Funding Priorities
The Nicholas School has many opportunities for individuals, couples and families to make a difference through philanthropic support. Here are a few of our current fundraising priorities. We would be happy to discuss these, or other areas of interest, with you so we can find the perfect giving opportunity for you.
Financial Aid
Delivering a premier interdisciplinary environmental education is expensive. You can help us open doors for talented students to make their dreams of pursuing an environmental education at Duke a reality.
Learn about the Nicholas School’s Financial Aid Initiative to increase scholarship and fellowship support for deserving students.
Our Nicholas Scholars Program, funded through generous gifts to financial aid, provides our highest level of scholarship support ever to an elite group of emerging environmental leaders.
Endowments
Whether supporting our students, faculty, research or education programs, a gift of endowment is the best way to ensure that your support will extend for years to come. When you create an endowment, the principal gift is invested, and each year a portion of the income generated goes toward the designated purpose.
Because gifts of endowment provide the Nicholas School with regular, guaranteed income, these gifts allow the school to plan for the future with greater certainty than otherwise possible. Endowment levels start at $100,000 and can be established to support scholarships and fellowships, faculty chairs, research and programs.
To discuss establishing an endowment, please contact: Kevin McCarthy, Associate Dean, Development & Alumni Relations.
Annual Fund
Annual Fund support helps make everything that happens at the Nicholas School possible. By bringing together gifts of all sizes from alumni, friends, faculty and staff, the Nicholas School Annual Fund exponentially increases the power of each individual to make a meaningful difference.
When you give to the Nicholas School Annual Fund, you help provide a steady stream of flexible resources that can be allocated toward financial aid for our students, educational technology and tools, field trips, internships, curriculum development, career services and more. You can even designate your gift to support a specific program such as the Marine Lab or Duke Forest.
Annual gifts of all sizes are welcomed and appreciated. The Nicholas School recognizes leadership annual contributors at the Summit Society level ($1,000+), the Blue Sky level ($10,000+), the Blue Sky-Vanguard level ($25,000+) or the Nicholas School Champions level ($100,000) with special recognition and invitations to exclusive events.
Ways to Give
The Nicholas School accepts many types of donations and offers a wide range of giving opportunities. Your gift also can be a useful financial planning tool. We invite you to talk with us about your personal areas of interest and preferred giving level, so we can find the perfect giving opportunity for you.
Donate Money
Credit Card
Donate via our secure giving site. On the giving site, you will have options for one-time or recurring gifts for any time period. This is quickest and easiest way to give!
Check
Please print a pledge card and mail it with your check.
Bank Draft
Call (919) 684-2338 to authorize a one-time or recurring bank draft from your checking account.
Electronic Transfer
Call (919) 684-2338 to set up a wire transfer or a transfer via the Automated Clearing House Network (ACH), which may have lower fees than a traditional wire transfer.
Payroll Deduction (Duke employees only)
Duke employees can make charitable contributions by payroll deduction through Duke@WORK under MyPay.
Donate Property
Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds
Donate via our stock donation form.
Personal property
Computers or laboratory equipment, artwork, athletic event tickets and other types of donations are welcome. Call (919) 684-2338 to discuss a donation of personal property.
Real estate
We can accept full or fractional interest in many types of property. Learn more about this option and call (919) 684-2338 to discuss your options.
Make a Planned Gift
Create a legacy for the environment
Whether you’re just starting out in your career or enjoying the early days of your retirement, it’s easier than you might think to establish a planned gift of any amount from your estate to benefit the Nicholas School of the Environment! We can help you explore all your options — like naming the Nicholas School of the Environment or the Duke University Marine Lab as a beneficiary of your retirement plan, including them in your will, or establishing a life income gift that supports the Nicholas School or the Marine Lab and pays you back.
Why include a gift from your estate to the Nicholas School of the Environment or Duke University Marine Lab?
A legacy gift provides a very special way for you to make a significant contribution that will continue to have an impact in the lives of students and faculty for many years to come.
Why choose the Nicholas School of the Environment or Duke University Marine Lab for your legacy gift? There are many reasons!
The Nicholas School of the Environment is one of the top environmental schools in the country – training the world’s future environmental leaders! Offering undergraduate, certificate, master’s and PhD degree programs, the Nicholas School is paving the way for students at every level to make an impact on the environment.
These environmental leaders of consequence are the future experts who will direct policy, apply science, and find solutions to the world’s most pressing concerns – including climate change. Arming them with the knowledge and expertise developed at the Nicholas School allows for a narrative of hope for our future, knowing that these leaders can make real change.
Legacy gift options
You can make an impact today - whether you are considering a future gift of $5,000 or $5 million, you have an opportunity now to plan for a truly personal, meaningful gift to benefit the Nicholas School of the Environment or the Duke Marine Lab.
Consider naming the Nicholas School or Marine Lab as a beneficiary of your retirement plan, include the Nicholas School of the Environment in your will, or establish a life income gift that supports the programs and pays you back. There are many options available to you, and we’re happy to help you find the best fit. These options can allow you to:
- receive income as you give through Charitable Gift Annuities or Charitable Remainder Trusts;
- make an immediate impact with Gifts of Securities or Real Estate, Charitable IRA Rollovers or Donor Advised Funds;
- or plan for your future with Bequest Gifts, Gifts of Retirement Plans or Charitable Lead Trusts.
As a part of your legacy gift, you may want to consider contributing toward an endowment -- a gift that keeps giving! We can help you create an endowment to support the Nicholas School or Marine Lab in perpetuity. An endowment may support our general operations, or there are many options for restricted areas of support such as student research, PhD fellowships, endowing a scholar’s program or creating a scholarship. You may also choose to endow a faculty position, helping to reward and recruit the most highly sought after experts in their fields. For more information on endowments, visit Endowment Giving - Giving To Duke.
Learn more
For more information on planning legacy gifts and endowments, contact Ann Thurston at 919-613-8018 or ann.thurston@duke.edu. You may also want to download our legacy gifts form. If you have already named us in your will or as a beneficiary of your retirement plan, please notify us so that we can ensure that Duke University is notified of your intent and prepared to designate your gift specifically to the area of your choice when it is ultimately received. You may also visit Gift Planning - Giving To Duke for additional information on creating your legacy at Duke.
Leadership Gift Societies
Our leadership donors consist of a community of alumni, parents and friends who support the school’s mission in a shared vision to surpass the challenges that stand before us today and in the future. While gifts of every size advance our efforts, our leadership gift societies recognize those who go the extra mile to make an investment in tomorrow’s leaders.
Contact Us
To discuss giving options and find the best fit for you, contact:
Kevin McCarthy
Associate Dean, Office of Development & Alumni Relations
(919) 613-8003
kevin.p.mccarthy@duke.edu
The Impact of Your Gift
Even small gifts can make a big difference. Read our 2018 report to learn how your gift can advance research and education in service of the environment.