas: students, faculty, research and UA programs.

The foundation also works with endowment money by investing the total of all the small endowment gifts the foundation receives over time. The foundation works toward a good rate of return and then uses the return to pay for what the endowment supports, which can include scholarships.

“That’s a big role of the foundation, not only to manage flow of gifts but also to take the investments we have — and this is investments in the university’s future — and make sure the financial part of it is managed as well as possible so we can get a good rate of return and then use that money to invest on things on campus,” Comrie said. “That’s a gift that will keep on giving forever because it’s able to generate interest.”

Here are some fast facts about what the UA Foundation does:

• Both university employees and foundation employees work with the foundation to oversee the university’s fundraising efforts. Frontline fundraisers who work with deans and donors are often university employees, while most of the support staff who help with gift processing and research are foundation employees.
• The new president of the UA Foundation, John-Paul Roczniak, is a foundation employee, whereas university employees are paid only by the university.
• The UA Foundation uses university support and revenue from small fees on gifts and endowments to cover the cost of running the fundraising operation, including paying employees, according to Comrie. This percentage is disclosed to the donor when they make their donation.
• As a section 501(c)3) organization, the UA Foundation is exempt from federal income taxes and was founded as an Arizona nonprofit cooperation, according to the official website.
• In the 2015 fiscal year, the total endowment market value was $673,312,944, according to the foundation’s 2015 annual report .
• The foundation raised $293,505,878 in new gifts and commitments during fiscal year 2015c, according to the 2015 annual report. In the same year, cash and cash equivalents, which totaled $190,183,747, allocated 22 percent to research, with14 percent to endowments, and both student financial aid and faculty and staff compensation received 4 percent each.
• According to the annual report, 26 percent of fiscal year 2015 cash and cash equivalents were from individuals that were not classified as parents or alumni. Of the total cash and cash equivalents, 10 percent were from alumni, 1 percent were from parents, 16 percent were from corporations, 22 percent were from foundations and 25 percent were from other organizations.

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