If a check is made payable to an institutional program or to the institution itself, and the check is for a program/activity for which the USM Foundation has an account, the USM Foundation can accept the check for deposit if one of the following is provided:
- A copy of a donor/pledge card that includes the statement “Make check payable to the
University System of Maryland Foundation, Inc.” and signed by the donor. (The signed card
serves as confirmation of the donor’s intent that the check be deposited in the USM Foundation.)
- A letter signed by an individual donor stating his/her intention to have the funds deposited in the USM Foundation.
- For corporate or foundation checks, a letter signed by an authorized representative of the organization, or an e-mail with a corporate e-mail address from an authorized representative of the organization, stating the organization’s intention to have the funds deposited in the USM Foundation. (This exception is acceptable for the initial payment from the organization. Subsequent checks from the same organization with an incorrect payee will not be accepted.)
Gift donations should clearly indicate on the check or in the attached documentation the donor’s
intention for the gift and should indicate a USMF account number.
Checks should be current dated and signed.
International Checks – please flag these checks to draw our attention to them. We can accept international checks in US dollars and in foreign currency. There is a fee to process these checks, like a credit card fee. USMF recommends you encourage international donors to consider ACH or Wire transfer. If the donor wishes to do that, please send an email to the USMF’s Business Support e- mail box to get the information required to accomplish an ACH or Wire.
Please do not staple check to the deposit form or supporting materials. Checks are scanned in-house for deposit and the staple holes interfere with the scanning process.