Donate to NEI

The National Eye Institute (NEI) is not a fundraising organization, but it is authorized to accept donations and bequests to support its mission. These contributions are kept in a Gift Fund account that is separate from the funds that NEI receives each year from Congress. Gift Fund donations advance NEI’s mission to eliminate vision loss and improve quality of life through vision research. 

As an agency of the U.S. federal government, gift donations made directly to the NEI are generally considered to be tax-deductible under Section 170 of Title 26 of the U.S. Code covering charitable contributions. For information about the tax deductibility of your donation, please visit the IRS website, or contact your tax advisor.

Gift donations support special projects and activities related to vision research. Supported projects may vary from year to year depending on NEI’s needs and priorities. Donations may be used to, but are not limited to the following: 

• Help cover travel costs for participation in clinical trials. 
• Support fellowships that train the next generation of vision researchers. 
• Provide new technology and equipment for laboratories. 
• Support scientific conferences and workshops on subjects of special importance to eye research.

As of October 2026, NEI 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: 

1. Open the Unconditional Gift Donation Form on Pay.gov. 
2. Under Select an NIH IC, choose: NEI: National Eye Institute 
3. Enter donation amount and complete required fields. 
4. 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 NEI notify someone about your donation, you may also include the names and mailing addresses of those who should receive an acknowledgment.
5. Follow prompts to review and submit your donation.

For detailed guidance, see the Pay.gov donation instructions (PDF).

If you are considering a bequest in your will, the will should include NEI’s full name “The National Eye Institute” and the address below. Specify that the bequest is intended to support NEI’s research and related activities.

National Eye Institute
Building 31, Room 6A16 31
Center Drive MSC 2510
Bethesda, MD 20892-2510