Many of our faculty have expressed interest in contributing in additional ways to UW Medicine’s financial recovery. In response, UW Medicine Advancement has set up a process to allow them to make philanthropic gifts to the UW Medicine COVID-19 Recovery Fund to support their School of Medicine department or division or a UW Medicine hospital.
Contributions can be made online (please specify the department, division or hospital you would like to support in the “additional questions” field) or through payroll deduction via MyUWGiving (via the COVID-19 Recovery Fund).
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Why are gifts being directed to a centralized fund?
The UW Medicine COVID-19 Recovery Fund is a discretionary budget. Gifts directed to this fund will be allocated to a department, division or hospital based on the donor’s specifications.
How will gifts made to the UW Medicine COVID-19 Recovery Fund be made available to my department/division/hospital?
UW Medicine Advancement and School of Medicine Finance will partner with your department/division/hospital to identify the way the department, division or hospital would like to receive the funds to support its activities. We intend to transfer funds on a weekly basis, but staff furloughs may delay transfers on occasion. Please note that gifts made via the UW Medicine COVID-19 Recovery Fund must be separately tracked from other department/division/hospital general gift funds.
Can I give directly to my own department/division/hospital gift budget instead of giving through the COVID-19 Recovery Fund?
Yes. You can support your department/division/hospital directly.
How will donations to the UW Medicine COVID-19 Recovery Fund be used?
Gifts can be used to help mitigate financial challenges from COVID-19, including new costs and lost revenue, and/or will reduce the size of needed expense reductions. These funds will be used at the discretion of the department chair, division head or hospital CEO. Please note that it is intended for these gifts to provide immediate budget recovery and they will therefore be utilized fairly quickly.
Can gifts to the UW Medicine COVID-19 Recovery Fund be used to provide direct support to employees experiencing financial hardships?
No, gifts to this fund cannot be used in this way. However, the University launched the COVID-19 Employee Emergency Fund on June 10 to help staff with critical, temporary and unforeseen financial hardships due to COVID-19, including furloughs. This fund provides microgrants to UW employees (including all UW Medicine employees) with the greatest financial need during this difficult time. Employees with a base salary under $75,000 can apply for up to $1,500. Employees may apply for assistance here.
Is it possible to make a gift to support UW Medicine employees experiencing hardships?
Yes. Please contact UW Medicine Advancement at covidgifts@uw.edu to learn more.
