Get Involved
Every gift to the Norfolk State University Research & Innovation Foundation moves a student from the classroom into the laboratory, a discovery from the bench into the market, and Hampton Roads closer to a durable innovation economy.
Your Impact
The Foundation exists to turn Norfolk State’s research capacity into opportunity: for students, for faculty, and for the region.
Paid internships that place NSU students inside the work itself (at the Foundation, in STEM laboratories, with regional startups, and across economic development, real estate, and innovation) so no student has to choose between a paycheck and their field.
Instruments, lab space, and seed funding that make NSU faculty competitive for federal and industry awards they could not otherwise pursue.
Technology licensing, startup formation, and innovation-district development that keep talent and intellectual property in Hampton Roads.
Options
Many of the most significant gifts are made from assets rather than income. Each of these is straightforward, and our team will walk you through it.
Recommend a grant to the Foundation directly from your DAF at Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, a community foundation, or any sponsor.
Giving appreciated stock held more than a year may let you deduct full fair market value and avoid capital gains tax on the appreciation.
If you are 70½ or older, you may direct a distribution from your IRA to the Foundation, which can count toward your required minimum distribution.
Thousands of employers match employee contributions dollar for dollar. Check whether yours does. It is often the fastest way to double your impact.
A bequest, beneficiary designation, or charitable trust lets you make a commitment of lasting scale without affecting your resources today.
Laboratory instruments, software licenses, professional services, and faculty or student mentorship are all genuinely needed contributions.
For Companies & Institutions
For an organization, this is rarely philanthropy alone. It is access to research capacity, to intellectual property, and to a talent pipeline in one of the fastest-growing corridors in the Mid-Atlantic.
Fund a defined research program with NSU faculty and students, with terms, milestones, and IP arrangements negotiated for your objectives.
License NSU-developed technology, or co-develop and spin out new ventures through the Foundation’s innovation pipeline.
Build early relationships with NSU’s STEM and business students through funded internships, co-ops, and capstone sponsorship.
Locate teams within the Foundation’s research and real estate footprint, with proximity to faculty expertise and shared instrumentation.
Support named programs, symposia, competitions, and convenings that put your organization in front of the region’s innovation community.
Underwrite scholarships, equipment, or endowed funds where your interests and the Foundation’s mission align most directly.
We do not publish standard packages, because we have never built two partnerships the same way. Tell us what you are trying to accomplish and we will design around it.
Accountability
Donors are recognized in the Foundation’s annual report and on our donor wall unless they ask otherwise. Naming opportunities (for funds, programs, laboratories, and facilities) are real and available, but they are developed individually with each donor and approved by the Foundation’s Board of Directors under our published gift acceptance and naming policies. We do not attach board service, governance roles, or fiduciary positions to any level of giving.
Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer
Every gift of $5,000 or more, and every corporate conversation, starts here. No forms, no queue: a direct line to a person who can answer questions about designation, structure, timing, and tax treatment.
Tell us what you care about (students, research, the region) and we will show you the three or four places where your support would matter most right now.