Frequently Asked Questions

Gifts of cash made to the UC Regents and the UC Berkeley Foundation are equally tax-deductible and are used for the purposes specified by the donor.

Download a giving form to fill out and mail in.

Wire transfers are used for gifts made from both within and outside the United States. You should alert UC Berkeley that a wire transfer has been made. Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers, on the other hand, can only be sent from domestic banks; they will not work from international banks. This unique routing number must be used for ACH transfers: 121000358.

For help with wire or ACH transfers, please contact us at 510.643.9789 or gifthelp@berkeley.edu

We encourage donors to transfer gifts of publicly-traded securities to one of the UC Berkeley Foundation’s brokerage accounts by completing and submitting one of the transfer forms below.

Our primary and preferred brokerage account is with Morgan Stanley, and is appropriate for most gifts of securities. All transfers of mutual funds must be sent to our Morgan Stanley account. If you intend on transferring mutual funds, always contact us at 510.642.6791 immediately as certain steps must be taken before the transfer is initiated.

Download Morgan Stanley securities transfer form.

The UC Berkeley Foundation also has a brokerage account with Charles Schwab, primarily for our donors who have Schwab accounts.

Download Charles Schwab securities transfer form.

When you have filled out a transfer form, please (1) provide a copy to your broker and (2) email a copy to us at givesecurities@berkeley.edu. We cannot sell securities without first identifying the donor.

If you have questions, please call 510.642.6791 or email givesecurities@berkeley.edu.

Donating tangible personal property is an increasingly popular and useful way to support the campus. To determine if your item is appropriate as a gift-in-kind, please contact us at 510.642.6791 or giftinkind@berkeley.edu.

Your legacy gift may allow you to give more significant support than you thought possible, while allowing you to achieve your financial, philanthropic, and real estate planning goals. UC Berkeley’s Office of Gift Planning offers a comprehensive website, planyourlegacy.berkeley.edu, featuring online tools that guide you through a variety of gift options, including IRA/QCD gifts.

Office of Gift Planning website

Connect with us about strategic partnerships with corporations and foundations. The Office of Foundation Relations and Corporate Philanthropy (FRCP) facilitates and strengthens strategic corporate and foundation partnerships for the University of California, Berkeley.

Foundation Relations and Corporate Philanthropy website

UC Berkeley welcomes gifts from Donor Advised Funds (DAFs). Please visit your DAF's website to submit your gift recommendation. If you see a selection of UC Berkeley options listed on your DAF's site:

• Search for "UC Berkeley Foundation" or by the EIN 94-6090626.
• If you see multiple options for UC Berkeley Foundation, you may select one tied to the program, school or college that you wish to support.
• If you don't see an option for the program, school or college you wish to support, don't worry. Your gift will be directed as you instruct in the text field provided on your DAF's grant recommendation form.

Here is some additional key information you'll need to provide:

• The amount of your gift
• The name of the particular campus fund or campus unit that you'd like to support (please be as specific as possible)
• Checks must be made payable to the UC Berkeley Foundation and mailed to the address below:
  UC Berkeley Foundation
  Gift Services
  1995 University Avenue, Suite 400
  Berkeley, CA 94704-1070

The tax identification number for the UC Berkeley Foundation is 94-6090626.

If you have any questions, you or your DAF can contact UC Berkeley Gift Services at 510-643-9789 or gifthelp@berkeley.edu.

The UC Berkeley Foundation can accept gifts of digital currency, and utilizes Engiven as our primary broker to help facilitate and liquidate the assets. Engiven works with nonprofits and institutes of higher education, and can accept over 90 types of digital currencies.

Go to our UC Berkeley page on Engiven, choose your area of support, and enter your name and contact information. Use the “memo” field to provide further information and/or the name of the campus unit or fundraiser you may be working with. You’ll be provided with a wallet address to which you can transfer your asset.

If your asset is not among those that Engiven can accept, please email givesecurities@berkeley.edu with your gift details, and we’ll determine if our other crypto brokers can accept the asset for transfer and sale.

For purposes of recording, we value each donation based on the mean market value of the digital currency type on the day the asset was received in our account. Net proceeds of the sale, minus fees and the campus philanthropic allocation, are allocated to the fund you select. You’ll receive an acknowledgement letter along with IRS Form 8283 (as the IRS considers gifts of digital currency to be property).

Yes! Please email a request to gifthelp@berkeley.edu and include your preferred phone number. We’ll call you to obtain your bank account information. (For security purposes, do not include your bank account information in your email.)

Yes! If you are a UC Berkeley employee, you may contribute to almost any area of the university via payroll deduction.

Once Gift Services provides the Payroll department with the employee deduction request, funds are automatically deducted from either the next paycheck or the one after that depending on the monthly or biweekly payroll cycle. The gift deduction will be credited to the desired fund.

Canada

Canadian donors can give in the same manner as donors in the United States; gifts are tax-deductible as prescribed by law. The University of California, Berkeley is recognized as a tax-exempt organization by Revenue Canada (Tax ID 154146). If you intend to donate securities from a Canadian broker or exchange, please first contact our Securities team at givesecurities@berkeley.edu.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong taxpayers may make donations in Hong Kong dollars or U.S. dollars via the University of California Foundation Limited in Hong Kong. Contributions will be tax deductible as provided for under Section 88 of the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Ordinance. The University of California Foundation Limited will receive your donation and forward it to UC Berkeley. Remittance information for Hong Kong taxpayers.

United Kingdom

Donors making a gift from the United Kingdom are classified as either a U.K. Taxpayer or a Dual Status (U.S. & U.K.) Taxpayer. Donations must be made in pounds sterling and given to UC Berkeley via the University of California Trust (U.K.) in London (registered British Charity No. 1075405).

• You can make a one-off, monthly or recurring gift of up to £2,000 / $3,200 via the University of California Trust’s online donation form.
• You can make a one-off, monthly or recurring gift of over £2,000 / $3,200 donors must submit a donor inquiry form notifying us of the gift and where it should be designated; you will then be sent further instructions.
• If you wish to leave a legacy or bequest to the University please utilize the donor inquiry form.

For more information or to make a donation from the U.K. please contact the University of California Trust at the following email address info@californiahouse.org.uk or phone +44 (0) 20 7269 5906.

Other European Countries

For donors in Continental Europe, the most efficient way to give to UC is through the Transnational Giving Europe affiliate in your country of residence. If you are planning to make a donation, have any questions or require assistance, please submit the donor inquiry form and the University of California Trust (UK) will connect you with a colleague at the TGE affiliate in your country of residence. You can also contact the University of California Trust directly via email at info@californiahouse.org.uk, or via phone at +44 (0) 20 7269 5906.

The ID number for gifts to the UC Berkeley Foundation is 94-6090626. The ID number for gifts to the UC Regents is 94-6002123. Giving opportunities on this give.berkeley.edu website are administered via the UC Berkeley Foundation. If you do not know which Tax ID number to use, please consult Gift Services at 510.643.9789 or at gifthelp@berkeley.edu.

At the present time, only some UC Berkeley Foundation funds are available through give.berkeley.edu. You may still make a credit card gift or pledge payment by calling Gift Services at 510.643.9789. Or, you may make a donation to your fund by completing and sending in this standard form. In the ”Designate my gift/pledge to“ field, provide as much information as you can about the gift or pledge payment you are trying to make. A University representative will contact you if they cannot determine a proper match.

Please call Gift Services at 510.643.9789 to make a gift by corporate card.

To alert us to changes in address, marital status, etc., please send an e-mail to our Alumni Records unit at cadshelp@berkeley.edu.

Send an e-mail with your request to our Alumni Records unit at cadshelp@berkeley.edu. Please include your full name. If there are any mailing lists (print or online) you wish to remain on, please indicate those in your request.

Gifts made anywhere on campus count toward participation in The Charter Hill Society, Berkeley’s annual giving recognition program. In addition, some schools and programs have their own donor recognition programs. For more information about The Charter Hill Society, its tiers and benefits, and other campus recognition programs, please visit The Charter Hill Society website.

A portion of your philanthropic gift, seven and a half percent, is allocated to support our fundraising efforts and capital renewal projects on campus. This level compares favorably to those at other UC schools and select institutions. One third of this amount is directed to capital renewal; one third to campuswide fundraising operations; and the remaining third to fundraising operations at the school, college, or program benefiting from your gift.

Your support enables us to renew the university’s public mission and world-class excellence for generations to come.