Why Invest Your Resources in the Wisconsin Academy?

The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters is a private 501(c)3 nonprofit organization funded almost entirely through private contributions like gifts, grants, sponsorships and memberships. Each fiscal year, we have to raise at least $300,000—not including our endowment disbursements—to fund programs to connect people and ideas throughout our state.

While the organization has a long history and valuable relationships with the University of Wisconsin System and private colleges, the Wisconsin Academy is not a program of any university. We are an entirely independent, nonprofit organization. For more information on our funding sources, please download a copy of our 2010-2011 Annual Report (PDF).

As you can see from the above pie chart, the Wisconsin Academy is supported by an endowment fund. The Wisconsin Academy Foundation holds an endowment contributing approximately 37% of our annual operating income. In addition, as a resident company of Overture Center for the Arts, we receive support from the Great Performance Fund at the Madison Community Foundation. This contribution makes up approximately 10% of our annual operating income and is designated solely for our programs produced at Overture Center.

Our Programs

Programs of the Wisconsin Academy strive to bring context, civilized discussion, and meaningful action to the most important issues and ideas of today. We create spaces—public forums, art galleries, publications—where citizens like you can join together to examine the challenges of our times, look at the world in new ways, and suggest solutions that work.  The statistics below reflect participation in our programs from July 1, 2010—June 30, 2011.

Academy Evenings

• An estimated 2,944 people participated in our conversations
• Videos of Academy Evening talks were viewed or downloaded 34,660 times

James Watrous Gallery

• 8,592 of visitors
• 29 Wisconsin artists displayed

Wisconsin People & Ideas Magazine

• In its 56th year of continuous publication, it the only magazine to cover contemporary Wisconsin thought and culture
• Articles highlighting the best people and ideas from over 45 towns across Wisconsin, from Bayfield to Delvan, Frederic to Ellison Bay

Wisconsin Academy Fellows

• Seven new individuals were selected to join this elite group representing Wisconsin’s thought leaders
• Currently, there are 74 total Academy Fellows from a wide range of disciplines who help us shape our programs and projects