Gifts made by cash, check, or money order are accepted by either The Regents or the UC San Diego Foundation.

Gift Services usually relies on both how the gift was solicited and the payee on the check or money order to determine how a gift is processed. For example, a check made payable to “UC San Diego” or “UC Regents” would be processed through The Regents. A check made payable to “UC San Diego Foundation” would be processed through the Foundation.

If the check is endorsed to one entity but the designated fund resides in the opposite entity, Gift Services coordinates with the UC San Diego Gift & Foundation Accounting staff to transfer gifts to the appropriate fund. It is important that donors make their checks payable to the correct entity, so solicitation literature should state clearly whether the payee should be The Regents or the UC San Diego Foundation (for more on what information should be included on a solicitation, go to Gift Services FAQ)

Gifts are often received directly by the department that benefits from the gift. It is critical that the gift, along with the gift documentation, be forwarded to Gift Services as quickly as possible to avoid the possibility of a lost gift or the check becoming void due to a stale date. Checks can be forwarded to Gift Services through inter-campus mail or by direct delivery. Once received by Gift Services, checks are secured in our safe until they are deposited with the Campus Cashiers' office weekly.

UC San Diego occasionally receives gifts of foreign currency, primarily in the form of checks. These gifts are recorded in the donor database at the dollar conversion figure on the day of deposit. The UC San Diego Cashiers' office sends these checks to an outside agency for collection. It can take up to three weeks to receive the final converted value. Once the final settlement value is received by Gift Services, an adjustment is made to the donor record for the final gift value. Checks drawn on foreign banks but paid in U.S. funds do not qualify as foreign currency and can be treated as U.S. funds drawn on domestic banks.

Do not send cash gifts by campus mail! Sound internal control practices and University policy govern cash handling. Essentially, cash must always be handled for safekeeping, which means it is never to be transmitted to Gift Services by mail services or inter-campus mail.

All cash must be temporarily stored in a locked safe place and transported to Gift Services regularly by personal delivery.

Wire transfers are used by many donors to make gifts to the University. Banks provide minimal information on wire transfers. If you are coordinating a wire transfer for an existing fund, you can avoid administrative delays by ensuring that your donor is properly instructed to wire the gift either via The Regents or the UC San Diego Foundation. Send a notification to giftstreasury@ucsd.edu, and we will monitor for receipt of the wire.

Please advise the donor to ask that the wire include the following identifying information:

• Name of the donor
• Name of the fund
• Fund number and name
• Amount being transferred
• Contact name at the University

Additional information can be found here: https://foundation.ucsd.edu/endowment-financials/instructions-for-wire-transfers-and-stock-gifts.html

Donors primarily make credit card gifts online through a secure gift form at Give to UC San Diego. Online gifts can be made to either The Regents or to UC San Diego Foundation funds.

Credit card gifts may also be charged by Gift Services, please contact us to assist. We accept VISA, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover Card.

UC San Diego as a whole must comply with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) data security standard. If a donor returns a solicitation or remit advice to a department with their credit card information, the department should immediately forward the information to Gift Services in a sealed envelope through campus mail or drop it off at our offices.

DO NOT email the credit card information.

If the department keeps a copy, the credit card number must be redacted. Credit card information is not entered into the donor’s record in our donor database, nor does Gift Services keep the credit card number on file. Once the donor’s card is charged, the credit card number is redacted by Gift Services. If a credit card is declined, Gift Services will alert the department for their follow-up with the donor. Also, if a donor requests a refund for a gift after 30 days have passed (UC San Diego’s credit card vendor keeps the credit card information on file for 30 days), Gift Services will request that the department contact the donor to obtain the credit card information.

UC San Diego employees can choose to give gifts via payroll deduction. A payroll deduction form needs to be completed by the employee and then forwarded to Gift Services. Gift Services will then work with UC San Diego payroll department to set up the deduction.