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California State University, Chico
A student wearing dark protective glasses leans over to adjust a red laser in a physics lab.

Areas of Giving

Explore the many ways your gift can make an impact at Chico State. From scholarships and student success to academic programs, athletics, research, and special initiatives, it’s easy to support the people and programs that matter most to you.

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Make the Greatest Impact with Your Gift

Every donor has a different reason for giving. Some want to open doors for students. Others want to advance teaching and research, strengthen Wildcat Athletics, or invest in programs that serve our region. Whatever inspires you, there's a meaningful way to make a difference at Chico State. Explore giving opportunities to find the area that reflects your passion and the impact you want to make.

Chico State Fund

Support where it's needed most.

Mount Lassen student research

The greatest opportunities—and the greatest challenges—aren't always planned. The Chico State Fund provides flexible, unrestricted support that allows the University to respond when needs arise, invest in new opportunities, and strengthen the student experience where it can have the greatest impact. These gifts help Chico State remain nimble, innovative, and responsive in a rapidly changing world.

When you give to the Chico State Fund, you're investing in the people, programs, and experiences that make a Chico State education exceptional—today and for generations of Wildcats to come.

Give to the Chico State Fund

Helping Students Thrive

A Chico State education is about more than earning a degree. It's about having the support to learn, belong, and succeed. Gifts to student-focused funds provide scholarships, meet basic needs, expand access to essential resources, and help students overcome challenges so they can focus on achieving their goals.

  • Scholarships Fund

    Cover costs so students can focus on their future, not payment plans

  • Basic Needs

    Provide food, housing, and emergency grants for students in need

  • REACH Student Success Center

    Help incoming first-year students, including first-generation populations, as they transition from high school to college

  • Student Affinity Centers

    Create a sense of belonging where students from all backgrounds feel respected, connected, and affirmed

Academic Excellence

Invest in learning, discovery, and opportunity by supporting the colleges, libraries, museums, research, and academic programs that inspire discovery and prepare students to lead in their fields. Your gift helps students learn alongside dedicated faculty, pursue hands-on research, and prepare to lead in their professions and communities.

Wildcat Athletics

Champion student-athletes on and off the field.

The women's soccer team huddle together before their soccer game.

Wildcat student-athletes compete with determination, represent Chico State with pride, and develop the leadership and teamwork that extend far beyond competition. Your support strengthens athletic programs by providing scholarships, enhancing team experiences, supporting travel, and investing in the success of every Wildcat.

Support Wildcat Athletics

Special Initiatives

Advance innovation and community impact through Chico State's distinctive centers and initiatives that create opportunities that extend well beyond campus. Support interdisciplinary programs that drive research, foster innovation, strengthen regional partnerships, expand knowledge, and address the challenges facing our communities.

  • Two students pose proudly in front of the CLIC front desk.

    Community Legal Information Center

    Help CLIC, a student-run organization, provide free legal information and resource referrals to the community while preparing students for careers in law

  • Human Identification Laboratory staff examine skeletal remains

    Human Identification Laboratory

    At the only full-time forensic anthropology lab in California and the largest west of Texas, Chico State's expert forensic anthropologists and students assist law enforcement, coroners, and agencies with skeletal analysis, missing person recoveries, and mass disaster victim identification

Willie the Wildcat shows off a graduation cord

Senior Class Gift

Celebrate your graduation by giving back to a place, program, or cause that made a difference in your Chico State experience. Your Senior Class Gift is a meaningful way to show your Wildcat pride and help create opportunities for the students who follow in your footsteps.

Wildcat Spirit Cord

Graduating seniors who make a Senior Class Gift of their class year ($20.27) or more receive a gold Wildcat Spirit Cord to wear at Commencement. The cord recognizes your generosity and celebrates your transition from student to graduate as part of a tradition of Wildcats giving back.

Make Your Senior Class Gift

Give $20.27 or more through the Senior Class Giving Page to support Basic Needs, or use the Chico State Giving Form to direct your gift to a campus club, program, department, or other area that matters to you.

Pick Up Your Wildcat Spirit Cord

Cord pickup opportunities are offered on campus throughout the spring, typically in March, April, and May. Bring your student ID and gift confirmation email when you pick up your cord.

Graduates living outside Chico may request to have their cord shipped. If you live in Chico, please plan to pick up your cord on campus. To arrange a special pickup time, contact Catie Ferguson at cdferguson@csuchico.edu.