How to Support the College


Outright Gifts

Choose one or more of these giving methods to support the College of Natural Sciences.
• Make a Gift Today - Online Gifts and Pledges
• Credit Cards/Checks/Cash/Wire Transfer
• Matching Gifts
• In-Kind Gifts
• Corporate and Foundation Gifts
• Annual Giving Program

MAKE A GIFT TODAY - ONLINE GIFTS AND PLEDGES
UT Austin’s online giving site provides a quick, easy, and secure way to contribute or pledge to the College of Natural Sciences and to designate your gift to a particular department or program in the College. Make an Online Gift or Pledge.

CREDIT CARDS, CHECKS, CASH, WIRE TRANSFER
You can make an outright gift to the College of Natural Sciences in these ways:

By Credit Card: Make a gift on-line through UT Austin Online Giving, or call the College of Natural Sciences Development Office, 512-471-3299, or email giving@cns.utexas.edu. If you would prefer to mail in your credit card gift or pledge a gift, send the following form to the address below: Print Credit Card Form

By Check: Please make the check payable to The University of Texas at Austin. Please enclose your printed name, address, and daytime phone number. Please include a message stating the intention of your gift and include a note in the memo section of your check.
Please mail your check to:
The University of Texas at Austin
Development Office
College of Natural Sciences – Office of the Dean
1 University Station G2500
Austin, TX 78712-0548
By Cash/Wire Transfer: Please call the College of Natural Sciences Development Office, 512-471-3299, or email giving@cns.utexas.edu

MATCHING GIFTS
Double or even triple your gift to the College! Many employers match charitable contributions made by their employees. Find out if your company has a matching gift program by visiting Matching Gift Information. If your company does match gifts, please request a matching gift form from your human resources office and include the form with your gift.

IN-KIND GIFTS
Gifts in kind are non-monetary items of tangible personal property or other physical assets that represent value to the College. Examples might include equipment, collections, books, and artwork. If you believe you have a potential gift in kind, please call the College of Natural Sciences Development Office, 512-471-3299, or email giving@cns.utexas.edu.

CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION GIFTS
The College of Natural Sciences has many strong and long-standing ties with corporations and foundations in Texas and throughout the country. Forming partnerships with industry has enabled the College to strengthen its investment in students and foster new opportunities for companies. More on Corporate Relations .

ANNUAL GIVING PROGRAM
Gifts to the College of Natural Sciences through the Annual Giving Program provide academic excellence funds, making possible cutting-edge technology, research funds, lecture series, student travel opportunities, scholarships and more. Your yearly gift to the Annual Giving Program is allocated by the dean and directed to the area of greatest need, or by the head of the area you designate to receive your gift. We count on your annual giving to continue, year after year. Even if you contribute to endowments or other funds, please always say YES when one of our UT Austin students calls to ask for your support for the Annual Giving Program.
 

Planned Gifts

Smart philanthropy is about making a deliberate decision to redirect money and property away from taxes to institutions of your choice. By including the College of Natural Sciences in your retirement and estate planning, you can diminish your tax burdens while supporting students, faculty, programs, and facilities. UT Austin's Office of Planned Giving has the tools and experience to help you explore the possibilities and customize a plan that fits your needs and goals. Donors who include the College in their estate plans qualify for membership in the Texas Leadership Society, which recognizes those whose generous and thoughtful actions today will strengthen the College far into the future.

To make a planned gift to the College, please call the College of Natural Sciences Development Office, 512-471-3299, or email giving@cns.utexas.edu or call the Office of Planned Giving at 866-4UTEXAS (866-488-3927).

Endowments

Endowments are the gifts that keep on giving. The funds are invested by the UT System, and the interest generated by that investment is used for the purpose you wish to support — financial aid, merit awards for students, supplemental salary support for faculty, research, and more. A portion of the income is re-invested each year, enabling the endowment to continue to grow and provide a predictable, stable stream of income over time. To establish an endowment in the College of Natural Sciences, please call the College of Natural Sciences Development Office, 512-471-3299, or email giving@cns.utexas.edu.

Current Endowment Minimum Funding Levels
Endowment Type Minimum Levels
Chair $1,000,000
Professorship $300,000
Faculty Fellowship $150,000
Endowed Presidential Fellowship $100,000
Graduate Fellowship $50,000
Endowed Presidential Scholarship $50,000
Graduate Research Endowment $40,000
Undergraduate Scholarship $25,000
General Excellence/Program Support Endowment $25,000
Undergraduate Research $20,000
Endowed Book Fund $10,000

Faculty Support
The College of Natural Sciences boasts an outstanding faculty, composed of a Nobel laureate, many National Academy members, numerous members of prestigious academic and scientific organizations, and hundreds of men and women whose contributions benefit society in countless ways. You can help ensure that we continue to recruit and retain these extraordinary researchers and educators through your investment in any of the following endowed positions.

• Endowed Chairs are awarded to deans, department chairs, and superior faculty to enhance their scholarly efforts and research.

• Endowed Professorships are awarded to outstanding faculty members to reward and enhance scholarly efforts and research.

• Endowed Faculty Fellowships support excellent teaching faculty regardless of rank or tenure, including visiting scholars in residence.

Student Support
Gifts of scholarships and fellowships make it possible for the College of Natural Sciences to attract and retain the best undergraduate and graduate students, regardless of their financial circumstances. You can make a difference in the life of a student, by contributing to an existing scholarship or fellowship or establishing a new endowment in the academic unit of your choice.

• Endowed Presidential Fellowships are merit-based and awarded to graduate students who meet the criteria set forth by the donor.

• Endowed Graduate Fellowships are awarded to deserving graduate students based on criteria set forth by the donor.

• Endowed Graduate Research Funds are used to provide research support to deserving graduate students.

• Endowed Presidential Scholarships are merit-based awards for undergraduate students meeting the criteria of the Endowed Presidential Scholarship Program and those set forth by the donor.

• Endowed Undergraduate Scholarships are awarded to deserving undergraduate students based on criteria set forth by the donor.

• Endowed Undergraduate Research Funds are used to provide research opportunities specifically for undergraduate students.

General Excellence/Program and Collections Support

• General Excellence Endowments support specific or general programs in the colleges, schools, and units.

• Endowed Book Funds provide much needed support for the University's extensive circulating and research library collections.

How Endowments Work
When the UT System Board of Regents accepts your contribution and the donation instrument indicating the endowment's purpose, the funds are invested in the Long Term Fund (LTF) of The University of Texas System. The LTF is managed by the University of Texas Investment Management Company and operates much like a mutual fund -- each endowment account "buys" units in the fund. The LTF remits to UT Austin earnings distributions each quarter in proportion to the units owned by each endowment. These distributions are credited to endowment income accounts at The University of Texas at Austin.

Endowment Income Accounts
Expenditures are made from these accounts to support the program or position you have designated in the donation instrument. Scholarship and graduate fellowship endowments support only student awards. Faculty endowments may support an appointed faculty member through salary stipends, equipment, supplies, travel and research expenses, graduate assistants and administrative assistance, depending on your original instructions and University policy.

General Excellence Funds

General excellence funds provide tremendous flexibility for top administrators -- deans, department chairs and directors -- as they address ever-changing needs, demands and opportunities. Many times throughout the year these top administrators are faced with timely opportunities that can advance the College, or with challenges that can hinder progress – but due to lack of funding the issues cannot be addressed. College budgets are often stretched tightly and top administrators have very few discretionary dollars, which excellence funds provide.
Excellence funds under the direction of a top administrator, can address for example, unscheduled equipment repairs. If a critical piece of equipment malfunctions such as a freezer, a researcher’s samples can be destroyed if the repair is not made in time or if the equipment is not properly maintained. Another example where excellence funding can help is for faculty development and research support. Attendance for professional conferences is often an unbudgeted expense due to limited dollars. Sometimes a small amount of $1,000 is all that is needed for faculty to pay the registration fee for a research conference.

Every year the College works to recruit and retain world-class faculty and students to enhance research and teaching. Excellence funds can provide coverage of critical expenses such as candidate travel and recruiting receptions. The College can maintain its competitive edge with the assistance of these valuable resources.

To give a gift or set up an Excellence Endowment call the College of Natural Sciences Development Office, 512-471-3299, or email giving@cns.utexas.edu, or make an Online Gift or Pledge.