FAQs

The University of Pennsylvania’s Tax ID Number is 23-1352685.

Donations to Penn, during your lifetime or through your estate plan, are tax deductible in accordance with IRS guidelines and supported by a receipt from Penn’s Treasurer’s Office. We encourage donors and their financial advisers to explore the significant tax advantages of planned gifts by contacting our Office of Gift Planning.

Through Penn’s Office of Gift Planning, it is possible to donate real estate or personal property to Penn and realize tax advantages (and in some cases of real estate, a payment stream). It is also possible to designate proceeds from the University’s sale of your donated real estate to a specific Penn program.

It’s easy to use the online giving form to make a gift of securities to Penn. Simply select where you would like your gift to go, click “Or choose another gift type,” select “Securities” from the dropdown menu, and follow the steps outlined on the page. Donors with questions regarding gifts of stock should contact the Securities Office by calling (215) 898-7254, emailing stockgifts@lists.upenn.edu, or writing to:
University of Pennsylvania
2929 Walnut Street, Suite 300
Philadelphia, PA 19104-5099
ATTN: Stock Gifts

Please be sure to contact your broker to initiate the transfer. You may download this Securities Transfer form as a PDF to inform them of your wishes. The University of Pennsylvania’s security instructions are as follows:
Brokerage Firm: Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, attention: The Corcoran Ciarelli Group, (610) 260-8526
DTC: 0015
Customer Name: University of Pennsylvania Tax ID: 23-1352685
Account Number: 858-010018

You can recommend or direct gifts to the University of Pennsylvania using donor-advised funds (DAF) or private foundations. To initiate your gift through a DAF, choose one of the two options below:

To Make a DAF Distribution Online:
1. Visit the Penn Giving website.
2. Select the fund you’d like to support.
3. Choose “Donor Advised Fund” as the gift type to see the DAFpay option.
4. Select your DAF provider, log into your DAF account, and recommend a gift to the University of Pennsylvania.
5. The University will be notified of your grant recommendation.

To Make a DAF Distribution by Mail:
1. Contact your donor-advised fund administrator.
2. Specify the fund where your gift should be directed.
3. Provide the University of Pennsylvania’s Tax ID/EIN: 23-1352685.
4. Make checks payable to Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania and mail them to:

University of Pennsylvania
Gifts Accounting, Administration, and Records
Suite 300
2929 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-5099

For information on the Penn Donor Advised Fund, visit our Giving Options page and click on “Penn Donor Advised Fund.”

Individuals may make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) from their IRA directly to the University beginning at age 70½. The amount of the QCD is excluded from a donor’s Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), and thus not subject to income tax; donors do not receive an income tax charitable deduction for the gift. Donors age 73 and over may use QCDs to satisfy some or all of their Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) up to $108,000 annually.

The sample letter can be used to send to your IRA plan provider.

It is now possible to make a qualified charitable distribution from an IRA to fund a charitable gift annuity. This opportunity has some limitations and restrictions that differ from standard charitable gift annuities, and these should be examined closely when considering a gift. Contact us to learn more.

You can make a gift to the University of Pennsylvania via wire transfer using the following contact information:

Wells Fargo Bank N.A.
420 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94104

For Domestic Wires and ACH’s
ABA Routing #: 121-000-248

For International Wires Only:
SWIFT CODE: WFBIUS6S
CHIPS: 0407

Account Name: The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania – Gifts Accounting
Account# 2000030009956
Reference: Donor Name, or School/Center contact

Please provide a reference including a Donor Name. Reference should clearly identify the purpose of the payment to permit our office to identify the wire and to apply proper credit to the ultimate designation.

Non-U.S. residents seeking information on giving to Penn can visit our international giving page for details on tax-efficient giving and contact information for our International Development office. Please consult a professional tax advisor regarding questions about individual tax benefits.

Penn must comply with current state and federal laws requiring reporting of gifts received from and contracts entered into with foreign individuals and entities, including Section 117 of the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1011f) and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Gift Disclosure Act (24 P.S.§§ 6301-6307). The citizenship data collected here is used only for required reporting of foreign gifts and contracts at Penn and is managed under the auspices of the Vice President for Finance.

Penn’s UK Foundation may receive matching funds on eligible gifts made by UK taxpayers. Click here for information on how to claim Gift Aid.

Gifts can be made in Hong Kong or U.S. dollars or equivalents (checks, bank drafts, etc.) and should be payable to the University of Pennsylvania (HK) Foundation, Ltd. Payments can be mailed or wired, or gifts of stock can be given. When making your gift, please include your contact information, the purpose of the gift, and how you would like to be acknowledged to ensure your gift is accounted for appropriately when granted to the University.
We regret that we are currently unable to accept online gifts to the Hong Kong Foundation.

Click here for more information on making a gift as a Hong Kong taxpayer.

Your donation to Penn may multiply in value with a gift match. Many employers will match charitable contributions made by an employee, or an employee’s spouse or partner. Consult your employer’s HR office to find out your company’s matching gifts policy and obtain forms. Penn’s matching gifts database contains data on many companies that match gifts. You can also call the Matching Gifts Program at (215) 898-5069 or email devgifts@dev.upenn.edu for information on matching gifts eligibility and procedures.

You can make a gift to Penn for unrestricted use, or direct your gift to a specific school, program, or priority area. The online giving form gives you dropdown menus that make it simple to choose.

To search for a fund, enter a keyword in the search box located at the center of the webpage. If the keyword matches one or more funds, a list will appear below the search box. Highlight the desired fund in the list and click on it.

Some funds may not be available for online giving. Please contact the Gifts Office to make your gift by calling (215) 898-2672, or email devgifts@dev.upenn.edu.

You can pledge a gift to Penn and arrange a payment schedule of up to five years.
You can also make a recurring gift to the University through our online giving form.

While gifts to Penn can be directed to a variety of purposes, all gifts fall into one of two categories: “unrestricted” or “restricted.”

UNRESTRICTED GIFTS
a.    Annual Giving. Annual Fund gifts support the immediate operating expenses of the University and its schools and centers in the current fiscal year. There are many annual giving funds at Penn, including The Penn Fund and funds within schools and centers. Annual Fund gifts are used in their entirety to support the designated unrestricted fund.
b.    General Purpose. Unrestricted gifts may be made to the University, or to a school or center, as a General Purpose gift to be used entirely at the beneficiary’s discretion.

RESTRICTED GIFTS*
a.    Program Gifts. Program gifts establish and support specific initiatives and activities at the University and its schools and centers. Examples include restricted gifts to support faculty, specific areas of research and scholarship, curricular development and other core priorities.
b.    Endowment Gifts. Gifts that create endowment funds are generally designated for specific purposes agreed upon by the donor and the University at the time the donation is made. They generate annual income from investment returns, as determined by a spending rule set by the Board of Trustees.
c.    Capital Gifts. Gifts made to capital projects, including construction and renovation of facilities or facility improvement.

*Restricted endowment and program gifts are typically subject to an indirect cost recovery policy which provides that a portion of program gifts or income from endowment funds be retained by the school or center, to be applied to offset the full costs associated with the specific restricted gift purpose. These costs include school or academic center expenses that are necessary to support the endowment or gift program, such as lighting, heating, and other facilities costs, and administrative costs incurred by the schools and centers such as information technology, safety and security, human resources, finance, treasury, audit, and fundraising.

Your gift must be received by June 30 to count towards the current year.

Penn has a number of donor recognition programs and societies. Naming opportunities for facilities, academic programs, faculty positions, and student scholarships are available at a variety of giving levels. Occasionally, we may announce large gifts or write about their impact in stories on this website, which may also be disseminated by social media or email to other alumni, parents, or donors. Penn will not publish a University-wide list of all donors, but many schools and centers have their own donor recognition publications and giving societies, as does The Benjamin Franklin Society, Gift Planning, The Penn Fund, and other specialized programs.

You should specifically designate your gift as “anonymous” if you do not wish your name to appear in donor reports.