How to Give

You can support Brown in a variety of ways—from annual gifts that fund scholarships and help the University meet immediate needs, to planned gifts that establish a legacy and give you significant tax benefits.

Brunonians understand the power of giving back.

That's why so many alumni, parents, friends, and even students choose to give back to Brown. No matter the size, every gift to Brown has the potential to make a lasting impact.

From making an online gift to setting up a bequest, there are a variety of ways you can give back to Brown. Find the giving method that best suits you.

To make a gift online, please use our secure online giving form. 

You can make a one-time gift or set up a recurring gift on a monthlyquarterly, or annual basis.

Send a check or money order made payable to Brown University to:

Brown University
Gift Cashier
Box 1877
Providence, RI 02912
USA

For deliveries other than regular USPS mail, use the following address:

Brown University
Office of Gift Accounting
350 Eddy Street, Sixth Floor
Providence, RI 02903 USA
+1 (401) 863-3633

To wire transfer funds to Brown, it is recommended that these instructions be provided to your bank to ensure proper transfer of funds.

  • Bank Name and Address: Bank of America, 185 Asylum Street, Hartford, CT 06103
  • ABA Routing #: 026009593
  • Account #: 394005745212
  • Swift Code: BOFAUS3N
  • Account Name: Brown University

Please include donor name, donor mailing address and gift designation to ensure proper crediting of funds.

Gifts of securities such as stocks or other appreciated assets can be a great, tax-efficient method for making a gift to Brown. In most instances, you can take a tax deduction for the full market value of the gift and avoid any capital gains tax.*

Please direct all questions regarding making gifts of stock, bonds, and mutual funds to the Treasury Department at stockgifts@brown.edu, by phone at +1 (401) 863-9297, or by fax at +1 (401) 867-3996.

FOR U.S. COMMON STOCK:

1. Common stock traded on U.S. Exchanges may be transferred electronically from your brokerage account to:

Merrill Lynch
DTC #8862
Account #28Z-43M22
for the benefit of Brown University

2. To avoid delays in processing and crediting your gift, please provide the following information to the Treasury Department as soon as possible at stockgifts@brown.edu

  • Name and address of the donor
  • Name of the security
  • Number of shares
  • Designation of the gift
FOR FOREIGN STOCK OR MUTUAL FUND SHARES:

To ensure that foreign stock or mutual fund shares will be accepted, please contact the Treasury Department for confirmation or instructions for an alternate brokerage account to use.

FOR PHYSICALLY HELD SHARES:

For shares that are held by you in certificate form, the stock certificate and a stock power must be sent to the Brown University Treasury Department. Your stock power must include a Medallion Signature Guarantee and should, for security reasons, be sent in a separate envelope from the actual certificate. Please contact the Treasury Department for the appropriate mailing address or other questions.

If you have any further questions about securities, please contact the Treasury Department at stockgifts@brown.edu or +1 (401) 863-9297.

*The material presented on this website is not offered as legal or tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor, financial planner, or attorney about the legal and tax benefits of any gift to Brown University.

Donor advised funds are one of the fastest-growing forms of philanthropy. They are simple, flexible, and cost-effective, allowing you to easily support your favorite charities and organizations—including Brown—and help you realize your long-term philanthropic goals. With a donor advised fund, you can diversify your charitable giving and potentially benefit from certain tax benefits.

Your Donor Advised Fund

If you would like to support Brown and have already benefited from the immediate tax deductions offered by donor advised funds, please follow the instructions provided by your fund for making a grant recommendation. Be sure to provide gift designation instructions and use the following contact information when making your recommendation.

Brown University - Gift Cashier
Box 1877
Providence, RI 02912
+1 (401) 863-3633
gift_accounting@brown.edu 

Brown’s Federal Tax Identification Number:  05-0258809

Brown’s Donor Advised Fund

Brown’s donor advised fund allows you to establish a charitable account maintained and managed by Brown’s world-class investment team while you consider what purposes and organizations you want your fund to support.

How It Works
  • Make an initial, tax-deductible gift of $100,000 or more to open a donor advised fund. Brown accepts gifts of cash and marketable securities and may accept other types of assets.
  • While you decide where to allocate your fund’s distributions, your gift will be managed by Brown’s investment team with no administrative fees. 
  • You can provide recommendations for the distribution of both the original gift and any growth in the principal to Brown and other qualified charities.
  • At least 25% of the fund must be allocated for Brown.
  • You can benefit from investing your gift in Brown’s endowment while maintaining anonymity and privacy in your philanthropic pursuits.

For a confidential discussion about a Brown donor advised fund, contact the Office of Philanthropic Strategies and Planned Giving at +1 (401) 863-9119 or Planned_Giving@brown.edu.

If you are 70½ years or older, you can make a tax-free distribution from your individual retirement account (IRA) to Brown. Any qualified contribution up to $100,000 counts toward your required minimum distribution (RMD). (Your spouse may also make a qualified charitable distribution up to $100,000.) 

How It Works

To make a gift from your IRA, contact your IRA administrator (for example Fidelity, Merrill Lynch, Schwab, Vanguard, etc.) and ask the representative to send a check in the amount you desire (up to $100,000) payable to Brown University. You can download a sample letter and instructions (PDF) for requesting a charitable distribution from your IRA administrator.

Checks should be mailed to: 

Brown University
Gift Cashier
Box 1877
Providence, RI 02912

Contact the Office of Philanthropic Strategies and Planned Giving at +1 (401) 863-9119 or Planned_Giving@brown.edu with any questions. It is helpful if you can provide the following:

  • your name and Brown class year (if applicable)
  • the amount of your check
  • the name of the IRA administrator (Fidelity, Merrill Lynch, Schwab, Vanguard, etc.)
  • if the gift is unrestricted (to The Brown Fund), restricted (if so, please describe the details), or a combination

By making a planned gift to Brown, you can make a lasting and transformative difference on the University. From bequests to living trusts to retirement assets, planned giving is an effective way to give back to Brown in a meaningful way while also helping you achieve your own charitable and financial goals.

The Brown planned giving team can help craft a personalized strategy that achieves your philanthropic and financial goals. By making a planned gift of any size, you will qualify for membership in the College Hill Society, which recognizes alumni and friends who provide for the University through a planned gift.

Learn more about planned giving to Brown, visit Brown's planned giving website or contact us:

Tel: +1 (401) 863-9119
Fax: +1 (401) 863-3301
Email: planned_giving@brown.edu

If you include Brown in your plans, please use our legal name and Federal Tax ID.

Legal Name: Brown University
Address: Office of Philanthropic Strategies and Planned Giving, Box 1893, Providence, RI, 02912
Federal Tax Identification Number: 05-0258809

If you are a Canadian, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, or European taxpayer, we encourage you to explore the following links to learn more about country-specific tax benefits of making a gift to Brown University.

If you have any questions regarding giving to Brown University from outside the U.S., please contact Connie DiPanfilo in the Office of International Advancement at internationaladvancement@brown.edu. Questions regarding your specific tax situation should be directed to your tax advisor.

If you are a U.S. taxpayer and prefer to receive a U.S. tax receipt, please use our secure online gift form.

If you wish to make a credit card gift to Brown, please use our secure online gift form or contact Gift Accounting at +1 (401) 863-3633 Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m to 5 p.m. ET. For your security, please do not send your credit card information over email or voicemail.

Electronic payments and automated money transfers (ACH) should be used for corporate payments to Brown only, not individual gift payments.

For ACH instructions, please contact the University Cashier Office at cashier@brown.edu.

Double or even triple your gift's impact on the University! More than one thousand companies offer some level of corporate match for their employees' philanthropic interests. Best of all, you are recognized for the full amount of your own gift plus any resulting corporate match.

Contact your company’s personnel or human resources office to find out if your employer, or your spouse’s employer, has a matching gift program. You can also use our matching gifts search form. If you have questions or need further information, contact Brown's Matching Gift Coordinator at (800) 662-2266.

Brown currently accepts many forms of cryptocurrency. Please contact the Office of Philanthropic Strategies and Planned Giving at +1 (401) 863-9119 or Planned_Giving@brown.edu to learn more about how you can support the University through this asset.

For general questions about giving to Brown, contact us at:

✉  gift_accounting@brown.edu
☏ +1 (401) 863-3633 or +1 (800) 662-2266

The material presented on this website is not offered as legal or tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor, financial planner, or attorney about the legal and tax benefits of any gift to Brown University.