Why giving to the Lakeshore Nature Preserve matters so much

It is an ironic fact that although the Lakeshore Nature Preserve is among the most distinctive and beloved features of the UW-Madison campus, it operates on a shoestring budget that provides nothing like the financial support that the Preserve could ideally use.

Our needs for resources are many:

• stewardship
• ecological restoration
• visitor amenities
• major improvements to infrastructure
• educational outreach
• public interpretive programming
• student involvement
• curricular development
• volunteer coordination
• staffing

and many other needs and opportunities.

Given all the other important demands on the university's budget, it is hardly surprising that state support for the Preserve cannot be all that we might prefer. This means that the care of the Preserve is very much dependent on the generous contributions of alumni, community members, and other donors whose gifts over the years have been significantly responsible for what makes this place so special.

Indeed, it's fair to say that the Preserve as we know it today would not exist at all without the far-sighted generosity of those who have worked in the past to create, sustain, and pass it on to us.

All of this is just to state the obvious: we need you ! Please join the growing community of donors who sustain the Lakeshore Nature Preserve across the seasons and generations, year in and year out.

Donor profiles

To learn how past gifts have benefited the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, read the history of past philanthropy at the following links:

• Gifts of land
• Class gifts
• People who have made a difference

How can you help?

In addition to joining the Friends of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, working as a volunteer, and serving as an advocate for the Preserve, we hope you'll consider making regular gifts to the UW Foundation's Preserve Stewardship Fund.

The Preserve's new Master Plan has created an exciting vision for a future that can only be achieved with generous philanthropic support. The Preserve Stewardship Fund is intended to be a pool of money that can be directed by Preserve managers toward the most pressing needs of the Preserve such as erosion control, invasive plant removal, native plant restoration, and enhancing human use and enjoyment of the Preserve while assuring the long-term health of the land and its creatures.

By contributing to the Preserve Stewardship Fund, you make it possible for the Preserve to move forward toward a future in which this much-loved place will finally receive all the care and stewardship that it deserves.

Donate now !

Donate online now to the Preserve Stewardship Fund.
Or, mail your contribution to:

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

Be sure to note on your check that your gift is intended for the "Preserve Stewardship Fund."

Contact us about your gift

To discuss funding our major projects or any other donations that support the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, contact:

Janine M. Veto
Director of Development
Lakeshore Nature Preserve
1848 University Ave.
P.O. Box 8860
Madison, WI 53708-8860
(608) 263-6625
janine.veto@uwfoundation.wisc.edu

Thank you!!