How to Give
Wherever you live, and however much you are able to give, the University and College Development Offices exist to help you channel your support to make a difference. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the relevant Office for further advice: your support matters.
Post:
You can pay by credit card, debit card, cheque (payable to “The
University of Cambridge”), direct debit, standing order, or bank transfer.
Please use these downloadable forms: UK; Canada; Rest of World.
Phone:
Credit card and debit card payments can be made by phone on:
UK: +44 (0)1223 332288
US: +001 (212) 984-0969
In person:
If you are in Cambridge, and would like to come to the Office to make a
gift in person, we are always delighted to meet alumni and friends of the University.
See the full range. Major projects
The following will give you a sense of just some of the large-scale projects to which major, individual gifts will make a transformative impact:
To find out more about how to support projects on this scale, please contact us.
Student support, outreach, innovation or unrestricted funds
The University’s Annual Fund exists for those who wish to make a regular donation in support of one or more
of the following:
- Students (at both undergraduate and graduate levels).
- Outreach (educational outreach to schools, and the extraordinary range of community volunteering undertaken by students and staff).
- The Vice-Chancellor’s Strategic Fund for new initiatives in teaching and research.
- Unrestricted funds that can used strategically, at the University’s discretion, to respond to changing requirements in teaching and research.
Each College has a regular giving Fund as well as special projects that require philanthropic involvement. Use the list to the right to visit a specific College website.
Cash gifts
Either by one-off payment, or a regular gift spread over a period of time.
Legacies
By leaving money in your will, you would be helping to produce outstanding thinkers and leaders who will go out into the world and make a difference to it across the arts, humanities, sciences, technology, business and medicine. Professional advice when writing or changing your will is highly recommended, and this wording might be useful. The Development Office is pleased to discuss, in confidence, ways of structurng a legacy to meet your needs and objectives.
Non-cash assets
Tax relief is available to UK taxpayers donating shares and securities listed on the UK stock market, the Alternative Investment Market and recognised stock exchanges overseas. It is also available for units in a UK unit trust and shares in a UK open-ended investment company. You can claim income-tax relief equal to the market value of the shares on the day the gift is made, plus any associated costs such as the brokers’ fees.
Gifts of land or property made during a donor's lifetime attract the same tax incentives as gifts of shares, and other forms of non-cash gift may also be considered as gifts to Cambridge. To find out more, please contact us early in the process so that we can work with your advisers to help arrange the transaction.
Payroll Giving
This is a scheme available through participating UK employers that enables charitable donations to be made from gross salary. Donors get immediate tax relief on the value of their donation. So a monthly gift of £20 will cost a basic-rate taxpayer just £15.60 from net pay. If your employer has a Payroll Giving scheme in place, you can ask them to set up a gift to Cambridge from your gross pay. Find out more at the Payroll Giving website.
Self-assessment tax return
If you fill in an annual Self-Assessment Tax Return you can give to charity some or all of any tax refund that you may be due, simply by ticking the appropriate box on the form.To make a gift through your Self-Assessment Tax Return tick the relevant box on your form quoting either the University's unique reference number: UAH00LG, or that of a College of your choice (obtainable from that College's Development Office).
Gift aid (UK)
Gift Aid makes a great difference to Cambridge and costs you nothing extra. For every pound donated by a UK tax payer (excluding companies), Cambridge can reclaim 25% (based on tax year 2011/12) from H M Revenue and Customs. So a £100 donation made under Gift Aid is worth £125 to Cambridge. In addition, donors who are higher-rate or additional rate taxpayers can claim personal tax relief on the difference between the higher/additional rate of tax (currently 40% and 50% respectively) and the basic rate in their Self Assessment Return. This is worth 25 pence for every pound donated by higher rate taxpayers and 37.5 pence for additional rate taxpayers. Gift Aid can apply to donations of any amount, large or small, made by cash, cheque, standing order, debit or credit card.
Gift Aid calculator
To make a Gift Aid donation, you need to have paid enough tax in the UK to cover the amount reclaimed by Cambridge, and to sign and return the Gift Aid Declaration which you will find on all our downloadable giving forms.
Transnational Giving (Europe) Transnational Giving Europe enables donors in 14 European countries to benefit from the tax advantages in their country of residence. To find out whether your country of residence is included in this scheme to facilitate philanthropy sans frontiers – and to find out who to contact for advice – visit the TGE website.
Cambridge in America (UK) Ltd
If you are subject to tax in both the UK and US, you can give through Cambridge in America (UK) Ltd, a registered charity in England, and be simultaneously
eligible for tax benefits in both countries: find out more.
Government Matched Funding
The UK Government’s matched funding scheme exists to encourage philanthropic donations to English universities. Find out more about the way in which Cambridge and Oxford Universities
have agreed, with the Government, to realise the scheme to encourage greater participation by our supporters.
Corporate Matching Schemes
Some companies offer 'Matching Gift' schemes through which they double, or even triple charitable donations from their employees. If your employer participates in a matching gift programme, please don’t hesitate to contact us for more information.
UK
To support Cambridge now:
- Give Online.
- Send payment by post. You can use this downloadable form, and send it to Cambridge University Development Office, 1 Quayside, Bridge Street, Cambridge CB5 8AB.
- Phone us on 01223 332288.
- See 'Maximising your gift' section above for information about Gift Aid.
Europe
To support Cambridge now:
- Give Online.
- Send payment by post. You can use this downloadable form, and send it to Cambridge University Development Office, 1 Quayside, Bridge Street, Cambridge CB5 8AB, UK.
- Give via Transnational European Giving if resident in a qualifying country.
- Phone us on +44 (0)1223 332288.
United States
To support fundraising in the United States, the University and the Colleges jointly fund Cambridge in America (CAm),
a professional development and alumni relations office based in New York. CAm is a registered 501(C)3 organisation enabling
American donors to give tax efficiently for the benefit of the University and the Colleges. CAm staff members travel
extensively across the US, helping alumni to retain their connection with Cambridge.
If you are subject to tax in both the UK and US, you can give through Cambridge in America (UK) Ltd, a registered charity in England, and be simultaneously eligible for tax benefits in both countries: find out more.
Please don’t hesitate to contact CAM with queries about how to support Cambridge; or to give online, by post or over the phone. The website also features information on forthcoming events, lectures and activities that may be of interest to you.
Canada
Cambridge is registered with the Canadian tax authorities, and the UK Development Office can issue to Canadian donors gift receipts that are recognised for tax purposes.
To support Cambridge now:
- Give Online (your creditcard will be charged in pounds sterling).
- Send payment by post. You can use this downloadable form, and send it to Cambridge University Development Office, 1 Quayside, Bridge Street, Cambridge CB5 8AB.
- Phone us on +44 (0)1223 332288.
Hong Kong
The Friends of Cambridge University in Hong Kong will be pleased to advise potential benefactors on ways in which gifts can be made tax efficient. The Friends also run and manage the Prince Philip Scholarship Scheme which, since 1982, has been making a decisive contribution to enabling talented students from Hong Kong to study at Cambridge.
To support Cambridge now:
- Give Online (your creditcard will be charged in pounds sterling).
- Send payment by post. You can use this downloadable form, which should be sent to Cambridge University Development Office, 1 Quayside, Bridge Street, Cambridge CB5 8AB.
- Phone us on +44 (0)1223 332288.
Rest of world
For donations from other parts of the world, donors are advised in the first instance to consult their own financial advisers with regard to making gifts in tax-efficient ways. The UK Development Offices of the University and the Colleges are happy to assist in this process, liaising directly with advisers to ensure that gifts are made in optimally efficient and effective ways.
To support Cambridge now:
- Give Online (your credit card will be charged in pounds sterling).
- Send payment by post. You can use this downloadable form, which should be sent to Cambridge University Development Office, 1 Quayside, Bridge Street, Cambridge CB5 8AB.
- Phone us on +44 (0)1223 332288.
If you have any questions, no matter how straightforward you think they might be, and regardless of the size of the gift you have in mind, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are here to help, and every gift to collegiate Cambridge counts.
Contact details
