Donate
Our museums and their objects tell stories of people, places and history. We protect over 12 million objects for the nation, but we need your help.
As a charity, we rely on donations to help protect, conserve, and share the stories of the remarkable objects in Scotland's national collection – now and for future generations.
Your donation will support essential conservation work and important research into our collections, and help share their stories through exhibitions, events, and education programmes that allow people of all ages and backgrounds to experience our museums.
Other ways to donate
Donate by post or in-person
You can donate via cheque, made payable to National Museums Scotland and posted to:
Development Office
National Museums Scotland
Chambers St
Edinburgh EH1 1JF
You can also donate in-person at all of our museums by cash or card.
Donating from outside the UK
We are very grateful to all our overseas supporters for their generosity.
If you are a US citizen and would like to make a tax-deductible donation to National Museums Scotland, you can donate online to the American Foundation for National Museums Scotland.
Find out more about donations and other ways to support us in the US.
For all other overseas donations, please email development@nms.ac.uk for further information.
Donate via Charities Aid Foundation
If you have a Charities Aid Foundation account, you can make a secure donation online via the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) website by searching for ‘National Museums Scotland Charitable Trust’.
Alternatively you can post a CAF cheque made payable to ‘National Museums Scotland Charitable Trust’ to:
Development
National Museums Scotland
FREEPOST EH2842
Edinburgh
EH1 0AR
Donate via payroll giving
When you donate through the Give As You Earn scheme, your donation is taken from your pay before tax is deducted, which means you save and National Museums Scotland gains.
For example, suppose you agree to give £10 each month from your gross salary. This pledge will actually only cost you £8 (at the 20% basic rate of tax) or £6 (at the 40% rate of tax) yet the National Museums Scotland will still get the full £10, because HMRC will make up the difference.
If you would like to register with the Give As You Earn scheme, please follow these simple steps:
Check with your employer that they offer the payroll giving scheme to their staff.
Alternatively, search for your employer on the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) register or call their helpline on 03000 123 000 and they can check for you.
If your employer is not already contracted with this scheme, they can register for free by downloading an application pack from the CAF website or telephoning 03000 123 000.
Once your employer is contracted, all you need to do is complete a CAF Donor Instruction Form (available from the CAF website) and give it to your employer.
Gift Aid information
Gift Aid allows you to increase the value of your gift without paying a penny more by enabling us to reclaim tax that you have already paid at basic rate through UK income tax and/or capital gains tax. For every £1 you give, we can claim an additional 25p from HMRC. So, for example, if you donated £10, National Museums Scotland would receive an additional £2.50 from HMRC.
Simply complete the Gift Aid declaration on the donation form or let us know when you donate over the phone.
Further information
Please note that the amount you pay in UK income tax or capital gains tax must at least equal the amount National Museums Scotland claims on your donations in the tax year. If you would like to know more about Gift Aid, please contact our Development Team via email on development@nms.ac.uk or telephone 0131 247 4095.
Contact us
If you would like more information about making a donation please get in touch.
Development team - Donations
