Donate to the Lakeshore Nature Preserve

Support the New Lakeshore Nature Preserve Frautschi Center

Through generous support from Madison philanthropist Jerry Frautschi and his family, the UW has announced plans to build a first in the state “Living Building Certified” visitor and education center at the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. The “Lakeshore Nature Preserve Frautschi Center” will showcase UW-Madison’s commitment to sustainability and support hands-on experiential learning, in addition to serving as a new asset to environmental education for the community.

Read the UW-Madison Press Release

An Advanced Planning Study was conducted between July 2022 and June 2023 to determine the scope, budget, and schedule of a new building at the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. Learn more and view the Advanced Plan.

More information on a campaign to raise $5,000,000 coming soon… Give now to support operations and programming at the Frautschi Center

Press:

New visitor and education center coming to Picnic Point, Lakeshore Nature Preserve, Channel3000.com, February 11, 2024

Madison’s Picnic Point to receive new visitors’ center, wmtv15news.com, February 12, 2024

Picnic Point’s new education center will be ‘living building’, The Cap Times, February 12, 2024

New sustainability center to be built at entrance of Lakeshore Nature Preserve, The Badger Herald, February 13, 2024

Jerry Frautschi gives $14.3M for visitor and education center at Lakeshore Nature Preserve, Wisconsin State Journal, February 13, 2024

New ‘living’ sustainable visitor center to be built in UW-Madison Lakeshore Preserve, The Daily Cardinal, February 19, 2024

Sustainable Visitor and Education Center to be Built at the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, Picnic Point, February 21, 2024

Private gifts are vital to the Preserve’s ongoing success

This large, old white oak tree with wide spreading branches once stood sentinel in an open field.

While UW-Madison’s operating budget supports the Lakeshore Nature Preserve administrative expenses, private funds support more than 35 percent of the Preserve’s annual budget.

Gifts directly support:

  • Ecological restoration efforts including invasive plant control, prescribed fires, seeds, and plants
  • Outreach efforts including signage, displays and audio trail tour
  • Volunteer programs
  • Maintenance equipment and supplies
  • Capital projects to enhance the Preserve

And much more!

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How to Give

Give Online

You can give online through the University of Wisconsin Foundation’s secure web server. The UW Foundation is the official gift-receiving organization for the Lakeshore Nature Preserve and handles the financial transactions and stewardship of all private gift funds donated by the Preserve. All online donations to the Lakeshore Nature Preserve will go to Preserve-designated accounts.

Lakeshore Nature Preserve Frautschi Fund for the Future. The purpose of this Fund is to support ongoing operations (including, but not limited to, building maintenance, improvements, and upgrades) and programming for the Lakeshore Nature Preserve Frautschi Center and its outdoor spaces.

Lakeshore Nature Preserve Stewardship Fund. Resources are directed by Preserve managers toward the most pressing needs such as erosion control, invasive plant removal, native plant restoration, and enhancing human use while assuring the long-term health of the land and its resources.

Lakeshore Nature Preserve Endowment Fund. A sustainable resource supporting the on-going care and long-term management of the signature landscapes of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve for educational, research and recreational uses for generations of students, staff, faculty and community members far into the future. Only the earnings of this endowment are available for the Preserve staff managers to use on an annual basis. The principal is protected and maintained to generate future earnings.

Give by Mail

Print Donation Form.

Please include complete contact information and a description of your gift intent. If a specific intent or fund is not indicated, your gift will be deposited in our Lakeshore Nature Preserve Stewardship Fund that provides overall general financial support to the Preserve.

Mail Donation Form and a check (payable to the “UW–Madison Lakeshore Nature Preserve”) directly to:

Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Attn: Laura Wyatt
Interim Director, Lakeshore Nature Preserve
21 North Park St., Suite 6101
Madison, WI 53715

OR

University of Wisconsin Foundation
US Bank Lockbox
PO Box 78807
Milwaukee, WI 53278-0807

Memorial Gifts and Tributes

Let the Lakeshore Nature Preserve help you commemorate, celebrate and remember special people and events through a gift in support of the signature landscapes of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. Gifts of all sizes are recognized with a personalized acknowledgement of your gift to the recipient of your choice, without reference to the size of your gift. Gifts are tax deductible for the donor. Please discuss the tax deduction opportunities with staff at the UW Foundation. You can give online or give by mail; please see How to Give (above) for more information.

Directing Gifts to the Preserve

Include the following information in invitations, announcements, and obituaries.

The Family suggests memorial/tribute contributions be made to:
Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Attn: Laura Wyatt
Interim Director, Lakeshore Nature Preserve
21 North Park St., Suite 6101
Madison, WI 53715

or to give online visit: supportuw.org/giveto/lakeshore

Benches

A very limited number of commemorative bench sites are available throughout the Lakeshore Nature Preserve starting at $15,000. A small bronze plaque provides an opportunity for individual recognition.

For additional information, including current available locations, please contact:

Laura Wyatt
Interim Director, Lakeshore Nature Preserve
21 North Park St., Suite 6101
Madison, WI 53715
608-265-9275
lakeshorepreserve@fpm.wisc.edu

Major Gifts

Through generous support from Madison philanthropist Jerry Frautschi and his family, the UW has announced plans to build a first in the state “Living Building Certified” visitor and education center at the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. The “Lakeshore Nature Preserve Frautschi Center” will showcase UW-Madison’s commitment to sustainability and support hands-on experiential learning, in addition to serving as a new asset to environmental education for the community.

The 2023 Master Plan for the Lakeshore Nature Preserve identified six planning districts within the Preserve with recommendations for habitat, trail, and amenity improvements. In addition, general recommendations for the Preserve were developed which included:

  1. Vegetation Management Plans for the major habitat types within the Preserve.
  2. A geotechnical evaluation and analysis of the Preserve shoreline with recommendations for improvements or
    repair, where needed.
  3. Development of a signage and interpretation study.
  4. Evaluating the incorporation of Indigenous Language or Cultural Information.
  5. Identification and adoption of furnishings that help to signal to visitors when they are ‘in’ the Preserve and to
    facilitate easy placement/replacement, when needed.

To discuss funding major projects that support the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, please contact:

Laura Wyatt
Interim Director, Lakeshore Nature Preserve
21 North Park St., Suite 6101
Madison, WI 53715
608-263-3023
lakeshorepreserve@fpm.wisc.edu

Planned Giving

The Lakeshore Nature Preserve has benefited tremendously from significant financial gifts from donors who have designated the Preserve as a recipient or partial recipient of their estate. By including the Lakeshore Nature Preserve in your will, you are investing in the signature landscapes of the Preserve for educational, research and recreational uses for generations of students, staff, faculty and community members far into the future. While it is always essential to consult your attorney or tax advisor before creating a will or trust, UW Foundation representatives are available to talk with you about your ideas and bequest plans. Visit the UW Foundation online or call 608-263-4545 and ask for the “Planned Giving Office” for more information or to discuss options for giving.

A History of Generosity

Gifts to the Preserve have protected the character and beauty of the campus and assure that the community will continue to enjoy the special places that provide some of the fondest memories of the UW experience for alumni and others.

Gifts do much more than that, of course. They give us what many regard as the most beautiful campus anywhere in the nation, if not the world. They provide access to nature just a few steps away from classrooms and residence halls. They create outdoor classrooms that support teaching and research.

Perhaps more important, such gifts remind us of the land and ecosystems without which human institutions like the university could not survive. They reconnect us to the web of life and affirm our commitment to what the great Wisconsin ecologist Aldo Leopold called the land ethic: learning to live on a piece of land without destroying it.

Recognition

All donations to the Lakeshore Nature Preserve are facilitated by the University of Wisconsin Foundation, which is a non-profit, tax-exempt unit of the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, part of the State of Wisconsin. Giving to the Lakeshore Nature Preserve supports UW-Madison which is part of the UW System.

All gifts, with permission of the donor, are recognized in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve E-Newsletter, the Lakeshore Nature Preserve Annual Report, and through the University of Wisconsin Foundation. If you would like special recognition of your gift, please indicate such on your donation form. At this time, physical recognition of gifts is limited in the Preserve to maintain its overall natural beauty and not detract from this amazing resource. Memorial/gift recognition can be discussed with Preserve staff at the time of your donation.

Contact us about your Gift

To discuss funding support for the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, contact:

Laura Wyatt
Interim Director, Lakeshore Nature Preserve
21 North Park St., Suite 6101
Madison, WI 53715
608-265-9275
lakeshorepreserve@fpm.wisc.edu