Giving to Penn Vet
Supporting Penn Vet is a powerful and direct means of making a positive impact on the field of animal care. The generous contributions from donors enable us to attract top-tier faculty, support our students, and enhance our facilities for more effective teaching and treatment.
Annual Funds
Your contribution to Penn Vet annual funds directly impact Penn Vet’s ability to thrive and excel. Every donation, regardless of size, makes a meaningful difference in advancing our mission of training the next generation of veterinary leaders. Your support enables us to create transformative experiences and opportunities for our community.
Friends of Penn Vet Fund
Support the Friends of Penn Vet Fund as we strive to educate the future leaders of veterinary medicine, advancing the field’s impact.
Friends of the Ryan Veterinary Hospital Fund
Support one of the nation’s premier veterinary hospitals that combines teaching, research, and care for companion animals.
Veterinary Student Scholarship Fund
Penn Vet’s veterinary education fund awards a range of student scholarships and grants, including financial assistance to current students, recruitment scholarships to attract promising new veterinarians.
Friends of New Bolton Center Fund
Support our world-renowned large animal hospital and research centers located on 700 acres in Kennett Square, PA.
Barbaro Fund for Excellence
Supporting the care of our equine patients, this fund was created in honor of Barbaro, the 2006 Kentucky Derby Champion.
Additional Gift Funds
Good Samaritan Fund
This fund at Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital is dedicated to giving animals the best care possible, while also nurturing the future of veterinary medicine through education and groundbreaking research.
Laminitis Research Fund
Supports laminitis research, and the treatment of horses who suffer from the disease.
Working Dog Center Fund
Provides funding for this national research and development center for scent detection dogs.
In Honor of Pets, Horses, and Ruminants
Animal Memorial Giving
In Honor of Pets, Horses, and Ruminants
Animal Memorial Giving
Memorial Giving
The human-animal bond is one of the strongest bonds that exists. Our animals sustain us in so many ways. They provide companionship, protection, and devotion while accepting and returning our love unconditionally.
If you’ve ever lost an animal that you love, you know that the loss is real and the grief can be overwhelming. Commemorate a beloved animal friend, or honor the loss of someone you love. It’s a great way to remember.
Your gift will support Penn Vet’s commitment to improving animal well-being by maintaining its global leadership role in innovative and novel studies. These studies benefit not only our beloved animals but will also contribute, through our One Health approach, to human health as well.
Pet Memorial Acknowledgement
The Pet, Equine & Ruminant Memorial Program at Penn Vet provides an opportunity for you to show your compassion towards a grieving friend or family member during their time of loss.
When you make a gift, we will send an acknowledgement to tell that special someone that you’ve thought of them in their time of loss. And through your commemorative gift, you are supportingPenn Vet’s commitment to improving animal well-being by maintaining Penn Vet’s global leadership role in innovative and novel studies.
You can brighten someone’s day while contributing to Penn Vet where animals are our passion and where finding cures and treatments for the illnesses that make them suffer and take their lives is our mission.
Making a Gift by Mail
If you want to mail in your gift, that’s easy! Just download our brochure and form (PDF) and mail it to our office below.
Pet Memorial Cards for Veterinary Practices
The compassion that veterinarians share through this program helps clients who are grieving over the loss of a precious member of their family.
Over the past four decades, the Pet Memorial Program has grown from a handful of veterinarians to a large group of practitioners across the country making thoughtful contributions in memory of their clients’ pets.
Your gift will support Penn Vet’s commitment to improving animal well-being by maintaining its global leadership role in innovative and novel studies. These studies benefit not only our beloved animals but will also contribute, through our One Health approach, to human health as well.
Next Steps: please download and fill out the Pet Memorial Order Form (PDF) and send your order form to either:
- Mail it back to Penn Vet with your gift
Lizbeth Velez
Office of Institutional Advancement
3800 Spruce St., Suite 151E
Philadelphia, PA 19104 - Or, FAX the form to (215) 573-3544 back to us and the office will contact you for your payment information.
Alumni Giving
Your support and connection to Penn Vet shows current veterinary students how to become leaders in their fields. Thank you for your support!
Reunion Giving
Class gifts bring together classmates for a central purpose and provide funds to an area that is special to them. Alumni celebrating milestone reunions are encouraged to make a gift with their class to a specific cause determined by each individual year.
1884 Alumni Circle Award
The consistent support and loyal generosity of our alumni through philanthropy demonstrates their commitment to preserving the excellence of our School and their powerful belief in their alma mater. The 1884 Alumni Circle Award recognizes alumni donors who have made a gift to the School of Veterinary Medicine for thirty years or more. The leadership of these alumni shapes the future of the school and inspires the legacy of alumni giving at Penn Vet.
Meet the Team

Jonathan Evans
Interim Associate Dean of Development and Alumni Relations
Development
For inquiries about making a gift, discussing your estate plans, or learning more about supporting Penn Vet.

Shoshana Milovsky
Associate Director of Major Gifts
milovsk1@vet.upenn.edu

Amber McElrath
Assistant Director of Major Gifts
amcelrat@vet.upenn.edu
Alumni Relations
If you are an alum of Penn Vet and want to give to the school, discuss your estate plans, update your records, volunteer, or attend an event, please reach out at vetalumni@vet.upenn.edu.

Brittany Tinsley,
Associate Director of Alumni Relations and Events
Advancement Services
Contact one of the staff members below at vet-advancement@vet.upenn.edu to inquire about the status of a gift you’ve made, missing receipts, updating your records, the Pet Memorial Program, and supporting Penn Vet’s annual fund.

Mary Berger, Executive Director of Advancement Operations

Sarah Trout, Associate Director of Advancement Services

Kelsey Rhodes-Soldatos, Associate Director of Donor and Board Relations

Liz Velez, Administrative Assistant
Other Ways to Give
Find the answers to the most commonly asked questions about giving to Penn.
Endowed professorships offer a perpetual source of funding, empowering our faculty to pursue novel research, mentor the next generation of veterinarians, and elevate the quality of education at Penn Vet. If you are considering endowment support, please email vet-advancement@vet.upenn.edu.
Enhancing the Philadelphia and/or New Bolton Center campuses, advancing our clinical care and educational capabilities. If you are considering campus support, please email
vet-advancement@vet.upenn.edu.
Send your check and this form, made payable to the “Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania”, to:
Office of Institutional Advancement
University of Pennsylvania
School of Veterinary Medicine
3800 Spruce Street, Suite 151E
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6047
Contact your broker to initiate a transfer.
- Firm: Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, attention: Kristine Hankins, 610-260-8531
- DTC: 0015
- Customer Name: University of Pennsylvania, TaxID: 23-1352685
- Account Number: 858-010018
Penn Contact:
University of Pennsylvania
Securities Gifts and Accounting
2929 Walnut Street, Suite 300
Philadelphia, PA 19104-5099
Telephone: 215-898-7254
Fax: 215-573-5118
Email: stockgifts@lists.upenn.edu
Questions? Call us! 215-898-1480
You can start the process by choosing your gift destination on the University of Pennsylvania’s online giving form.
You can then fill out the Penn Securities Transfer Request Form (PDF), which you can then either fax or mail directly to your broker.
Any corporation in the Philadelphia area that participates in a United Way workplace campaign will have the opportunity to designate funds to Penn Vet. Choose United Way ID number 50178 on your company-specific form.
If you are an employee of the University of Pennsylvania, you can take part in Penn’s Way by visiting https://www.upenn.edu/pennsway, and search for “50178” or “University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine”.
You can give a specific amount or a percentage of your estate. You can also direct your gift to support an area of Penn Vet that is most meaningful to you.
If you are considering a legacy or planned gift, please email vet-advancement@vet.upenn.edu
Planned gifts can be designed to generate life-long income, obtain significant income tax deductions, and reduce or eliminate estate taxes. They can be funded with gifts of cash, stock, retirement assets, life insurance, and real estate, and include:
- Charitable Lead Trusts
- Charitable Gift Annuities
- Charitable Remainder Trusts
When you include Penn Vet in your long-term plans, you become a member of the Veterinary Heritage Circle, Penn Vet’s membership society for planned giving donors, and the University’s Charles Custis Harrison Society.
Benefits of membership include an annual luncheon, invitations to special events and seminars, a subscription to Penn Vet’s Bellwether Magazine, and the University’s gift planning newsletter, Key.
Gift Planning staff are always willing to meet with donors and their financial advisors to discuss planned giving opportunities.
Penn Vet Office of Institutional Advancement
Phone: (215)898-1480