The ASU Foundation was incorporated on June 22, 1955, as the Arizona State College Foundation.
The foundation drew inspiration from the generosity of George and Martha Wilson of 20 acres of land in 1885 to create the Tempe Normal School, which would later become Arizona State University.
In the 1930s, the Bulldog Boosters organization actively raised support for athletic programs for the Arizona State Teachers College, as it was known at the time. In the mid-1940s, the fundraising group changed its name to Sun Angels, concurrent with the renaming of the college’s mascot to the Sun Devils.
In 1947, Grady Gammage, president of the newly named Arizona State College, established the Agricultural Advisory Council to advocate for and raise funds on behalf of the school’s agricultural activities. In 1955, the council was incorporated and renamed the Arizona State College Foundation, with its philanthropic mission broadened to serve the entire college.
A state referendum in 1958 renamed the college Arizona State University, with a concomitant name change for the foundation to Arizona State University Foundation, more commonly referred to as the ASU Foundation. In 2008, the foundation was renamed the Arizona State University Foundation for A New American University to reflect the vision laid out for the university by President Michael Crow.
Embracing its innovative reputation, in 2016, the ASU Foundation for A New American University reorganized as ASU Enterprise Partners, which comprises five diverse resource-raising entities, including the foundation, which maintains its singular focus on philanthropy and development on behalf of ASU.
