Memorial and Honorary Gifts

Stanford Medicine’s unrivaled atmosphere of interdisciplinary exploration and collaboration has fueled a long history of achievements and innovations that sparked a biomedical revolution—MRIs, gene splicing, and stem cell medicine were all developed at Stanford. Today, that same atmosphere, amplified by the astounding intellectual and technological capital that surrounds us in Silicon Valley, gives us an unprecedented opportunity to further advance human health.

A gift to Stanford Medicine can be directed to any area of our three-part mission: research, teaching, or clinical care. The research in the Stanford University School of Medicine informs leading-edge clinical care at Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. Likewise, our physician-scientists take what they learn from caring for patients back to their labs to inform their research on new diagnostics and treatments. And our students and residents depend on the excellence of faculty and staff in the classrooms, hospitals, clinics, and labs to become the next generation of leaders in biomedical research and clinical care.  

• Cancer Discovery Fund : Donations to the Stanford Cancer Institute help support early career scientists and high-risk, high-reward research, providing the resources needed to fuel new discoveries to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer.
• The Health Care Partners Fund : Your gift provides support services and helps to improve the patient experience for hospitalized patients, their families, and caregivers—resources such as navigation services, counseling, health librarians, support groups, and more.
• Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Partners Fund: Your support helps bring pioneering programs and advanced medical services to patients in the rapidly growing Tri-Valley community, meeting the health care needs of people closer to where they live and work.
• Med Fund: Gifts to this fund provide medical students with generous financial aid packages, reducing or eliminating medical school debt for students in need, and funding for student wellness programs to support their health and well-being throughout their rigorous training. 

Yes. The obituary language below may be used for gifts directed to Stanford Medicine or Stanford Health Care.

If you would like to direct family and friends to make gifts to Stanford Medicine in lieu of flowers, please consider using the following suggested wording for an obituary or other tribute.

Gifts to Stanford Health Care (to support patient care):

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to Stanford Health Care online at memorial.stanford.edu or by mail to P.O. Box 20466, Stanford, CA 94309-0466. Please make checks payable to Stanford Health Care and include a note with the check or indicate on the memo line that the gift is made “In memory of <Name> for SHC.”

Gifts to Stanford Medicine (to support medical research):

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to Stanford University School of Medicine online at memorial.stanford.edu or by mail to P.O. Box 20466, Stanford, CA 94309-0466. Please make checks payable to Stanford University and include a note with the check or indicate on the memo line that the gift is made “In memory of <Name> for medical research.”

Stanford's secure website is a convenient and safe way to make a gift. Use the drop down menu on the giving page to select where you would like to direct your gift.  You may also make a gift of appreciated securities or by wire transfer.

May I make my gift offline? How do I make out the check?

If you prefer to make a gift by check, please make it payable to Stanford University, and indicate the desired fund allocation on the memo line. You may also indicate whether the gift is in honor of, or in memory of, a friend or loved one on the memo line. Please specify the full name of the honoree and a name and address for any next-of-kin you would like for us to notify.

Send your gift to:

Stanford University Development Services
P.O. Box 20466
Stanford, CA 94309-0466

We are happy to provide you with more information or answer your questions. Please call us at 650.725.2504.

By including a bequest to Stanford Medicine or Stanford Health Care in your will or living trust, you are ensuring that we can continue our mission for years to come. Contact the Office of Planned Giving at 650.723.6560 or pgmed@stanford.edu for additional information on bequests or to discuss options for including Stanford Medicine or Stanford Health Care in your will or estate plan. You can read more about the power of a bequest gift here.

If you would like us to notify someone that you have made an ‘in memory of’ or ‘in honor of’ gift in their name, please provide the name and address of those individual(s) so we can send them a notification letter. Stanford will not share the amount of the donation in the letter.

If you pay online with a credit card, you will receive a receipt via email. If you pay any other way, you will receive a receipt in the mail. For missing gift receipts or additional questions, please email secure-development-services@lists.stanford.edu or call 650-725-0627.

Many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match any charitable contributions made by their employees. If your company is eligible, request a matching gift form from your employer, and send the completed and signed form with your gift. We will do the rest. The impact of your gift to Stanford University may be doubled or possibly tripled. Some companies even match gifts made by retirees and/or spouses.

Although Stanford is a U.S. tax-exempt organization, your gift to Stanford is only tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Our team of gift planning experts can help you select from a wide variety of tax-wise giving strategies. Please visit medicalgiving.stanford.edu to learn more about the range of planned giving opportunities to fit your exact needs.

If you are thinking of hosting a special event to raise funds for Stanford Medicine, please contact medicalgiving@stanford.edu to reach a development staff member for information on our community fundraising policies and procedures.

If you would like to direct a donation to a specific faculty member, please contact medicalgiving@stanford.edu for more information on how to make the gift.