Every gift to the University of Idaho Library is directed by you. You can give once or give forever, give cash or give assets, start something new or grow something a previous donor began. This page covers both how to give and where your gift can go.
For help matching your intent to the right fund, contact Dean Ben Hunter.
On this page: Ways to Give · Where Your Gift Can Go
The simplest way to support the Library. Cash gifts can be directed to any area you choose, spent immediately on current needs, or added to an existing endowment. Give online through U of I Giving — select the “Library” category, then choose your designation.
Bequests, charitable trusts, gift annuities, pooled income funds, and life insurance all offer ways to make a significant gift while meeting your own income needs or providing for family members, often with distinctive tax advantages. Many of the Library’s largest and longest-lasting funds began as planned gifts. For details, contact University of Idaho Giving.
Holdings such as corporate securities and real estate that have grown in value make excellent giving assets. The University of Idaho credits you for the full fair-market value of the stock or land, and favorable tax treatment often applies.
To give in memory or in honor of someone, attach a note with your gift naming the person being honored or memorialized. For memorial gifts, include family contact names and addresses; for honorary gifts, include the address of the person you are honoring. We will send a card notifying them of your gift — the amount is never revealed.
If a memorial or honorary fund already exists in that person’s name, your gift will be credited there unless you direct otherwise.
Gifts of materials have built the Library’s stature in scholarship, research, and teaching — many of our most-used archival collections arrived this way. We can accept only materials that enhance our collections. Upon receipt, the Library owns the gift and determines its retention or disposal.
To discuss a gift of materials, call (208) 885-2503 or email Rami Attebury (rattebur@uidaho.edu).
We generally do not accept journals and other regularly published periodicals, newspapers, non-regional newsletters, textbooks, outdated audiovisual materials, items in poor condition, or materials that fall outside the Library’s mission and collection development policies.
Charitable gifts generate both federal and state tax deductions. You should consult your own tax adviser about how a particular gift affects your obligations, and we have knowledgeable professionals available to help explain the general benefits of each gift type.
Growing an existing endowment is one of the most durable ways to support the Library — endowed funds pay out year after year, indefinitely. The funds below are either fully endowed or still growing, grouped by how they are designated for use.
To contribute online, visit the University of Idaho Giving form, select the “Library” category, and search for the endowment name in the designation field.
Unrestricted and broadly designated funds give the Library the flexibility to meet emerging needs — new spaces, new technologies, new programs — as they arise.
Support for the books, journals, databases, and media that faculty and students rely on every day.
Support for acquiring, preserving, describing, and sharing the rare and unique materials that document the University, the state, and the region.
Support for the digital infrastructure, software, and data services that carry Idaho’s collections to the world.
Support for librarians’ research, professional growth, and scholarly contributions to the field.
Support for the paid, mentored research positions that have become one of the Library’s signature contributions to student learning. See Library Fellowships for the programs these funds make possible.
Give to the Library Dean’s Excellence Fund and your gift will be directed to the Library’s most pressing current need.
Or see what your gifts build.