Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
ActivePublic CharityEducation
About Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
To support scientific research within the UW-Madison community by providing financial support, actively managing assets and moving innovations to the marketplace for a financial return and global impact
Focus Areas
Health care / drug discoveryFood & agricultureClean technologyComputer science & engineeringResearch toolsChemistry / materials
About Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation’s largest recent grant went to the University of Wisconsin - Madison, with $111,325,998 awarded in 2025 for program services tied to the university’s research mission. That scale is consistent with a funder built around UW-Madison science: the foundation’s grantmaking centers on research support, faculty support, and the movement of university inventions toward commercialization. Its active programs include annual research support to UW-Madison, faculty fellowships and named professorships, startup support, and translational work in therapeutics. The pattern in the recent grants list shows substantial recurring support rather than isolated awards. University of Wisconsin - Madison received top awards in 2023, 2024, and 2025, while Morgridge Institute for Research also appears repeatedly across those years. Beyond core research funding, WARF uses its programs to back recruitment and retention of faculty, multidisciplinary research, invention disclosure awards, and startup formation tied to UW-Madison technologies. The foundation’s existing focus areas include health care and drug discovery, food and agriculture, clean technology, computer science and engineering, research tools, and chemistry and materials.
What Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Funds
A major strand of Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation’s work is direct research support for UW-Madison. Its annual grant to the university funds research projects, research people, research facilities, and operational support, while the Fall Research Competition supports new areas of research, junior faculty, and multidisciplinary proposals. Faculty investment is another clear theme. The Faculty Fellowships and Endowment for Excellence program supports recruitment and retention through WARF Named Professorships, Kellett Mid-Career Awards, and H.I. Romnes Faculty Fellowships. The foundation also backs commercialization. WARF Startup Advantage provides education, acceleration, direct investments, and local partnerships for startups formed to commercialize UW-Madison technologies. WARF Innovation Awards recognize high-potential invention disclosures from UW-Madison, and WARF Therapeutics supports translational research and preclinical development of therapeutic assets.
How Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Gives
The distribution of grant size is wide: the 25th percentile is $6,285,000, the median is $46,690,172, and the 75th percentile is $87,507,358. That points to a funder making very large awards rather than small, scattered grants. The recent grants list also shows repeat support across multiple years for the same institutions, especially UW-Madison and Morgridge Institute for Research, indicating an ongoing funding relationship. Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation is a public charity and a regular funder. Some programs accept unsolicited submissions, including Startup Advantage, Innovation Awards, Fall Research Competition, Accelerator, and WARF Therapeutics, while others are invitation-based or tied to the university.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$344.8M
Total Assets
$3.4B
Total Revenue
$189.3M
Total Expenses
$220M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $6.3M and $87.5M, with a median of $46.7M.
25th Percentile
$6.3M
Median
$46.7M
75th Percentile
$87.5M
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
About 100% of grants go to recipients in WI.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
ERIK IVERSON
TRUSTEE/CEO, SECRETARY
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