Previous individual archival series collections, along with new materials, for the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Foundation, Inc., have been combined into one collection, ranging from 1936-current. The collection focuses on the UW-Eau Claire Foundation’s history and operations including early incorporation records, quarterly board and annual meeting minutes, annual reports, committee files and fundraising campaigns; president’s club membership lists, activities, and artifacts; grants, scholarships, special projects, and awards files and correspondence; nonmonetary gifts in kind; publications and newsletters created by and about the Foundation; financial documents including budget, portfolio, audit, and tax return documents and correspondence; the Circle of Excellence, and digital materials ranging from 1986-2014.

Series 1: Formation and early Foundation Records, 1956-1977: Miscellaneous records documenting the formation and early development of the University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire Foundation, Inc. The most significant group of files in the collection reflect the desire of leading Eau Claire State College officials for a group which could help advance the program of the college and which could work to improve relations between the institution and the city. Reports, correspondence, and minutes document the evolution from the Eau Claire College Committee, formed in 1957, to the UW-Eau Claire Foundation which held its first meeting on November 25, 1958. The records include statements of purpose, membership requirements and the original articles of incorporation of the Foundation. Other files document early fund raising, publicity and scholarship activities, and early lists of gifts-in-kind given to the Foundation.

Series 2: UW-EC Foundation, Inc. Director’s meeting minutes, 1963-2017: Records documenting the wide range of educational and philanthropic activities undertaken by the Foundation to assist the university and its students. Files include meeting minutes, board member roster lists, new member orientation information, treasurer's reports, correspondence, stock reports, lists of scholarship winners and of gifts-in-kind received, and other various records filed in connection with Board of Director’s meetings. Group photos from board meetings occur starting at the October 23, 1984, meeting. Digital materials (2006-2014) include Foundation Board and committee rosters, Foundation Board meeting agendas and minutes, budget information, correspondence, news releases, presentations, surveys, meeting documents and reports, and investment documents, located in the Digital Asset Preservation Storage: “AS137_Foundation” collection.

Series 3: UW-EC Foundation, Inc. Annual meeting minutes, 1958-2005: Minutes, treasurer's reports, correspondence, stock reports and miscellaneous other records filed in connection with the annual meetings of the University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire Foundation, Inc. Also included are papers associated with annual reports, financial papers, data processing, workshops, CASE 5 Assembly conference, Alumni/Development summer meetings, and some photographs.

Series 4: UW-EC Foundation, Inc. Annual Reports, 1967-2024: Summary reports of the activities and administration of the UW-EC Foundation, including donor lists, membership lists and scholarship recipients. Starting with the 2005-2006 annual report, it was incorporated into the 2007, or the next year’s, wall calendar. Annual reports for 2018 and 2019 are missing.

Series 5: UW-EC Foundation, Inc. Committee Files, 1968-2016: Agenda, minutes, correspondence, resolutions, and other materials which document the development, history, philosophy and decisions of the Investment, Campus Beautification, Budget & Finance, Development, Nominating, and Executive (related to President’s Club) Committees. Some of the ca. 2000s Investment Committee files include portfolio reports. The Campus Beautification Committee files include information and photographs of sculptures on campus, information on artists, etc. Digital materials (2005-2014) include meeting agendas, minutes, documents, and committee rosters for the Budget & Finance Committee, Development & Governance Committee, Executive Committee, Global Awareness Sub-Committee, Investment Committee, and Strategic Planning Committee, located in the Digital Asset Preservation Storage: “AS137_Foundation” collection.

Series 5: Subseries 1: Campaigns, “Fulfilling the Promise of Excellence,” 2001-2007: Campaign update newsletters, publications, advisory team meeting information, and campaign information. Includes VHS Tapes and digital materials of campaign video updates and news releases.

Series 5: Subseries 2: Campaigns, “Leap at the Chance,” 2007-2008: Campus campaign geared towards UW-Eau Claire staff and faculty.

Series 5: Subseries 3: Campaigns, “The Power of Possible Centennial Campaign,” 2008-2016: Campaign publications, correspondence, and digital materials – a News Release about acquiring the Robert Frost collection from Joan Christopherson Schmidt.

Series 6: President’s Club Records, 1966-2004: The President’s Club was founded by the Board of Directors in 1965, for recognizing persons who regularly contribute a minimum of $100 for the unrestricted support of the university’s programs. The club provides an avenue for better acquainting substantial benefactors with the university's programs, it helps to make their advice and counsel more readily available to the Chancellor, and it encourages the development of a substantial unrestricted gift income to support educational activities. Files include membership lists, planning files and programs for events (fashion/style show, annual Club dinner, the annual Christmas oratorio concert), publicity materials, news articles, correspondence, photographs and buttons from President Club dinners, and 7 medallions.

Series 7: Grants, scholarships, awards, special project accounts, 1960-2012: Records documenting scholarships, loans and awards granted by the Foundation, Excellence Awards given, and inactive funds. Files include information regarding the origin, purpose, recipient criteria, and disbursements and receipts as they pertain to particular accounts, funds or projects. Many of the special project account folder titles were relocated to the Series 12 “Projects” series, but the physical folders are still housed within the Series 7 boxes.

Series 7: Subseries 1: Properties and Land Sold, 1970-2012: Information on properties owned by, given to, or sold by the Foundation. Various properties are or were held in Wisconsin: Eau Claire, Milwaukee, Sawyer County, Polk County, and Barron County; Florida; and Wyoming.

Series 8: Gifts in Kind Documentation, ca. 1936-2016: Correspondence, descriptions, and monetary valuations, related to the acquisition of artifacts and other nonmonetary gifts donated to the university via the UW-Eau Claire Foundation, Inc. Records include those for the Charlotte R. Goodner Indian artifacts collection, Emil Arnold art collection (including Ashanti goldweights), L.A. Newman Indian artifacts collection, Ralph Woodland and Elinor Conover Owen book collection, shaving mug collection, and Harry and Esther Tolin seashell collection. The Newman Indian Artifacts Collection was on loan from the Newman Family to the UW-Eau Claire Foundation starting in 1963. Items were displayed in various campus buildings over the years and housed in the UW-Eau Claire Special Collections and Archives and the Chippewa Valley Museum. The entire collection held at UW-Eau Claire, except for the birch bark canoe sitting in a display case on the first floor of Hibbard Hall, was taken back by the family in 2016. Arrangement: chronological and thereunder by subject.

Series 9: Foundation Publications, 1967-2024: Includes copies of "The Educator" (Sept. 1967-March 1971) and its successor, "Plans for Giving" (Apr. 1971-Feb. 1972)--the bi-monthly newsletter published by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Foundation. Other publications include: Council Oak Society Publications, Foundation committee newsletters and brochures, award ceremony brochures; various fliers, postcards, bookmarks, brochures, booklets, and correspondence on ways to invest in and give to the university in general, certain departments, scholarships, campaigns, etc.; event posters; holiday cards; foundation seal; printing information; and plaque and brick engraving information. Also included are homecoming buttons (2002, 2004), and Global Awareness Challenge disks (2011).

Series 10: Budget, Fiscal Reporting, Audit, and Tax Information

Series 10: Subseries 1: Foundation Budget, 1963-2012: Proposed and final budgets for the University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire Foundation, including the Alumni Association and the President's Club. Also includes some supporting documentation, such as Budget Committee actions.

Series 10: Subseries 2: Portfolio Performance Annual Reports, 1971-2013: Reports provided by the investment service which manages the University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire Foundation's securities, indicating the long-term investment record for the Foundation. Includes inventories of securities held by the Foundation and sales and purchases of stock. Many quarterly and monthly reports were weeded out of this series, when annual reports were available. During the 2000s, many of the funds were under the umbrella of Morgan Stanley.

Series 10: Subseries 3: Foundation Audits, 1975-2012: Annual financial and management audits of the University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire Foundation by a CPA firm. Supporting documentation includes correspondence with the audit firm and a listing of endowments. Digital materials (2008-2013) include meeting agendas, minutes, documents, and audit materials, located in the Digital Asset Preservation Storage: “AS137_Foundation” collection.

Series 10: Subseries 4: Foundation Tax Returns, 1962-2011: Copies of the "Returns of Organizations Exempt from Tax" sent to the Internal Revenue Service and of the "Charitable Organization Annual Report" sent to the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing by the University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire Foundation. Also includes related correspondence, descriptions of qualifying status and lists of financial holdings. Some copies of tax returns, ca. 2000s, are available in Subseries 3, Foundation Audit files. Arrangement: by Federal or State return and thereunder chronologically.

Series 11: Circle of Excellence, 1999-2015: The Circle of Excellence recognizes donors and cumulative giving over time, beginning at a $10,000 threshold for individual gifts and $25,000 for corporate and foundation gifts. Giving levels include the Legacy Society, Bridge Society, Heritage Society, Builders Society, Haas Society, Schofield Society, 1916 Society, and Blue & Gold Society. Files include Circle of Excellence event information, photographs, publications, and information about donor recognition.

Series 12: Projects, 1965-2017: Information about special projects such as acquiring St. Bede Monastery and the Priory Development, The Confluence project, campus planning, Blugold Radio, Foundation studies and reviews, Auth Accounting Lab, and Affinity Card Program. Folder titles for special projects from Series 7, boxes 23-41, were moved to the Projects series, but the physical folders are still housed within the Series 7 boxes. Examples of special projects include the Putnam Park Restoration, Cardiac Rehabilitation Center/Program; Hibbard Hall, Nursing building, Allied Health and Clinical Services Center, Zorn Arena, Haas Fine Arts, and McPhee Physical Education Center Ade Olson Addition dedications; Golden Anniversary Carillon Fund, Chancellor Haas Retirement; UW-Eau Claire, A History, 1916-1976 book, and alumni giving campaigns like the Telefund, etc. Digital materials (2009) include two documents and 2 WAV files: “Talking Points for Blugold Commitment” and “Why the Blugold Commitment?,” and “Students in Recital in a Celebration of the Arts” – 2 Live Original Performance Recordings in the recital hall from the Haas Fines Arts Dedication, April 27, 1986, at 2:05 pm and 3:15pm, instrumental and singing performances and clapping in between. There is no announcing of who is performing what pieces. Located in the Digital Asset Preservation Storage: “AS137_Foundation” collection. Various documents relating to ca. 2000 special projects are also located within the Foundation’s digital materials.