Ways you can give
You can support us in many ways, including giving financial gifts of any size or by donating your time.
Donating Online
Donating online is quick and simple. Our Enthuse platform enables you to give in ways most convenient to you as well as allowing you to set up Direct Debit payments, which are vital in helping us to plan for the future.
We trust Enthuse to process our donations for us. They don’t charge us a platform fee, but they will ask you if you would like to enhance your donation to make their work possible. This is totally up to you. In order to help us process donations enthuse charges us 5% of Gift Aid (if you make a £10 donation this is £0.125 and it doesn’t come out of your gift) and the payment provider fee. This covers the processing of gifts and collecting Gift Aid on our behalf.
Because we pay a small fee to process donations, we ask that gifts over £5,000 are made directly to us via our bank. To donate in this way, please email us at castle.alumni@durham.ac.uk or telephone us on +44 (0)191 334 4104 and we'll be very happy to help you.
Give by Post
Cheques can be made payable to ‘University College Durham Trust’. Write to us at:
University College Development Office
University College
The Castle
Palace Green
Durham University
DH1 3RW
We kindly request that you include a copy of a completed donation form (PDF) alongside your gift. Please note that we are a small office and therefore it might take us longer than you might expect to process your gift.
Leave a Legacy
Leaving a gift in your Will is a meaningful way to leave a lasting impact on the College, our students and the community. Legacy gifts enable us to maintain sustainable long-term financial planning, ensuring that we are able to look after our precious heritage buildings and support our community for the years to come.
It is possible to leave a legacy or a bequest to the University College Durham Trust (Registered Charity no. 1151821) by including notice of this in your will or by writing a codicil if you have already written a will. Legacies to the Trust fall outside your estate for Inheritance Tax purposes. On 6th April 2012 the Government Announced that anyone leaving 10% or more of their net estate to charity (after deducting IHT, other exemptions and the nil rate band), will have their inheritance tax rate reduced. You can use the Government’s tax calculator to find out how this might apply to you.
We kindly request that you share your wishes with University College to ensure you are appropriately thanked and that both the College and the Trust understand your gift. This helps the Principal (who is Chair of the Trust) to make long-term financial plans for development projects. If you are considering leaving a legacy or would like to find out more about our plans for the future, please contact the Development Office.
The Trust cannot give advice on the wording to put in your will – for that we strongly recommend you contact a lawyer who will be able to explain the process and whether there are any particular tax benefits of donating that might be relevant to you.
Thank you for considering a gift to the Trust in your will.
Payroll Giving
You can make a regular gift to the University College Durham Trust through your payroll. Making donations from your gross salary is the most tax-efficient method of making charitable donations. The scheme is available to those working for UK employers.
Example: Payroll gift of £20 per month
- Donor’s monthly pledge: £20
- Cost to basic rate taxpayer (20%): £16
- Cost to higher rate taxpayer (40%): £12
Your employer must have payroll giving in place in order for you to make a donation in this way. If they do, your payroll administrator can arrange for your gift to reach us.
Other ways of supporting the College:
You can support University College by making a donation through our dedicated Durham University page.
We value your time and expertise just as much as a financial gift, and there are a number of ways that you can support the University. You can visit our volunteer page to find out more about the current opportunities available.
If you have any questions about giving to University College, please contact us and we will be happy to help.