Can NINDS accept donations?
Yes. Even though the NINDS is not a fund-raising organization, the U.S. Congress has authorized the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to accept donations and bequests to support the mission of the Institute. Donations to the NINDS are deposited in a Gift Fund account, which is separate from the funding received from Congress.
How are donations used?
The NINDS Mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease. To support this mission, NINDS conducts, fosters, coordinates and guides research on the causes, prevention diagnosis, and treatment of neurological disorders and stroke, and supports basic research in related scientific areas. For decades NINDS has supported many different projects through its Gift Fund. The following types of activities may be supported through the Gift Fund:
- Research studies, including clinical research in our laboratories
- Purchase of equipment and supplies for laboratories
- Support of research workshops and conferences
- Printing of materials about neurological diseases and stroke for the public, patients, and health professionals
- Funding of research grants
- Support of scientific staff recruitment efforts
How can someone donate to the Institute?
As of October 2026, NINDS no longer accepts paper checks. Donations can be made through the NIH Unconditional Gift form on Pay.gov. Please follow the instructions below to submit your donation online:
- Open the Unconditional Gift Donation Form on Pay.gov.
- Under Select an NIH IC, choose: NINDS: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
- Enter donation amount and complete required fields.
- Optional: To make your donation in memory or in honor of someone, include the person’s name and indicate whether your donation is a memorial or honorary in the Comments section. To request that NINDS notify someone about your donation, you may also include the names and mailing addresses of those who should receive an acknowledgment.
- Follow prompts to review and submit your donation.
For detailed guidance, see the Pay.gov donation instructions (PDF).
The NINDS often receives requests from family members of the memorialized or honored for information regarding those who made donations on behalf of their loved one. We cannot release this information without prior consent from the donor. If you have no concerns and are willing to have this information released to family members, please state this fact in the letter that accompanies your donation. Many times family members are interested in sending their own thank you and acknowledgement letters.
If someone wishes to leave money to the Institute in their Will, he or she should provide the address of the NINDS in the Will and indicate the bequest is to be used to support the mission of the NINDS.
For tax filing, the NINDS tax exempt number is 52-0858115.
What if I have additional questions?
If you have any further questions about gift fund donations, please call the NINDS Financial Management Branch at (240) 974-6247 or email to: giftfunds@ninds.nih.gov. General information requests should be made to: InformationOffice4@mail.nih.gov or by calling (800) 352-9424.