Making a Gift to the University of Oxford: Frequently Asked Questions

The University of Oxford Development and Alumni Engagement office raises funds in support of the University’s academic priorities. We collaborate with colleagues across the collegiate University to secure donations for all aspects of academic and student endeavour.

The generosity of donors helps us ensure that the most talented students can study here regardless of background, that our research provides benefit on an international scale, and that our expertise is applied to some of the world’s biggest challenges.

See how you can support the University of Oxford.

If you would like to discuss making a large gift to the University, please contact a member of our experienced major giving teams based in the UK and around the world.

• United Kingdom office
• North American office
• China office
• Japan office
• Europe office

Alternatively, please contact the Head of Donor Relations, who will direct you to the most appropriate colleague.

Head of Donor Relations: donor.relations@dae.ox.ac.uk

Telephone: +44(0)1865 611651

Making a charitable gift is a very personal decision. The University of Oxford needs both endowment and spend-down gifts to support its mission now and in the future.

A permanent endowment gift is a self-sustaining source of funding and endowment assets are invested. Each year, a portion of the value of the endowment fund is paid out to support the fund’s purpose, and any income in excess of this distribution is used to build the fund’s market value. In this way, an endowment fund can grow and provide support for its designated purpose in the long term. When your gift establishes an endowment fund, or you give to an endowment fund that already exists, you create a lasting legacy of support for the University.

Please note: You may make a gift in any amount to an already established endowment fund, but to create a new endowed fund, you must meet the minimum funding levels established by the University. If you wish to discuss an endowment fund gift, please get in touch with one of our specialist major gift teams.

A spend-down gift is money given by a donor that is to be spent, in its entirety, usually in the current financial year. It is not usually invested for the long term but will be used to meet a pressing priority (e.g. a capital project). Spend-down gifts can be for unrestricted or restricted use and have a large impact in the year that they are received.

Gifts to the University can often be enhanced by a variety of tax benefits. Several schemes are available to help donors based in various countries make tax-efficient donations.

There is also tax relief information available on the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) website.

Gift Aid is a UK government scheme that enables the University to claim tax relief on donations from UK taxpayers. We would encourage all eligible donors to use this scheme to maximise their donation. For every £1 a UK taxpayer donates, 25p in reclaimed tax is added by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). This means that a £100 gift with Gift Aid is worth £125 to the University.

Please note that we will share relevant and necessary data with HMRC to enable us to reclaim the Gift Aid on your donation. Donors should also write to us when they stop paying enough UK tax to be eligible for Gift Aid, so that our records are accurate.

Donations from companies, trusts and foundations are not eligible for Gift Aid. However, a company may be able to treat the gift as an allowable expense, making a saving on corporation tax.

Information on Gift Aid from the UK Government.

The Committee to Review Donations and Research Funding (CRDRF) oversees the University’s process for the acceptance of donations received by the University for any purpose; and funding received for the purpose of conducting research. It reports to the Council of the University and is governed by Council Regulations.

The University is careful to ensure that funding does not impinge on academic freedom, create potential conflicts of interest, or otherwise harm the reputation of the collegiate University. In addition to considering reputational issues and the wider interests of the University, funding is also reviewed in light of the University’s responsibilities as a charity.

Funding is therefore only requested or accepted if it will not have an influence on decision-making at the University, will not interfere with its charitable objectives of teaching and research, will not harm the reputation of the University, and if it will not result in the University or any of its members acting illegally, improperly or unethically. The latter includes the following considerations:

• Illegal or unethical activity, such as where the funding is believed to be a result of criminal activity, is linked to money laundering activity, or otherwise originates from or is associated with unethical activity.
• Bribery, either where the University believes it would be accepting a bribe or would be offering a bribe to the funder.
• Terrorism, where the funding is suspected to be associated with terrorist financing activity.
• Where any conditions attached to funding would require the University to act illegally or unethically in any way.

In addition to these legal considerations, funding will not generally be accepted if the potential funder is actively involved in the tobacco industry, based on the definition used in the Cancer Research UK Code of Practice on Tobacco Industry Funding to Universities.

The University has also produced guidance on accepting funding and donations related to fossil fuels.

If you are considering leaving a gift to any part of the University in your will, our Legacies team will be pleased to have an informal chat with you, providing any guidance you may need and the wording to share with your solicitor or family members. You should also consult your solicitor on any tax planning.

Information about leaving a legacy to Oxford.

To contact our Legacies team, Spencer Wisdom and Caroline Reynolds:

Email: legacies@dae.ox.ac.uk

Telephone: +44 (0)1865 611538.

There are a number of ways to donate to the University of Oxford. Please see below:

Donate online

You can make a one-off donation via credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, and CAF, or you can set up a recurring gift on our website. Gifts can be made via our online donation form by selecting the area of the University you wish to support.

When making a gift online, please note that for security reasons, we limit large transactions to specific amounts. This limit applies to both credit card and direct debit transactions, which are processed online. Please see the default limits below:

For larger gifts, please contact the Donor Relations team to discuss your gift and receive guidance on the most appropriate transaction method (for example, via a bank transfer).

Donate by post

We welcome donations made by cheque, CAF cheque, card or Direct Debit. To give by post, please print and complete one of our postal giving forms. Please use the return address included on your form.

Please note: due to increasingly high admin costs, the University would prefer not to receive foreign currency cheques.

If you are a UK taxpayer, do not forget to maximise your gift by filling out our Gift Aid declaration. If you are looking for giving methods and how to give tax efficiently from your country, please see our information about tax-efficient giving.

You can make a one-off or recurring donation via credit or debit card on our website. Gifts can be made via our online donation form, by selecting the ‘Colleges’ category towards the bottom of the screen and then selecting the college you wish to support.

Alternatively, please contact the college directly.

Yes. You can direct your gift to any department, programme, fund, sports and society club, the University’s gardens, libraries and museums, or college by indicating so on your giving form. You can also provide a written ‘expression of wishes’, which the University will do its utmost to honour.

The University shall hold a portion of the gift as income to support its general development and engagement activities. For further information, please see ‘What is a gift assessment’, below.

On our online donation form, you can find details of our current appeals as well as browse a full range of fundraising projects.

If you wish to discuss making a major gift or give to a specific area not listed online, please get in touch with one of our specialist major gift teams or the Head of Donor Relations.

Yes. The University welcomes regular or recurring gifts, and all gifts, whatever their size, really make a difference. Regular support helps us to ensure that the most talented students can study here regardless of background, that our research provides benefit on an international scale, and that our expertise is applied to some of the world’s biggest challenges.

You can set up a recurring gift through our online donation form.

If you would prefer to donate by post, please print and complete one of our postal giving forms.

Donors who are based outside of the UK can make gifts via our online donation form, or by post by completing one of our postal giving forms.

There are several schemes available to help donors based in various countries make tax-efficient donations. To learn more, please see our information about tax-efficient giving.

All donors, whatever the amount they give, will receive a prompt and written acknowledgement from the University Development and Alumni Engagement office. The acknowledgement is generated once the donation has been processed and is typically emailed to the donor.

The University is proud to continue its long tradition of celebrating and honouring its most generous benefactors. To build on the close relationships between the University and its supporters, benefactors may receive invitations to project-related events, such as special lectures, building tours and opening ceremonies. In addition, major benefactors may be invited to join one of the University’s recognition societies, each with its own programme of communications and events.

Naming opportunities offer donors the ability to leave their own legacy, recognise a loved one, or pay tribute to a person of significance. The Ashmolean Museum and Bodleian Library were both named in honour of their benefactors. This tradition lives on at Oxford and we offer naming opportunities related to buildings, schools, libraries, institutes, chairs, posts, scholarships, and plaques, where appropriate.

How the University recognises gifts.

Yes. The right to privacy is a principle that underpins our work. Please let us know when you make your donation if you wish your gift to be treated confidentially. Please also note that the donor's identity must be known to and acceptable to the Chair of the Committee to Review Donations and Research Funding (CRDRF) and the Chief Development and Alumni Engagement Officer. Data may be shared with tax authorities as required by Tax Returns.

Like many global higher education institutions and non-profit organisations, the University of Oxford applies a one-time assessment to all gifts upon receipt.

This provides essential support to the University’s fundraising and engagement efforts to help deliver institutional priorities. One hundred percent of all gifts advance the University of Oxford’s charitable mission to promote, assist and secure the advancement of education, learning, teaching, scholarships and research.

The University of Oxford Donor Charter.

Yes. Donors wishing to give stocks, shares, bonds and unit trusts to the University can complete the share-giving form and mail it to us in the UK. The University does not hold donated shares for investment purposes and sells these upon change of ownership. Donors wishing to give shares to a college should contact the college directly.

Share giving is the most generous tax relief available to benefactors, combining relief on income and capital gains tax. In the UK, share gifts qualify for tax relief equal to the market value of the shares on the day the gift is made, including associated costs such as broker fees. The tax relief can be claimed for the year in which the gift is made.

For example, a gift of £1,000 worth of shares to the University of Oxford by a higher-rate taxpayer would reduce their income tax by up to £200 for the year. Additionally, the benefactor would not have to pay any Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on any increase in the value of the shares since they were bought. If the shares have gone down in value, however, it is not possible to use this loss to offset any other CGT liabilities.

Yes. The University is grateful to receive non-cash and gift-in-kind donations. Such gifts might include real estate and cultural property (e.g. artwork and books) and are generally evaluated before being accepted. Donors are advised to contact us before making such a gift, to ensure that the University is able to receive it. Please contact us at:

Email: enquiries@devoff.ox.ac.uk

Telephone: +44 (0)1865 611530.

No. The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford (the ‘University’) is a corporate entity with exempt charity status, by virtue of paragraph 2 of Schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011. The University is therefore not registered with the Charity Commission and has no charity registration number.

The University of Oxford Development Trust Fund (‘OUDT’) is an unincorporated charitable trust which functions as the main vehicle for the receipt and allocation of philanthropic gifts to the University and its associated colleges. The sole trustee of OUDT is the University itself. OUDT is also an exempt charity, by virtue of it being a connected institute of the University by virtue of paragraph 28 (1) of Schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011. OUDT is, therefore, not registered with the Charity Commission and has no charity registration number. It is recognised as a charity by HM Revenue & Customs, under reference number XN80595.

If making a gift online, Canadian taxpayers can request a Canadian Tax receipt while completing the online donation form. Alternatively, please contact our Gift Registry team:

Email: gift.registry@dae.ox.ac.uk

Telephone: +44 (0)1865 611530.

If you would you like to receive a breakdown of your gifts to the University, please contact the Donor Relations team:

Email: donor.relations@dae.ox.ac.uk

Telephone: +44(0)1865 611530.

If you want to update your contact details, please contact us:

Email: enquiries@devoff.ox.ac.uk

Telephone: +44 (0)1865 611530.

Many credit card details automatically update in our system when a donor's card expires or is out-of-date. If this doesn't happen, the easiest way to change your credit card information for a regular or recurring gift is to cancel your current recurring gift and set up a new one. Please visit our online donation form to set up a new regular gift.

The University's financial statements are published every year, and include a summary of donations and endowments.

The University frequently celebrates new donations and the lasting impact of philanthropy through our Development Office website and via our social media channels.

The University frequently celebrates new donations and the lasting impact of philanthropy through our Development Office website and via our social media channels.

Donors may find updates on the impact of philanthropy by visiting the website of the University department, school, museum, library, college, etc they are supporting.

Major donors may also receive annual progress reports on the impact of their gift.

If you wish to find out more about the impact of your gift, please get in touch with the Donor Relations team:

Email: donor.relations@dae.ox.ac.uk

The University of Oxford works hard to ensure that donors contributing have a positive and trouble-free experience. However, we recognise that there may be circumstances in which mistakes may be made or refunds may be requested. Under charity law, charities are not permitted to refund donations, other than in exceptional circumstances; see the Charities Act 2011. However, there may be an occasion when you need to speak to one of our team to discuss your donation. Please contact:

Email: donor.relations@dae.ox.ac.uk

Telephone: +44 (0)1865 611530.

Refund policy for donations to the University.

 

For information about how we managed your data, please refer to our privacy notice.

If you have a general enquiry, please contact the Development and Alumni Engagement office: enquiries@devoff.ox.ac.uk

If you wish to update or change any details regarding your gift, please contact the Gift Registry team: gift.registry@dae.ox.ac.uk

If you would like to discuss your experience of making a gift to Oxford, please contact the Donor Relations team: donor.relations@dae.ox.ac.uk

If you no longer wish to hear from us, please let us know at: database@dae.ox.ac.uk