Fundraising and alumni engagement platform for a major university foundation
Wisconsin Foundation & Alumni Association operates a donor and alumni engagement engine for UW-Madison, running on Salesforce (CRM + Marketing Cloud) and Zendesk. Active hiring across fundraising, development, and operations roles—with director-level and senior positions dominating—reflects a scaling effort in major-gift programs. Pain points center on prospect management centralization and competitive fundraising headwinds, suggesting the org is modernizing workflows to grow its donor base.
Notable leadership hires: Director of Development, Development Director, Director of Foundation Relations, Managing Director of Development, Foundation Relations Director
The Wisconsin Foundation & Alumni Association is a nonprofit division supporting UW-Madison's mission through alumni engagement, donor relations, and fundraising. Founded in 1861, WAA serves alumni worldwide and coordinates with the broader foundation to secure philanthropic support for the university. The organization operates across development, stewardship, alumni relations, marketing, communications, IT, and finance. Dues-paying members and donor contributions fund programs that connect graduates to the university and ensure access to education.
The organization uses Salesforce (CRM and Marketing Cloud), Zendesk for support, and Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube for social channels. Meta and SketchUp appear in the active stack as well.
Active projects include commencement and emeritus events, development of internal portfolio-monitoring tools, donor recognition fulfillment, customer experience improvement, and outdoor space updates. The org is also standardizing processes and training materials for fundraising operations.
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