Below, get answers to your questions about donating and our partners, America’s Charities and Penn Medicine.
Volunteer Coordinators can also find the answers to questions frequently asked of them.
Penn’s Way, our annual workplace giving campaign (October 1-November 21) is making strides toward supporting critical programs that benefit those in need. This year, double your donation with a 100% match for every dollar up to $2,500 and a 50% match beyond that. Donate now (PennKey or UPHS login required) to help our communities go the distance.
No, you can use either PennKey or UPHS credentials to log in to donate. If you are affiliated with the University or PSOM, you will log in with your PennKey credentials. If you are affiliated with UPHS, you will log in with your UPHS credentials. If you have questions, please contact your IT Service Provider for assistance or use the links below:
Only UPHS users should log in with their UPHS credentials by clicking the “Sign in with UPHS” button on the login screen. All University affiliates including PSOM (students, staff, faculty) should log in with their PennKey credentials. If you have questions, please contact your IT Service Provider for assistance or use the links below:
All contributions made via payroll deduction will be deducted after taxes.
Penn's Way contributions made via payroll deduction will occur in following year and should, therefore, be considered deductions for that year’s taxes. Please consult your accountant or tax advisor regarding contributions made via check or credit card.
You can see what was deducted for Penn’s Way in your weekly or monthly paystub (view as you normally would). Penn’s Way deductions are listed in after-tax deductions by the partner organization the donation was given.
Please print a copy of the confirmation page and retain it for your records. If you have already closed the online form, simply login again and print the confirmation page.
Please print two copies of the confirmation page, and make your check payable to “Penn’s Way Campaign.” Attach your check payment to one copy of the confirmation and send to Penn’s Way. Please keep the second copy of the confirmation page for your records.
For University: Print page and mail with check to: Penn's Way, 310 Franklin Bldg, 3451 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6284.
For Penn Medicine: Print page and mail with check to: Regina Whittick, Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, 3400 Civic Center Boulevard, Executive Office Suite, 5th Floor Atrium, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
We are no longer using paper pledge forms. If you have questions please email us.
You can find the list of agencies on the Find and Research Agencies page.
You can find your local contact through the Volunteers page.
Acceptable forms of payment are credit card, payroll deduction, Donor Advised Fund, or check (payable to Penn’s Way Campaign). Note that credit card payments will be charged at the time the payment is entered. Payroll deductions begin with the 2025 (2026) calendar year payroll. Penn’s Way will no longer accept cash donations.
Penn’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy publishes a High Impact Giving Toolkit with actionable guidance for more impactful giving. Visit the Toolkit to learn how to identify, choose, and research nonprofit organizations and agencies to support during the Penn’s Way campaign.
Each organization receives a list of donors from America’s Charities.
Penn’s Workplace Giving Campaign, known as Penn’s Way, is a Donor Choice Campaign that has enjoyed a successful history at Penn and Penn Medicine for over 19 years. In 2023, a matching gift program pilot was launched, which matched every donation dollar for dollar. This program honors Penn’s commitment to the community and supports the spirit of giving of our Faculty and Staff. The matching program is continuing this year, all donations up to $2,500 are eligible to receive a 100% match, and donations over $2,501 up to the cap of $20,000 are eligible to receive a 50% match per Penn donor. The match applies to all donations, no matter the payment method. Now, when Penn and Penn Medicine employees donate to their favorite charities, they are doubling their impact.
Donations are distributed to charities quarterly by the disbursement method (check or bank transfer) that the charity has chosen.
Charities receive distributions quarterly, beginning in May. All one-time payroll, check and credit card donations are distributed in full (minus fees) to charities with their first quarter distribution.
The distribution schedule for Penn’s Way is as follows:
The bulk of donations made during the Penn’s Way campaign are employee payroll deductions, which begin and end in the same calendar year. Because payroll pledges are collected through the end of the calendar year, we are not able to disburse them in that same year, therefore, the final distribution occurs in February of the following year.
While the previous campaign is fully disbursed and closed out at the end of February, and one-time donations from the most recent campaign have been received, Penn still needs to collect three months (January, February & March) of payroll pledges before we can disburse them to charities. We receive those funds in April, reconcile them against the final pledge report, and the first quarter distribution is sent in May. The remainder of the payroll donations and their matching funds are disbursed in the following quarters.
This is a standard best practice for workplace campaigns that offer payroll deduction as a method of charitable giving. Many charities report that the predictable influx of donations received year-round improves the accuracy of revenue projections and allows for more effective planning around the use of these unrestricted funds.
This question addresses the issue of overhead, known in fundraising as the "administrative rate." Options such as payroll deduction allow donors to stretch their charitable dollar further than if they made a one-time gift. Nonetheless, there are fees associated with your gift:
Although the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey is no longer a Penn’s Way partner, gifts of $24 or more can be designated to the United Way’s Impact fund. The United Way deducts an administrative fee of 12.5% from all donations (4.1% administration and 8.4% fundraising.)
The minimum donation is $1. This can be a lump sum, or per period. Staff can choose the number of periods, but may not donate less than $1 per period.
We have assembled a list for you in the Toolkit on Penn+Box.
Please send an email with your question to pennsway@upenn.edu.
Visit the Find and Research Agencies page for a list of participating agencies.