The CSU, Chico Research Foundation

The CSU, Chico Research Foundation was incorporated in 1997 following a reorganization of the responsibilities of the University Foundation. The University Foundation was incorporated in 1940 as an auxiliary organization authorized by the Education Code of the State of California and currently is responsible for fundraising and philanthropic endeavors on behalf of the University. The Research Foundation has assumed responsibility for grants and contracts administration for the campus along with entrepreneurial activities. It is governed by a 10-member Board of Directors consisting of campus administration, faculty, a student, and members of the community. The Foundation Executive Director is responsible to the Board of Directors for the administration of Foundation activities and to the University administration for adherence to campus policy.

As a private non-profit corporation, the Foundation is self-financed and receives no state appropriations. Foundation employees are not state employees. The Foundation's financial and personnel structures, while designed to serve the campus, are distinct from those of the University, and operational practices may vary from those of the campus. The Foundation must conform with non-profit corporation laws as well as the regulations and directives issued by the Trustees of the California State University.

The purpose of the Foundation is to help develop and administer those activities that aid and supplement the educational mission of CSU, Chico. As an auxiliary organization of CSU, Chico, the Foundation provides service functions. As a non-profit corporation, it facilitates the work of campus units and provides alternatives to state procedures. The Foundation administers hundreds of projects annually with annual revenues of about $34 million. The Foundation employs more than 2,000 employees over the course of the year, in the form of 170 regular employees with full-benefits status, and 45-600 other temporary, part-time, and student employees duing any particular pay period throughout the course of the year.