Making a Difference for the University of Cincinnati

Traditions  |  Opportunities  |  The UC Foundation  |  Our Pledge  |  Learn More

Traditions

Teaching.  Research.  Service.

These have always been the hallmarks of the University of Cincinnati—educational excellence, research that provides new knowledge and new understanding, and services that make a difference in our lives and the lives of our families.

Hand-in-hand with the University for almost 200 years, UC alumni and friends have also focused on making a difference. Some of their names will be familiar to you ...

• McMicken Hall
• Taft Memorial Fund
• Vontz Center for Molecular Studies
• Nippert Stadium
• Holmes Memorial Fund
• Sigma Sigma Commons
• Hewett Fellowships
• Baldwin Hall

Progress and success at the University of Cincinnati are founded upon generous private support. UC’s endowment fund is ranked 10th among public universities in the United States. Classrooms, laboratories, scholarships, professorships, theaters and so much more proudly bear the names of UC benefactors―individuals, companies and organizations who wanted to make a difference at UC and in others’ lives. Their generous commitments sustain and enrich the University for the benefit of future generations.

You can make a difference.

The motivations for generosity are as varied as the people and companies who contribute to UC each year.

• Alumni “give something back” to their alma mater for career opportunities the University opened for them and for exceptional educational experiences that shaped their lives.
  
  
• Business and industry recognize the University as an innovative partner of long standing. Their support for UC is an investment in the future.
  
  
• Charitable foundations connect with the University to meet challenges presented by emerging trends and social needs, for the betterment of our society.
  
  
• Community partners express a proud sense of ownership of their University with gifts that acknowledge UC’s importance in education, in cultural enrichment and in health care.

Private gifts reinforce donors’ strong awareness of—and confidence in—the University of Cincinnati’s proven value in education, to our society and to our quality of life ... to UC’s ability to change lives.

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Opportunities

In recent years, donors committed more funds to UC than they have at any time in the University’s long history. Their support endorsed UC priorities for the future and made a difference in the University’s ability to pursue those priorities.

As a University of Cincinnati contributor, your support can make a difference in so many ways.

• Help ensure educational access, especially for first-generation college students, by creating scholarships, emergency loan funds, fellowships, achievement awards and other funds that support students.
  
  
• Stimulate breakthroughs in medical and scientific research that affect quality-of-life issues for all of us, with research endowments, facility and equipment support, and professorships that bring eminent scholars and renowned investigators to UC from around the world.
  
  
• Sustain UC’s powerful momentum in emerging frontiers that correspond with your personal interest or private goals.

Individuals often choose to support the University as a lasting personal legacy or as an appropriate way to commemorate family members, valued friends, community leaders and educational pioneers. As long as the University of Cincinnati exists, those memories will be held in a sacred trust. These gifts mirror donors’ confidence that UC will remain a major educational force in the discovery and transfer of knowledge.

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The University of Cincinnati Foundation

The University of Cincinnati Foundation exists to encourage and secure private support for UC, to help alumni and friends make a difference for the University and in the lives of all those UC touches. While the University has received State of Ohio assistance since joining the state system in 1976, compelling need requires that more and more of its resources—its vitality and possibility—be provided through private gifts.

Because they work with all University colleges, departments and programs, UC Foundation professionals and volunteer leaders can give prospective donors a comprehensive picture of UC priorities and needs. Through the Foundation, you can explore specific giving opportunities that coincide with your charitable intentions.

Foundation professionals are available to explain methods of giving, adapted to your needs and circumstances, and to discuss the many forms in which a gift can be made. These are just a few examples ...

• Contributions may take the form of cash, securities, gifts-in-kind of goods or services, and personal or real property.
  
  
• A gift can benefit a specific UC program, department or college. Or contributions can be made without designation, providing University leaders much-needed flexibility to meet urgent, campus-wide needs.
  
  
• In addition to outright gifts, you may establish a trust, a fund that will provide lifetime income for you, or you may remember the University of Cincinnati in your will.
  
  
• Funds may be donated for immediate use, perhaps for a piece of vital equipment or an emergency need within a college. Or, by creating an endowment fund, you could guarantee a scholarship will be awarded to one or more deserving UC students each year...forever.

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The Foundation’s Pledge

To each University donor, the Foundation confirms that gift conditions are strictly fulfilled and that privacy and confidentiality are closely guarded. To assure the protection of endowment principal in perpetuity, the Foundation maintains a prudent posture in the investment and management of endowed funds. Contributors can receive periodic reports that illustrate the results of their UC commitments.  Gifts made without restrictions are allocated only after the University determines the priority for their use.

Volunteers are involved in every facet of Foundation operations. First and foremost, the Foundation is governed by a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees. These leadership volunteers work closely with University leaders and individual colleges and departments regarding priorities and the establishment of short- and long-term development goals. Trustees also oversee the management of endowment and other funds and set policies for University-wide fund raising. These individuals serve because they, too, want to make a difference for the University. Their commitments improve our fund-raising and stewardship services to the University as a whole, as they help us develop long-lasting relationships with donors throughout the world.

The UC Foundation was established in 1975 as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation and has the Internal Revenue Service identification number 31-0896555. The University of Cincinnati has directed that all gifts for its colleges, departments and programs be given through The University of Cincinnati Foundation.

Your gifts to the University of Cincinnati are tax deductible to the full extent provided by law. Gifts can be made in person, by phone or mail, or electronically by clicking here.

To learn more about the University of Cincinnati and how you can make a difference today, please contact the UC Foundation: 

The University of Cincinnati Foundation
P.O. Box 19970
Cincinnati, OH  45219-0970

Phone:   513-556-6781
Toll Free:  888-556-8889
Fax:   513-556-4300
E-mail:  ucfoundation@uc.edu 

February 2009

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