Beyond the UAF's current initiatives and UAF's general needs, we encourage donors to give to what they would like to impact in a way that meets their priorities. Staff from UAF Development and Alumni Relations are readily available to present options that match donor affinity. In addition to the individual schools, colleges and research institutes on campus, support for the University of Alaska Museum of the North, UAF Athletics Department, the Elmer E. Rasmuson and Biosciences libraries, and Georgeson Botanical Gardens all provide options for donors to consider and depend on the support of alumni and friends to sustain their excellence. Learn more about these opportunities by contacting UAF Development.

You can also give directly to the UAF college or school of your choice:

• College of Engineering and Mines
• College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
• College of Liberal Arts
• College of Natural Science and Mathematics
• College of Indigenous Studies
• Community and Technical College
• School of Education
• College of Business and Security Management

Through philanthropic gifts, corporate and foundation giving supports education, research, scholarships and programs at the university. Our staff prioritizes the interests and priorities of corporations and foundations and we strive to best align our partners’ priorities with the appropriate opportunities at UAF. The UAF Development and Alumni Relations offices work in close consultation with faculty and staff in all schools, colleges, centers and programs to develop productive and long-lasting relationships with our generous corporate and foundation donors. We express our utmost gratitude for this support. UAF would not be the same without it.

The ultimate return on investment—The Alaska Educational Tax Credit

Many corporate donors take advantage the Alaska Higher Education Tax Credit Program. Learn more about the Alaska Educational Tax Credit.

There are two types of scholarship funds here at UAF: endowed and restricted.

Endowed

• A minimum of $25,000 is required to create an endowed named fund. Endowed scholarship gifts are invested, and scholarships are awarded from the interest earned, therefore preserving the principal of the account in perpetuity. This is the most long-term, monumental form of scholarship support. For more in-depth information about this process, please see the UA Foundation, which provides administrative overview of all UAF funds.
• The Development Office coordinates with the donor to determine selection criteria and the name of the fund through a document called a gift agreement.

Restricted

• A minimum of $5,000 is required to create a restricted named fund. Restricted scholarships are smaller funds that are not invested but donated directly into scholarships or fellowships; if the funds are not replenished by additional gifts, they will be closed.
• The Development Office coordinates with the donor to determine selection criteria and the name of the fund through a document called a gift agreement.

In memoriam

• With in memoriam giving, you pay tribute to a friend of loved one with a gift that bears the name of the person you wish to honor.
• You may direct your support toward a scholarship or fellowship, program or another area of campus life.
• To make a memorial gift online, please indicate in the "Comments" section the name of the person you wish to honor.
• For more information about making a restricted memorial gift, please contact our office at 907-474-2619, or uaf-giving@alaska.edu.

Endowments at the University of Alaska are managed and invested by the UA Foundation. There are two kinds of endowments. A true endowment, which is a gift that has been restricted by the donor and the initial gift is held in perpetuity. It is established with a minimum gift amount (currently $25,000). Or a quasi-endowment, which functions in the same manner as a true endowment except that a quasi-endowment is created by the foundation rather than the external donor.

True Endowment

A true endowment is a gift that has been restricted by the donor and the initial gift is held in perpetuity. It is established with a minimum gift amount (currently $25K). An endowment fund works like a permanent savings account. The amount the donor gives (the "principal") is never spent. Only the earnings are spent for the purposes specified by the donor. The principal is invested as part of the Foundation Consolidated Fund (CF). Each individual endowment fund is always accounted for separately within the CF, which is currently about $213 million. As the principal grows through investment, a portion of these earnings are transferred into a separate "spending" account for the fund and used as specified by the donor to benefit the university.

Quasi-endowment

The University of Alaska Foundation, in consultation with University departments and personnel, may make internal decisions to allocate or designate funds that were originally created as non-endowed funds to quasi-endowments, in order to achieve the institution’s initiatives and to serve the needs of its students. A quasi-endowment functions in the same manner as a true endowment except that a quasi-endowment is created by the foundation rather than the external donor.

Unrestricted

Your unrestricted gift provides the university maximum flexibility in allocating resources to our strategic priorities, through our annual giving program.

Restricted

Donors specify the purpose for how their donations are spent, whether for scholarships, or specific departments or programs, etc. With hundreds of individual funds already established, chances are your purpose can be met with one of those. Or, if you prefer, a new donor-designated fund can be created, with a minimum amount of $5,000.

 

Support can be given to fund important faculty positions at UAF, including chairs and professorships.

• A chair provides support for a faculty member's salary and related expenses, including research, course development and professional conferences. Chairs may be awarded for the entire length of a professor's tenure. However, most professorships and chairs have term limits usually five years, as determined by the chancellor. The gift minimum for an endowed chair is $2.5 million.
• A professorship provides support for outstanding faculty members for travel, training, equipment, and other support. It can also provide income for a visiting professor to come to a campus of the University of Alaska or for a University of Alaska professor to teach at another university. These professorships will allow the university to benefit from talent that would otherwise be unavailable or to share the expertise of our faculty with another university. The gift minimum for a named professorship is $500,000.

Current UAF chairs/professorships funds:

• C.W. Snedden Chair provides development and maintenance of the Charles Willis Snedden Chair of Newspaper Journalism within the University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Journalism.
• Arthur T. Fathauer Chair in History supports a full professor position in the History Department at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The candidate must be student oriented - with a main priority to teach and work with students.  This appointment can be either tenure-track or term after an initial five-year commitment, with an option for renewal.  Funds from this account may be used for, but are not limited to, salaries and operation expenses of a full professor.
• Ted Stevens Distinguished Professorship of Marine Policy provides funds to support salary, expenses and a research stipend for a marine policy faculty position at the University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences to be named the "Ted Stevens Distinguished Professorship of Marine Policy at the University of Alaska Fairbanks." No expenditures may be made from this fund, for university administrative and overhead costs.
• Sydney Chapman Chair enhances the quality of teaching and research areas of the physical sciences which are of special interest to the North. Appointments to this chair shall not exceed three years and shall honor and acknowledge the contribution of a distinguished physical scientist. Note: the chair can be continued after three years, but the appointments are in three-year blocks.

Private gifts can help support brick-and-mortar construction and expansion on any of the UA campuses.

As the leading university in Arctic research, up-to-date buildings and equipment are critical for preparing students for real-world jobs and for recruiting and retaining the best faculty.

Capital projects include the construction of new facilities and renovation, repair or expansion of existing facilities. They also include equipment, instruments and software that are important for these projects to be successful. Donors can support capital projects through gifts to nonendowed funds.

Unrestricted gifts from alumni, employees and friends go to work right away to help provide a top-notch education that makes UAF’s public education as good as a private one. The annual giving program is one way that donors can help sustain and enhance the university's distinctive academic programs. You may hear from the university by mail or phone asking for donations to the Annual Fund.

The Annual Fund plays a vital role in sustaining UAF year in and year out — the Annual Fund represents the combined power of donors giving at all levels. Annual Fund gifts support:

• Student scholarships
• Computer/laboratory equipment
• Special library and departmental acquisitions
• Facility improvements
• Special academic initiatives and projects
• College and school units
• Student organizations