Donate to the Lakeshore Nature Preserve

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.

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 Director
21 North Park St., Suite 6101
Madison, WI 53715

OR

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

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 Ways of Giving (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:
UW 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 the Lakeshore Nature Preserve Director at 608-263-3023 or lakeshorepreserve@fpm.wisc.edu.

The Preserve needs gifts of all sizes to support the teaching, research, and outreach mission of the university while restoring and managing these special campus lands.

The 2023 Master Plan identified recommendations for the Preserve, all of which have funding needs, including:

1. Vegetation management plans to support wildlife habitat and teaching goals
2. Trail improvements to prevent erosion and increase accessibility
3. A geotechnical study of the Preserve shoreline to repair or restabilize areas of concern
4. A signage and interpretation study to improve wayfinding and outreach
5. An evaluation for the incorporation of Indigenous language or cultural information
6. Improvements to visitor amenities, such as fire circles 1, 4, and 5

The Preserve also has major funding opportunities for operating and programming the new Lakeshore Nature Preserve Frautschi Center and its outdoor spaces. 

To discuss funding major projects that support the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, please contact the Lakeshore Nature Preserve Director at 608-263-3023 or lakeshorepreserve@fpm.wisc.edu.

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.

All gifts, with the donor’s permission, are recognized in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve Newsletter, the Lakeshore Nature Preserve Annual Report, and through the University of Wisconsin Foundation.

There are also donor recognition opportunities for the new Lakeshore Nature Preserve Frautschi Center and its outdoor spaces.

If you would like special recognition of a gift, please indicate this on your donation form or speak with the Preserve Director at the time of your donation. Please contact the Preserve Director at 608-263-3023 or lakeshorepreserve@fpm.wisc.edu.

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.

• Class Gifts
• Gifts of Initial Lands

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

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