The UC San Diego Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation (Tax ID #95-2872494) which was established in 1972, in response to the University's recognition that private support is essential to maintaining and enhancing the margin of excellence at UCSD. The Foundation helps UCSD obtain private gifts (in support of research, teaching, and public service) and manages the gift assets.

Distinguished community members, University administrators, and faculty and alumni representatives make up the 44-member Board of Trustees that governs the Foundation. The Board meets quarterly in regular session, and the Foundation's standing committees meet throughout the year to review Foundation business and to recommend action. The Foundation's standing committees include Audit, Development, Executive, Investment/Finance, Nominating, Stewardship, and Student Foundation. Additionally, the Foundation has two ad hoc committees, Art Review and Planned Gifts.

From the Foundation's inception in 1972, members of the Board of Trustees have formed a crucial link between UCSD and the community. The Trustees communicate about UCSD to the public, and in so doing, build interest in the campus and support for its programs. The excellence that UCSD has achieved has been assisted by the community, and the Trustees and volunteers who serve the UC San Diego Foundation continue to play a critical role in the growth and success of the campus.

The Foundation accepts, administers, and invests private gifts in the form of cash and real or personal property and manages the funds either as endowments or as funds available for current expenditure.In the past ten years, the market value of the Foundation’s assets has grown from $149 million to nearly $533 million, of which $355 million is endowment (as of June 30, 2007). (These amounts are stated without regard to GASB 33 accounting rules for comparative purposes for the past ten years.)

Major initiatives at UCSD funded through gifts to the Foundation include the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology [Calit2], the Geisel Endowment for the UCSD Libraries, the Joan and Irwin Jacobs School of Engineering (JSOE), Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, the William J. von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement, The Preuss School, Rady School of Management, the Beyster Institute within the Rady School of Management, Skaggs School of Pharmacy, one hundred thirty-seven endowed professorships, student scholarships and fellowships, research support, departmental support, and support for unrestricted gifts. Buildings constructed with partial or full funding from gifts to the Foundation include the Shiley Eye Center, the Powell Structures Laboratory, Thornton Hospital, Bannister House, the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, the Price Center, the Cecil and Ida Green Faculty Club, the Moores UCSD Cancer Center, and the Liechtag Family Biomedical Research Building. Current initiatives include the Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center, expansion of Thornton Hospital and east campus medical facilities, a new Student Center, the Conrad Prebys Music Center, and the expansion of north campus housing. The continuing growth in these areas is a reflection of the University's commitment to the development of private support to sustain its quest for excellence.