Turn your service hours into dollars to donate

You’re a senior or recent grad who cares about supporting Stanford students and causes in your communities. But it can be difficult to do it all with limited time and resources. Thanks to the generosity of alumni challengers, you can do both at once through Dollars for Doers!

How it works

For every hour you volunteer (up to 10 hours) between September 1, 2025 and August 31, 2026, you’ll unlock $25 to donate to an area of undergraduate life you care about through The Stanford Fund.

Step 1

Confirm you’re a senior or recent grad

Age is just a number, but for this challenge, you can only participate if you’re a current senior or you graduated between 2022 and 2025.

As an additional bonus for seniors, your participation in this challenge will count toward your Class of 2026 senior gift!

Step 2

Volunteer for up to 10 hours

Volunteer at a nonprofit organization of your choice, or find an opportunity through the Haas Center or Beyond the Farm. Volunteer service must be completed at time of submission; no future volunteer service will be accepted.

Read more about the rules in the FAQs below.

Step 3

Submit your hours to unlock your gift

Once you complete your service, fill out a brief form to submit your hours to The Stanford Fund team. It’ll only take a minute, and you’ll have the opportunity to choose where you’d like to direct your gift.

Go to the form

Ready to join the challenge? Submit your volunteer hours here:

What your gift can support

You can choose to direct your gift to any of these areas supported through The Stanford Fund.

financial aid

Education through scholarships, not loans

Contribute to a more equitable future in Stanford education by supporting need-based financial aid, which benefits nearly half of all undergrads each year.

Community centers

A place for everyone

Promote justice, belonging, and equity on campus with a gift toward the Centers for Equity, Community, and Leadership.

The Opportunity Fund

A helping hand

Help provide flexible grants for undergraduate students to cover unexpected expenses, like emergency travel or registration fees for a conference.

Student social life

Memories and traditions

Sustain the campus-wide events and programming that make the Stanford experience fulfilling, unique, and fun.

Undergraduate academics

Innovative curriculum

Enable all three undergraduate schools to expand class offerings and provide additional academic support for students.

Mental health resources

Compassion and care

Increase appointment capacity at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), expand virtual and telephone visits, and improve community outreach.

Student groups

Connection and belonging

Support the student-led organizations that help undergraduates develop new skills, build connections, and pursue their passions.

All of the above!

Support all these important initiatives with one gift through The Stanford Fund.

Frequently asked questions

You can volunteer at any nonprofit organization of your choosing (Stanford affiliated or not), as long as your service qualifies under the challenge guidelines (see next question).
Not sure where to start? Consider some of these options:
- Volunteer hours recommended by the Haas Center for Public Service at Community Volunteering and Community Care
- Service projects organized through Beyond the Farm
- Opportunities near you on VolunteerMatch
Is there a volunteer opportunity you’d like to recommend? Email The Stanford Fund and let us know!
Eligible U.S. charitable organizations must be either:
- Tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and not classified as: private foundations, family foundations, political organizations, or fraternal organizations.
- Accredited public PreK-12 schools or school districts in the United States to which contributions are tax-deductible under the Internal Revenue Code.
Eligible non-U.S. charitable organizations must be either:
- Recognized by and registered with the United Kingdom Charity Commission as a charitable organization.
- Recognized by Charities Aid Foundation-America as a charitable organization.
The following categories of service are NOT eligible for a gift match through this challenge:
- Service to religious organizations (e.g., churches, synagogues, mosques, or other houses of worship) when volunteer activities are primarily religious or sectarian in nature
  Volunteering in support of programs that are non-sectarian, open to all individuals regardless of religious beliefs, and beneficial to a broad community (e.g., serving at homeless shelters, working at soup kitchens, or providing other social services) will be considered for match credit. You may be asked to provide additional information about the community project to receive match credit.
- Service that results in advertisements or other promotions of an individual’s business activities
- Service that provides benefits directly to any individual, alum, or their families
- Service to any organization that espouses hate or discriminates based on race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, veteran status, or disability status.
Four Stanford alumni serve as the Dollars for Doers challengers! These dedicated donors are excited to support your volunteer service, share the importance of philanthropy, and promote The Stanford Fund and its impact on undergraduates. Thanks to your participation and our challengers’ generous donations, Dollars for Doers has raised more than $185,000 to support undergraduates through The Stanford Fund.
Learn more about our challengers and what motivates them to support the Dollars for Doers Challenge!

Have additional questions? Interested in earning volunteer hours through The Stanford Fund?

Reach out to us at thestanfordfund@stanford.edu

(We promise a human will respond to you!)

About the challengers

Amit Sinha, ’99

"By combining giving with service, I believe we can have a greater impact in our community and at Stanford than through either alone. I am excited to be part of the Dollars for Doers challenge because it embodies this idea while providing seniors and recent grads a different way to give back."

Logan McClure Davda, ’08

“Stanford is an incredible community of passionate humans. I’m excited to participate in this challenge in order to give all seniors and recent grads the opportunity to support the issues they care most about on campus.”

Heidi Boyd, ’07

“All Stanford alumni have a responsibility to give back to their local and global communities. I'm excited to take part in a program that can help recent grads deepen their connections to the university while also forging connections with in-need organizations and populations.”

Paul Yoo, ’06

“I joined this challenge because our time, treasures, and relationships find their noblest form in building and serving our community. Through service, we learn that a person's momentary grace can make life infinitely beautiful.”