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Friday, March 6 is Employee Appreciation Day! Let a colleague know you appreciate them - send a special Employee Appreciation Day message through the Appreciation Portal!

Working at Cornell

Give to the Employee Emergency CARE Fund

What To Know

The Employee Emergency CARE Fund offers financial assistance to faculty and staff who have experienced a non-recurring sudden or emergency-related financial hardship due to an unforeseen or unavoidable event. It is funded almost entirely thanks to the generous donations of faculty and staff.

Ways to Give

Payroll Deduction

How Payroll Deduction Works

  • How it works: Sign up to have $1, $2, $5, $10, or even $100 automatically debited from your paycheck each pay period to benefit the Employee Emergency CARE fund. Donations are deducted after tax.
  • One-time gift: You can also make a one-time gift via payroll deduction.
  • Change or stop: If you need to change or stop your payroll deduction, fill out the Payroll Deduction Authorization Form and email to payroll@cornell.edu. 

Make a gift via payroll deduction

Write A Check

Giving Via Check

  • Make checks payable to: Cornell University, and in the notes section, write CARE Fund.
  • Mail your check to: Employee Emergency CARE Fund, Cornell Work/Life, 395 Pine Tree Road, Suite 230, Ithaca, NY 14850.

Cornell Appreciation Portal Points

Donate Your Appreciation Portal Points

Have you received Cornell Awardco Appreciation Portal points? You now have the option to “pay it forward” by making a gift to the CARE Fund with some, or all, of your points!

Log into the portal, click “Spend Points,” and select “Emergency CARE Fund.”

PayPal or Venmo Donate

To donate via PayPal or Venmo Donate, please scan the QR Code or click the donation link.

A QR Code that links to the CARE Fund PayPal Donation page.

If you select the PayPal option, please note that a 2.9% fee and a 0.30 cent per transaction fee will be subtracted from your donation before it is distributed to the Employee Emergency CARE Fund.

Honor a Retiring Colleague

Cornell employees who wish to forego a retirement gift and/or party may request their department make a donation to the Employee Emergency CARE Fund in their name. 

To arrange a departmental transfer, email carefund@cornell.edu.

Please note: donations to CARE Fund are not tax deductible. The Employee Emergency CARE Fund provides support more broadly than allowed by the IRS definition of a workplace relief fund, especially to victims of domestic violence, and thus gifts to the fund are not tax deductible.

Giving Tiers

Donors to the CARE Fund can receive rewards for their contributions, which may include a discount at The Cornell Store, a personal note of thanks from the Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, and digital goodies.

Sustaining Supporter

One-time giving up to $100 or up to $4/recurring via payroll deduction

You’re a Sustaining Supporter! 

Whether it’s a payroll deduction or a one-time payment, giving up to $100 helps keep our fund going every day. 

Each gift is important and helps sustain the CARE Fund over time. 

At this tier, you will receive: 

  • a note of thanks from the CARE Fund committee
  • an email signature digital badge

Advocate

One-time giving up to $500 or up to $20/recurring via payroll deduction

You’re an Advocate! 

Your gift, whether one-time or recurring, helps boost our ability to consider more applications for support. 

Your gift has a huge impact on the CARE Fund’s budget and viability. 

At this tier, you will receive: 

  • a 20% discount at The Cornell Store^
  • a note of thanks from the CARE Fund committee
  • an email signature digital badge

Champion

One-time giving over $500 or over $20/recurring via payroll deduction

You’re a Champion! 

With your one-time or recurring gift, you make sure we have adequate funding and can consider even more awards with the confidence that the CARE Fund can meet the community’s needs. 

At this tier you will receive: 

  • a 20% discount at The Cornell Store^
  • a personal note of thanks from the Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
  • an email signature digital badge

^Get 20% off* your purchase at any location of The Cornell Store or online at www.cornellstore.com. To redeem in-store, show the promo code to the cashier. To redeem online, enter promo code in the online shopping cart. Be sure to include the dash (-) when entering your code. 
      *Standard exclusions apply (see www.cornellstore.com/store-policies). One-time use; cannot be combined with other promotions or discounts. Previous purchases excluded. Expires December 31, 2025.

Volunteer

Fundraising for the Employee Emergency CARE Fund is done by a committee of Cornell employee volunteers. 

Contribute your time and efforts, apply to join the Development Committee Gig in Workday or contact us to learn how you can help!