BERKELEY Inspire

Inspire.berkeley.edu is a library of uplifting stories and videos featuring our brilliant research, students, faculty, and the buildings where they live, work, and learn. It’s the companion website to give.berkeley.edu, where you can search for giving opportunities that speak to your interests and make contributions.

University Development and Alumni Relations, UC Berkeley’s centralized unit dedicated to engaging with alumni, donors, students, and parents in order to increase awareness, pride, involvement, and private giving.

Since 1993–94, undergraduate tuition has increased from nearly $3,500 to nearly $16,000. At the same time, state funding has decreased from 36 percent of UC Berkeley’s annual budget to 14 percent. Private gifts help make our public mission possible, supporting the university’s greatest needs — including scholarships and fellowships, new faculty, and research — while ensuring that UC Berkeley retains its distinction as one of the world’s leading public institutions.

This website is chock full of stories, videos, digital swag, and other items to share. You may also check out the resources available at identity.berkeley.edu or email givingcomms@berkeley.edu for more information.

Whether you are passionate about access to higher education for low-income students, providing food, housing, and other basic needs, groundbreaking research that illuminates solutions to pressing challenges, or a specific school, college, or program, there’s something for everyone. Visit give.berkeley.edu to search for giving opportunities.

You may make a contribution directly through give.berkeley.edu, or via check, securities, planned gifts, and other means. Explore this FAQ to find the option that suits your needs and interests.

Gifts made anywhere on campus count toward participation in The Charter Hill Society, Berkeley’s annual giving recognition program. In addition, some schools and programs have their own donor recognition programs. Visit the society’s website for information on its impact and benefits.

Do you need Berkeley’s tax ID number? Do you want to update your personal information? Does your company have a matching gifts program? Get the answers to these and other common questions on the FAQ on our giving site, or fill out the contact form below. We will forward your inquiry to the most appropriate person and get back to you as soon as possible.

Comprehensive campaigns are designed to secure philanthropic resources that advance the campus’s strategic priorities. Along with the appropriate investment of infrastructure and resources, a comprehensive campaign allows us to present a clear, compelling case to donors about where investment is most needed and how gifts will make an impact across campus. Similar to past Berkeley campaigns, it is anticipated that funds raised will support faculty, student access and success, research, and facilities and infrastructure, all in support of our distinctive public mission.

At the direction of Chancellor Rich Lyons, we started counting in the quiet phase of Berkeley's next comprehensive campaign on January 1, 2024. This quiet phase focuses on assessing the appropriate investment of resources, refining campaign priorities, confirming fundraising goals, engaging lead donors, and aligning campus units around shared priorities before any broad, public launch.

All eligible philanthropic commitments made during the campaign period will count, including:

• Outright gifts of cash, appreciated assets and private equity;

• Pledges up to five years;

• Planned gifts, including both bequest commitments and realized bequests.

Specific counting rules will follow Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) guidelines.

Campaign priorities are drawn directly from the strategic plan’s goals and initiatives. Alignment ensures that funds raised through the campaign advance institutionally endorsed priorities, rather than disconnected or duplicative efforts.

Units will be represented through campaign priorities that align with both unit goals and the broader campus priorities. Deans and unit leadership will work with advancement partners to identify giving opportunities and priorities, develop cases for support, and integrate those priorities into the overall campaign framework. Not every unit will have a standalone campaign priority, but we know from past campaign success that all units will benefit from campaign strategies and fundraising.

Faculty contribute by helping articulate academic priorities, demonstrating the impact of philanthropy, participating in donor conversations when appropriate, and supporting stewardship as appropriate.

Campaign themes articulate a unifying vision for impact and transformation. Berkeley's next campaign theme will be grounded in the campus’s mission and strategic priorities.

Campaign priorities are determined through leadership review to ensure alignment with institutional strategy, donor interest, and fundraising feasibility.

The campaign goal is informed by a combination of factors, including institutional funding needs, the strategic plan, historical fundraising performance, donor capacity analysis, and insights from feasibility and planning work. The goal reflects both aspiration and realism.

Specific milestone dates and a public launch timeline will be shared once they are finalized.

Campaign frameworks are designed to allow for some flexibility. Significant changes should be discussed with advancement and campus leadership to ensure continued alignment.