How to Give

Where Research Meets Impact

Why Give to the Bunche Center?

Since its establishment, the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies has led the nation in supporting students and faculty in the study of Black life, hosting scholarly events relevant to Black life in Los Angeles, and producing action-oriented research spanning every field of scholarly inquiry, from microbiology to musicology. Currently, the Bunche Center is home to the award-winning Million Dollar Hoods project, which uses big data to map the fiscal and human cost of mass incarceration in Los Angeles. In collaboration with community advocates and policymakers, Million Dollar Hoods is helping to reimagine public safety in Los Angeles. Giving to the Bunche Center advances Black Studies as a field of research that improves the conditions of Black life and transforms the world we live in.

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Ways to Give

Individual Funds

Bunche Center Discretionary Fund

Your support enables the Bunche Center to remain UCLA’s intellectual home for Black Studies scholarship—advancing research, mentorship, and community engagement that bridge the campus and the world. Through opportunities for students, support for faculty research, and interdisciplinary collaboration, the Center continues its founding mission from 1969: to study and strengthen the condition of Black life. Today, the Bunche Center stands as a national model of scholarly excellence, innovation, and social impact.

Ralph J. Bunche Endowed Chair Fund

The Ralph J. Bunche Endowed Chair honors the extraordinary legacy of Dr. Ralph J. Bunche – Nobel Peace Prize laureate, civil rights leader, and distinguished UCLA alumnus. The endowment supports a renowned scholar whose research and teaching resonate with Bunche’s life and work as a humanitarian and political scientist. Your investment in this fund helps ensure Bunche’s vision continues to inspire groundbreaking scholarship and impact for generations to come.

Bunche Library Fund

Your support helps the Bunche Center Library & Media Center continue to collect primary source materials relevant to Black lives. These materials document Black perspectives, achievements and contributions that may otherwise be lost and destroyed. The library currently has more than 8,000 books and numerous archival holdings. Together, we can ensure our library remains a vibrant and impactful resource for Black Studies scholarship.

Bunche Fellows Program Fund

Your support empowers the next generation of scholars and change agents, advancing research to improve the conditions of Black life. The Bunche Fellows Program is one of the Center’s most ambitious efforts – training cohorts of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral scholars from across UCLA to study and reimagine the future of Black life. Each year, the program funds 10 undergraduate and 10 graduate students, as well as two postdoctoral scholars, to work on projects related to the study of Black life.

Hip Hop Initiative Fund

Your support powers the research, fellowships, and programming that make the Hip Hop Initiative a global leader in studying Hip Hop culture and the movements it creates.

Arthur Ashe Legacy at UCLA Fund

Your support sustains the research, archives, and leadership programs that carry forward Arthur Ashe’s legacy of courage, justice, and global citizenship.

Additional Ways to Give

Bequests

In writing a will or living trust, you can specify that you would like your estate to benefit UCLA. Your bequest gift may enable you to provide long-term support to the Bunche Center while also helping you achieve your short-term financial, philanthropic, and other goals.
Real Estate

Donating real estate – such as land, residential properties, or commercial property – can support the Bunche Center while offering significant tax benefits, including relief from capital gains, and potential lifetime occupancy options.
Personal Property

The Bunche Center gratefully accepts donations of materials that support the academic, teaching and research mission of the University. The University receives a wide variety of such gifts, including rare books and manuscripts, works of art, equipment and other items of value.
Intellectual Property

We welcome gifts of copyrights, patents, royalties, licenses, and technical data. The tax and legal provisions governing these gifts vary depending on the type of property.
Stocks and Bonds

Appreciated stocks and bonds are a popular asset donated to UCLA by alumni and friends. Securities can be transferred directly from your brokerage account to the university’s account. You can download the appreciated stock giving form here.
Matching Gifts

Double or even triple your impact through an employer match program. Check our database to see if yours does.
Pledges

A pledge is a statement of intention to make a gift to UCLA. Donors who seek to defer the bulk of their giving until a future date, or who want to give in installments over time, may use this strategy, allowing them to promise a gift and make payments in the future or over time.
By Phone

Make a gift with a credit card by calling (310) 794-2305.
By Mail

Send a check, made out to The UCLA Foundation, with the memo “Bunche Center donation,” to:

The UCLA Foundation
PO Box 7145
Pasadena, CA 91109-9903

Charitable Gift and Tax Information

All gifts to the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies are fully tax-deductible for federal income tax purposes, and subject to any limitations placed on charitable gifts. Please visit the UCLA Foundation website for information on fund disclosures and donor privacy, here. For UCLA tax I.D. numbers, tax exemption letters, and other frequently requested documents, please visit the UCLA Donor Toolkit.

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