Gifts by Credit Card

The IRS requires that credit cards be charged by midnight on December 31 for the donor to receive a gift receipt for the calendar year that’s ending. Mailed credit card gifts must be received at Duke Alumni & Development Records (ADR) and manually charged by December 28 for Duke to issue a gift receipt for the concluding calendar year. Online credit card gifts may be made until midnight on December 31 of the concluding year.

Make a gift on Duke’s secure giving site.

Electronic Transfers

Please notify Alumni and Development Records at (919) 684-2338 or adrecords@duke.edu after you have scheduled an electronic transfer. If you are trying to meet a deadline, you might also consider charging your gift to a credit card or mailing a payment through an express carrier. Note that IRS regulations stipulate that contributions sent by private carriers must be dated based on Duke’s date of receipt, whereas gifts sent through the US Postal Service can be dated based on the postmark date. Learn more here. 

Gifts by Check

Mail your gift to the Office of Alumni and Development Records, where all charitable contributions to Duke University and the Duke University Health System are processed. Please make all checks payable to Duke University. You can use these mailing addresses:

Matching Gifts

Find out if a particular organization will match your gift by using our matching gifts database. See our matching gifts database.

Gifts of Stocks, Bonds, and Mutual Funds

Notify us of your plan to donate securities to Duke.
See https://www.stockgifts.duke.edu/

Personal Property

If you would like to donate personal property to Duke, please contact Alumni and Development Records at (919) 684-2338. Some gifts require appraisal or advance approval in order to be accepted. Examples of gifts of property include tickets to athletic events, rare books, art work, computer hardware and software, and laboratory equipment.

Real Estate

All gifts of real estate require prior approval by the university. A gift of real estate may be a principal residence or vacation home, a farm, a commercial building, a subdivision lot, or unimproved land. The gift may be the entire property or a fractional interest in the property. Duke’s Office of Gift Planning can walk you through the approval process. Learn more.

Donor Advised Funds

A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a charitable account administered by a sponsoring nonprofit organization, or “sponsor,” for the purpose of supporting the charities you care about most. Learn more. 

Qualified Charitable Distributions

A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) is a giving technique that enables donors age 70 ½ or older to transfer directly from the donor’s IRA (or IRAs) to one or more qualified public charities. Learn more. 

Gifts from UK Taxpayers

If you are a UK taxpayer—even if you also pay taxes in the US—you may be able to significantly increase the value of your gift. Find out how the Duke UK Trust Limited can make your donation worth more.

Information for European donors to Duke

Through Transnational Giving Europe (TGE), donors in participating countries can direct gifts to Duke University through Duke’s UK-registered charity, Duke U.K. Trust Limited (Duke UK Trust). More information on TGE is available here.

Foreign Currency

Duke University greatly appreciates cash donations in any form, including foreign currency, US dollars drawn on foreign banks, or foreign “dollars.” Duke gives gift credit in US dollars for the value of the donation based on current exchange rates as of the day of receipt. Please consult your financial institution for information on current US exchange rates.

It is important to know that Duke incurs what can amount to substantial bank fees to process foreign currency gifts and checks drawn on foreign banks. Unfortunately, there are times when the fees associated with these types of gift outweigh the gifts themselves. For this reason, Duke is only able to accept foreign checks of $100 or more.

A life income gift, such as a charitable gift annuity or a charitable remainder unitrust, can provide you and/or your loved ones with an income for the duration of your lives or for a specific number of years. You receive a current income tax deduction as well. Learn more here.

These trusts can be used to transfer assets to a loved one with a significantly reduced tax liability. Learn more about charitable lead trusts.

The most common form of deferred gift to Duke is a bequest contained in a person’s will or revocable (living) trust. Find sample language and more information.

Naming Duke as a primary or contingent beneficiary of a retirement plan (e.g. IRA, SEP, 401(k), 403(b), ESOP, etc.) may enable you to make a larger gift than you anticipated because income and estate taxes are not imposed when plan assets are distributed to Duke. Your retirement account’s plan administrator (the company that manages the account) can help you designate Duke University as a primary or contingent beneficiary on the plan’s beneficiary form. Learn more.

You can generate a current income tax deduction by giving a home or farm to Duke, while retaining the right to use the property during your lifetime. The property will also be removed from your taxable estate. Contact Duke’s Office of Gift Planning to discuss this gift opportunity in more detail.