Gift of cash

The power of a simple gift

One of the easiest and most common ways for you to support the University of Edinburgh USA Development Trust is with a gift of cash. Cash can be used to support our work in the form of:

An outright gift
By making a cash gift by check, credit card or setting up an automatic transfer from your bank account today, you enable the University of Edinburgh USA Development Trust to meet our most urgent needs and carry out our mission on a daily basis. You will have the opportunity to see your generosity in action and may also receive a federal income tax charitable deduction when you itemize on your taxes.

A payable on death (POD) account
A POD bank account or certificate of deposit names one or more persons or charities as the beneficiary of all funds once you, the account owner, pass away. The beneficiary you name has no rights to the funds until after your lifetime. Until that time, you remain in control and are free to use the money in the bank account, change the beneficiary or close the account.

There are several other ways to make cash donations as part of the gift types below. To learn more, explore the links below.

Ways to use cash

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Next Steps

  1. Contact Morag Murison at +44 (0) 131 650 2240 or legacy-giving@ed.ac.uk for additional information on giving a gift of cash.
  2. Seek the advice of your financial or legal advisor.
  3. If you include the University of Edinburgh USA Development Trust in your plans, please use our legal name and federal tax ID.

Legal name: The University of Edinburgh USA Development Trust
Address: 45 Rockefeller Plaza, Ste 2000, New York, NY, 10111, USA
Federal tax ID number: 52-1802057

The University of Edinburgh USA Development Trust, Inc, is a registered charity, which supports students, teaching and research at the University of Edinburgh. The Trust is incorporated in the State of Virginia and is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Under its charter and in accordance with U.S. tax law, the University of Edinburgh USA Development Trust, Inc may not receive restricted gifts. However, the Board gives every consideration to donors’ requests when allocating gifts to the University of Edinburgh.

Please also note that the University of Edinburgh has its own charitable status. If you are a USA taxpayer, you can designate it as a beneficiary in your will because bequests to overseas charities are normally exempt from US estate tax. Life income gifts and other planned giving vehicles may need to be given to the University of Edinburgh USA Development Trust, Inc, in order to be eligible for favourable tax treatment under IRS rules.

Due to complexity of some gifts, we would encourage you to contact us to discuss your wishes in the first instance. Please note that the acceptance of each gift is decided on an individual basis.

We welcome enquiries from all donors throughout the US and Canada.

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