About

Mission

The mission of the University at Buffalo Foundation, Inc., is to support and promote the activities and programs of the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. This is accomplished by providing advice and counsel regarding philanthropy and fund raising, managing gifts and grants on behalf of the university, providing a wide range of financial services for the various units of the university, developing and managing real property on behalf of the university, and providing a strong base of private-sector support for the university through the foundation's trustees and directors.

Background and History

The University at Buffalo Foundation, Inc. was chartered in 1962 by the Regents of the State of New York as a non-profit educational corporation in the same year in which the private University of Buffalo became part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The foundation operates in a manner consistent with the policies of the SUNY trustees and the University at Buffalo. However, the foundation trustees and directors are completely independent of the state and of SUNY in the exercise of their fiduciary responsibilities. Over the years the foundation has distinguished itself by a high degree of entrepreneurialism in all of its activities.

Activities

In carrying out its basic mission, the foundation concentrates its activities in the following areas:

A. Fund Raising

The foundation supports the university's development efforts by assisting in the identification, cultivation and solicitation of prospective donors and offers advice and counsel on the university's fund-raising goals, objectives and strategies.

B. Real Estate Development

Corporations affiliated with the foundation own and operate five apartment-style student-housing projects and the Educational Opportunity Center in downtown Buffalo and the university president's residence in Amherst. They also developed the Center for Tomorrow, the University Bookstore, The Commons on the north campus, and the high-technology incubator facility in the Baird Research Park. In addition, they also own, for the benefit of the university, the Jacobs Executive Development Center and the Anderson Gallery, both in the city of Buffalo.

C. Investments

The foundation manages a substantial, marketable securities portfolio for the benefit of the University at Buffalo. The central investment objective for the portfolio is to preserve its real (inflation-adjusted) purchasing power while providing a relatively predictable, constant and stable (in real terms) stream of earnings for current use.

Importance of the Foundation to the University

With the University at Buffalo in the ranks of the nation's leading institutions, the strong support of private philanthropy is increasingly important. In the years ahead, the foundation will become an even more vital link between the university and the many sources of private gifts.

The quality and intensity of effort put forth by the foundation's trustees and directors will also remain crucial, especially in light of the increasing level of endowments and other forms of philanthropic support coming to the university. The oversight of the trustees and directors will continue to reassure donors that the funds entrusted to the university are managed with the utmost regard for fiscal prudence and fiduciary responsibilty.