Giving
Your Gifts Count
Every student who walks through our doors arrives with a different dream. That’s why we strive to make the college a place that empowers each student to explore individual passions and define a unique niche. No matter how you give, how much you give, or why you give to the College of Natural Sciences, your gift changes lives—and changes the world.
Your Gifts Change Lives
Graduate students are the at the core of the research enterprise on campus, putting in thousands of hours to run experiments, collect data, and analyze findings—and these important members of our community need your help!
This has been a rough year for everyone, but more than 1,000 graduate students have been especially impacted as most of their research work has been slowed down and the resources they need have diminished.
If you contribute to the CNS Graduate Student Fellowship Fund, you will help support our students by providing additional funding to those who need to extend their work for another year, and by making resources available for innovations in data collection for those who are still unable to conduct in-person experiments. If you would like to help make a difference for these students, please visit umass.science/gradfund to make your donation.
Corporate Giving
The College of Natural Sciences is dedicated to training and advancing the next generation of scientific leaders, problem solvers, and workplace visionaries. Our graduates’ résumés—and the positions they accept—reflect the wide array of opportunities we create for students to engage in meaningful, independent, inquisitive work from their first semester on. CNS students raise the bar while they’re here and they raise the bar in the workforce after they graduate, keeping companies on the leading edge of new technology and discovery.
In CNS we understand the value of corporate and academic partnerships, and there are many ways for your company to get involved. Join one of our Corporate Alliances, sponsor trailblazing research, host student interns, or work side by side with our world-renowned faculty.
Alumni Giving
Maybe you trace your own career path back to an invigorating hands-on research project alongside an inspiring faculty mentor. Maybe a scholarship fund opened up opportunities you never dreamed you’d have, and you want to make such opportunities available to other students.
Or maybe you’ve seen the way our community partnerships turn the work of our exceptional faculty and students into real-world solutions and scientific advancement—from transforming health care to exploring green energy and building sustainable food systems.
Our students truly embody the next generation of scientific leaders. Having a wealth of opportunities to partner with faculty in research labs, make meaningful contributions to companies through internships, or shape institutional change through student leadership positions is key to preparing them for their future careers. Your support is essential to providing these experiences for students and in funding groundbreaking educational programs and research.
Faculty and Staff Giving
The work you do—in the classrooms, in the labs, in the field, and in offices across campus—inspires and enriches our students. It also inspires so many others to support the excellence of the College of Natural Sciences. Current and retired faculty and staff have contributed more than $5.6 million to UMass Amherst in the past three years. These gifts have a significant impact on the continued growth of the university, as well as on the success and well-being of our students.
Parent Giving
We know no one is more proud of our exceptional students than you—their parents. With your gift, you can help expand and enrich the scope of opportunities for all our students. Gifts provide scholarships that enable students to meet and often exceed their academic goals. Your gift can support College of Natural Sciences students by funding study abroad, life-changing internships, or state-of-the-art facilities for research and learning.
Student Giving
Who better to inspire giving to the College of Natural Sciences than its greatest resource—our students? There are many ways you can be a voice for philanthropy to the college, from making gifts you can afford while you’re still on campus (and educating your peers to do the same) to volunteering your time. Learn more about the UMass Amherst Annual Fund and its vital role helping students reach their goals and enrich their experiences. To make an even bigger splash for your school’s future, check out the Student Philanthropy Ambassador Program, where you can help get the word out about giving through special events, campaigns, activities, and social media.