Confectionery Education Endowment Fund
Confectionery Education Endowment Fund
Sustaining World-Class Confectionery Education
We are currently at risk of losing our beloved ‘Candy School.’ The key purpose of this fund is to sustain and grow the 60+ year legacy of educating the confectionery industry into perpetuity.
Current benefits of the UW-Madison confectionery-centered agenda include:
- 2-week confectionery technology course (Candy School)
- Related short courses (currently Gummies & Jellies and Candy Basics)
- Graduate research projects & internships
- Graduate & undergraduate confectionery classes
The industry has been very fortunate to have dedicated volunteer staff at the University of
Wisconsin for over 60 years. It is necessary at this time to secure the program’s future with paid UW staff.
The CEE Fund will secure the future of these confectionery activities by funding part of a faculty member to manage the program and associated costs of equipment, supplies, travel, etc.
What is an Endowed Fund?
An endowment is an investment in future generations of Badgers, made by today’s donors. Because an endowed fund continues in perpetuity, an endowed gift has both an immediate and a future impact on the university. Endowments may be either restricted to a specific purpose or unrestricted and used where the organization sees fit.
How does it work?
The principal of an endowed fund is invested in perpetuity, with only a portion of the fund’s balance being spent. Our policies are designed with the goal of providing a stable flow of program support to campus and maintaining an endowment balance that can grow at roughly the rate of inflation.
Endowed funds are pooled into the endowment portfolio managed by the UW Foundation investments team. The goal is to have a consistent, perpetual, and high-quality impact on the university’s mission through a scholarship, fellowship, professorship, chair, or other program fund.
The Foundation’s investments team has fiduciary responsibility for managing the endowment portfolio. The team consists of experienced investment professionals who focus on asset allocation and manager selection for a globally diversified portfolio consisting of public and private market equities and fixed income investments. The investments team seeks to earn long-term, risk-adjusted returns within the parameters established by the Foundation’s investment committee.
What is the UW Foundation’s Overall Investment Philosophy?
The Foundation’s investments team utilizes a process to determine the appropriate asset allocation commitments and identify best-in-class, high-performing managers. While the endowment portfolio invests in active manager strategies expected to outperform over the long term across a complete market cycle, allocations to low-cost, passive
approaches are utilized as well. Gaining broad exposure through low-cost investment vehicles, including index and exchange-traded funds, is complemented by active manager strategies in less efficient market segments.
What is the Institutional Advancement Fee and How is it Used?
The Institutional Advancement Fee of 1%
annualized on endowed funds is the primary source of revenue generation to fund the Foundation’s general operations. This is below the median of other independent foundations supporting public universities. The fee has been at 1% for several decades.
What is the Spending Plan, and Why Does it Exist?
The spending plan is a board-determined policy specifying a certain percentage generated by endowed funds be allocated to the program the donor selected. The spending plan currently distributes 4.5% of the endowment’s average market value over the previous 16 quarters.
As endowment balances will fluctuate with market conditions, the 16-quarter moving average balance provides a more stable basis for the income stream, helping the university with annual budgeting and organizational planning. The majority of the Foundation’s peer institutions also have smoothed spending plans that are designed to provide relatively consistent sources of income.