Ways of Giving
Supporters
The Campaign for the University Library
Annual gifts
Cash
Endowed gifts
Planned gifts and bequests
Real estate
Book donations
Securities
Make a gift online or by mail
The Campaign for the University Library
The University Library supports Berkeley’s intellectual vitality and innovative thinking in all departments, for all faculty and students. And in an era marked by a rapidly evolving information landscape, the Library’s role as the gateway to knowledge is increasingly important.
Strengthening our renowned research collections and revitalizing Moffitt Library are our two campaign goals.
The vision for Moffitt Library is a welcoming environment that will foster a vibrant community of scholarship for our undergraduates, and will provide for interdisciplinary, collaborative learning.
By strengthening our research collections, the University Library will continue to support Berkeley’s world-class education and research, which depend on ready access to a comprehensive record of human knowledge.
Annual gifts
The Library Fund
Annual gifts made to the Library Fund help meet the Library's current priority needs in many areas. These gifts support a variety of activities, such as the acquisition of library materials, the renovation of library facilities, cataloging and processing materials, and additional hours of operation.
Gifts to the Library Fund may be cash, securities, or credit card payments, or pledges (in one sum, monthly, or quarterly installments). Matching gifts from a donor's employer are added to the Library Fund and to an individual's giving totals.
Subject Specialty Libraries
Annual gifts made to any of the subject specialty or affiliated libraries are unrestricted, immediately expendable contributions that help meet that particular library's current operating needs. These gifts also help fund new library materials, the renovation of facility improvements, and additional hours of operation. Gifts to these libraries may be cash, securities, or credit card payments, or be pledges (in one sum or installments). Matching gifts from a donor's employer are added to the specified library's fund and to an individual's giving totals.
Memorial and Honorific Gifts
Contributions given in memory or in honor of a special person or event will be recognized and family members will be notified. For gifts of $1,000 or more, the name of someone you wish to honor or remember may be mounted on a chair in the Gardner Stacks. For gifts of $250 or more, a bookplate can be mounted in a book in the Library's collections. Memorial or commemorative gifts may also be used to create named endowment funds at a minimum level of $50,000 or more.
Cash
Direct cash gifts are the most common form of giving and can be unrestricted or designated for a specific project, program, or department. Gifts of cash may be made outright or used to fund a planned gift; they are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by law. Checks should be made payable to "The Library Fund." Make a Gift Online or by mail!
Endowed gifts
An endowed fund is established in perpetuity and has a continuing impact on the life of the Library and thus the entire University. Endowed funds may be established to support the purchase or preservation of library materials, instruction or research programs, a lecture series, or a host of other purposes. A named endowment requires a minimum gift of $50,000. The University invests endowments carefully to achieve a healthy rate of return that provides for both current needs and long-term growth. If you establish an endowed fund, the Library will provide you with periodic financial updates and reports.
Planned gifts and bequests
A planned gift can be structured to fulfill a long-desired philanthropic interest and may also allow you to increase income, save taxes, and make a legacy gift to the Library that might not otherwise be possible.
Charitable Gift Annuities are a fixed-income plan that pays the donor or another person (or both) guaranteed annual income for life. The rate of payout is determined by the beneficiary's age.
Pooled-Income Funds enable a donor to make a tax-deductible gift to the Library and provide income to one or more individuals for life. After the lifetime of the last income beneficiary, the corresponding interest in the pooled fund is transferred to the UC Berkeley Library.
Charitable Remainder Trusts are flexible financial instruments that enable the donor to claim a tax deduction the year the gift is made, provide a stream of income for the donor or a designated individual during their lifetime, and ultimately leave a significant gift for the Library. You may fund a trust with a gift of cash, appreciated securities, real estate, or other non-cash assets.
A bequest is the result of careful planning for the best philanthropic use of assets that have taken a lifetime of work, care, and stewardship to build or preserve. The bequest may be a specific sum or a percentage of an estate that may provide a very significant gif for the Library.
Real estate
Residences, including vacation homes and farms, can provide a gift that allows the donor to realize a tax deduction, avoid capital gains taxes, retain lifetime occupancy for herself or himself and/or another person, and provide support for Cal's Library. Contact the Library Development Office for detailed guidelines.
Book donations
The Library will gratefully consider all gifts of recorded information which meet the instructional and research needs of the Berkeley academic community. Questions about gifts to the Library should be directed to Frank Carothers (fcarothe[at]library.berkeley.edu). Because the Gifts Unit is staffed on a part-time basis, your questions about gifts of materials may not be answered immediately. We will make every effort to reply to your inquiry as quickly as possible.
Please see Book Donations to the University Library regarding criteria for acceptance, tax and appraisal considerations, and other information.
Securities
Outright gifts of securities (stocks, bonds, and mutual fund shares) may be more economical than giving cash and may enable you to give more than you could otherwise afford. Contact the Library Development Office for detailed guidelines.
University of California, Berkeley Libraries
Click on libraries with a *star for specific giving information.The George and Mary Foster Anthropology Library*
Art History/Classics Library*
The Bancroft Library*
Marian Koshland Bioscience and Natural Resources Library
Thomas J. Long Business Library
Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Library*
Earth Sciences and Map Library*
C. V. Starr East Asian Library*
Education-Psychology Library*
Kresge Engineering Library*
Environmental Design Library*
Mathematics/Statistics Library*
Jean Gray Hargrove Music Library
Pamela and Kenneth Fong Optometry and Health Sciences Library*
Physics-Astronomy Library*
Sheldon Margen Public Health Library*
Social Welfare Library*
Affiliated Libraries
Architecture Visual Resources Library
Earthquake Engineering Research Center Library
Environmental Design Archives*
Ethnic Studies Library*
Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics Library
Institute of Governmental Studies Library*
Institute of Industrial Relations Library*
Harmer E. Davis Transportation Library
Garrett W. McEnerney Law Library