The UM Foundation

What The UM Foundation does

The UM Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation established in 1950 by private citizens to support the University of Montana. Headquartered at 950 Arthur Ave in Missoula, Montana, and governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees with a professional staff of more than 70 individuals, the Foundation raises, manages, and stewards private philanthropic gifts on behalf of UM and distributes approximately $20-40 million annually to the University for student scholarships, faculty positions, academic programs, and facilities.

The Foundation's core offerings include an online donation platform, scholarship and endowment management services, planned giving instruments (charitable gift annuities, remainder trusts, donor-advised funds, IRA qualified charitable distributions, and bequests), and an annual giving program anchored by The Big Give (a 24-hour online day of giving) and a self-serve crowdfunding platform. Its most significant fundraising effort, Campaign Montana (2013-2020), raised $450.9 million from more than 34,000 donors across all 50 states, and over 75 years donors have contributed more than $1 billion in cumulative giving.

The Foundation's revenue is generated from three fee streams assessed on funds it manages rather than on donations themselves: a 1.86% per annum endowment administrative fee, a 5% development fee on non-endowed and bequest gifts, and a 10% liquidation fee on donated property. Donors are segmented into individuals (alumni, parents, friends), corporate and foundation partners (Washington Foundation, ALSAM, W.M. Keck, Franke Family, Payne Family, Blewett III, Kennedy), and the Montana Legislature as a public funding counterpart. Distribution occurs through direct online and offline giving channels, planned giving vehicles, employer matching programs, and the Montana Qualified Endowment Credit Program, a state tax credit of up to $15,000 per individual.

Name

The UM Foundation

Legal name

University of Montana Foundation

Website

https://supportum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The UM Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 1950 that raises, manages, and stewards private philanthropic gifts to support University of Montana students, faculty, and programs, distributing $20-40 million annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Fundraising

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Major Gifts, Planned Giving & Endowment Development (EDALAOAC)

Keywords

• Higher education fundraising
• Endowment management
• Planned giving services
• Scholarship administration
• Nonprofit philanthropy

Headquarters

HQ city

Missoula

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Gifts and Donations: The UM Foundation receives charitable donations from individuals, families, businesses, and private foundations. Gifts are designated by donors for specific purposes or directed to the Excellence Fund. The Foundation manages endowed gifts invested in pooled endowments with annual distributions to support donor-designated purposes.
2. Endowment Administrative Fee: A 1.86% per annum administrative fee is charged on endowment funds. The fee is assessed annually based on weighted average of past twelve quarter-end unit values of each endowed fund. This fee supports Foundation operations.
3. Development Fee: A one-time 5% development fee is assessed on non-endowed, non-scholarship gifts. All bequest gifts have a 5% development fee including scholarship and endowed gifts from estates, life insurance, retirement funds, or trusts.
4. Liquidation Fee: A 10% liquidation fee is assessed on sale proceeds net of expenses for donated property.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The UM Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that raises, manages, and stewards private philanthropic gifts to support University of Montana students, faculty, academic programs, and facilities. It operates online donation processing, scholarship and endowment administration, planned giving instruments, annual giving campaigns (including The Big Give and crowdfunding), and distributes approximately $20-40 million annually to UM.

Product overview

The UM Foundation operates as a unified fundraising and philanthropy management platform for the University of Montana, not a traditional technology product company. Its core offerings include an online donation platform for processing charitable gifts, scholarship management services, planned giving instruments (charitable gift annuities, remainder trusts, donor advised funds), an annual giving program with The Big Give and crowdfunding initiatives, and endowment management services. Campaign Montana represents its major multi-year fundraising campaign. All services are oriented toward facilitating philanthropic support to enhance excellence and opportunity at the University of Montana.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Online Donation Platform Web-based donation processing system enabling donors to make charitable gifts to the University of Montana via credit card and other payment methods, processed through PCI-compliant third-party payment processors.
• Scholarship Management End-to-end scholarship awarding and management services including need-based and merit-based scholarships, donor-advised scholarship funds, and endowed scholarships for students at UM and Missoula College.
• Planned Giving Services Comprehensive planned giving program offering charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, donor advised funds, qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from IRAs, wills and trusts, and beneficiary designations for estate planning purposes.
• Annual Giving Program Recurring giving initiatives including The Big Give (annual 24-hour day of giving), crowdfunding campaigns, and UM Phonathon to engage alumni and donors with annual contributions.
• Campaign Montana Multi-year comprehensive fundraising campaign initiative that inspired $450.9 million from more than 34,000 donors over seven years (2013-2020), supporting student scholarships, academic programs, facilities, and faculty positions.
• Crowdfunding Platform Online crowdfunding platform enabling campus programs and community causes to raise support through digital campaigns, connecting alumni, parents and friends with projects across student health, athletics, academics and community programs.
• Emergency Student Support Fund Short-term emergency financial assistance fund established to help enrolled UM students meet basic needs during unexpected hardship situations, including housing, food, technology and medical expenses.
• Endowment Management Investment and stewardship of endowed funds established by donors to support scholarships, fellowships, faculty positions, and academic programs in perpetuity. The Foundation charges a 1.86% annual administrative fee on endowment balances.

Quantifiable outcome

• $8 return in new gifts for every $1 in fees received
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• University of Oregon Foundation: Independent 501(c)(3) foundation supporting the University of Oregon, a comparable regional public R1 with similar endowment management, planned giving programs, and capital campaign infrastructure.
• Oregon State University Foundation: Fundraising entity for Oregon State University, comparable in scope and structure as a regional public university foundation with endowment management and donor stewardship operations.
• University of Idaho Foundation: Philanthropic foundation supporting the University of Idaho, a regional public university with similar student demographics, scholarship-driven fundraising, and Idaho-based donor base.
• Iowa State University Foundation: Fundraising arm for Iowa State University, a comparable Midwestern land-grant public university with similar alumni-driven giving, scholarship programs, and capital campaign execution.
• Washington State University Foundation: Philanthropic foundation for Washington State University, a regional public R1 with comparable fundraising scale, alumni giving programs, and major-gift cultivation infrastructure.
• Montana State University Foundation: The fundraising and endowment management arm for Montana State University in Bozeman, the most direct comparable peer in the same state serving a similar regional public university with a donor-advised endowment model.

Broad incumbents

• University of Wisconsin Foundation: Major public Big Ten university foundation operating with a multi-billion-dollar endowment, comparable in program structure but at materially larger scale, including planned giving, endowment management, and comprehensive campaigns.
• Indiana University Foundation: Major public university foundation with a substantially larger endowment and broader fundraising program, serving as a scaled-up comparable for a mature, multi-channel advancement operation.

Others

• Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE): Professional association that sets fundraising standards and confers the Educational Fundraising Awards the UM Foundation has received three times; an industry ecosystem body rather than a direct competitor, but directly relevant to the standards and benchmarking the Foundation operates against.

Regional players

• University of Wyoming Foundation: Independent foundation supporting the University of Wyoming, a comparable public flagship in a neighboring rural Western state with similar land-grant mission and donor profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TheUMFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/UMFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/university-of-montana-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The UM Foundation