Plan a Legacy with the IHP

As MGH Institute of Health Professions looks forward to its 50th year in 2027, now is a great time to plan a legacy of care to ensure our future. Arranging a planned gift supports the future of the IHP’s ability to educate the next generation of leaders in healthcare, conduct groundbreaking research, and provide service to those in our community.

Impact of Planned Giving

By remembering MGH Institute of Health Professions in your estate plans, such as through a bequest in your will, a charitable gift annuity, a charitable trust, or a gift of life insurance or retirement plan assets, you can join the Ruth M. Farrisey, SON ’38 Legacy Society to create a legacy that will foster excellence in the future of health care. 

Ruth M. Farrisey, SON ’38 Legacy Society gifts accrue to the general endowment, may be used to benefit specific schools or programs, departments, or special purposes such as scholarships, endowed faculty chairs, or any other area of the Institute. It is easy to designate MGH Institute of Health Professions as a beneficiary in your estate. Life income gifts, like charitable gift annuities, provide you with added financial benefits. Often these gifts allow you to make a larger charitable gift than you thought possible. We encourage you to work closely with your financial advisors to determine the most advantageous estate plan for you.

Gifts After Your Lifetime

The simplest way to make a planned gift is a charitable bequest, a gift made through your estate. By naming MGH Institute of Health Professions as a beneficiary in your will, you can leave a specific dollar amount or a percentage of your estate. If you are considering making a charitable bequest through your Will or Living Trust, some sample provisions to use as examples are provided below. For more information about including the IHP in your Will or Living Trust, or if you have already provided for the MGH Institute of Health Professions in your estate plans, giving [at] mghihp.edu (please contact us).

Unrestricted Specific Bequest

I give to MGH Institute of Health Professions, a Massachusetts non-profit organization, tax identification #04-2868893, located at 36 1st Ave, Boston, MA 02129, the sum of (dollar amount) for its general purposes.

Unrestricted Percentage Bequest

I give to MGH Institute of Health Professions, a Massachusetts non-profit organization, tax identification #04-2868893, located at 36 1st Ave, Boston, MA 02129, ___ % of the rest and residue of my estate for its general purposes.

Unrestricted Residual Bequest

I give, bequeath and devise the rest and residue of my estate to MGH Institute of Health Professions, a Massachusetts non-profit organization, tax identification #04-2868893, located at 36 1st Ave, Boston, MA 02129, for its general purposes.

Restricted Use Bequest

I give to MGH Institute of Health Professions, a Massachusetts non-profit organization, tax identification #04-2868893, located at 36 1st, Boston, MA 02129, the sum of (dollar amount) for (specify how the gift is to be used).

Note: It is a good idea to allow for alternate designations if the IHP cannot fulfill your primary wish.

Unrestricted Bequest For Endowment

I give to MGH Institute of Health Professions, a Massachusetts non-profit organization, tax identification #04-2868893, located at 36 1st Ave, Boston, MA 02129, the sum of (dollar amount) for its general endowment fund.

Note: For larger amounts, it may be possible to endow a specific position or project.

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Naming Us in Your Assets

One of the simplest ways to make a gift to MGH Institute of Health Professions is to designate the IHP to receive your assets at the end of your lifetime. You can specify all or a percentage of the assets you want each beneficiary to receive. Often, it's as easy as filling out a form.

Retirement Account Assets

An alternative to a charitable bequest is to designate MGH Institute of Health Professions as the beneficiary of your retirement account assets. This gift is simple because there is no need to modify your will or living trust. All you need to do is complete a beneficiary designation form with your plan administrator.
A gift of retirement assets has the added advantage of being a very tax-wise way to make an estate gift. This is because your retirement assets, if left to individuals, will be subject to income tax when they receive distributions and, for most non-spouses, those distributions must take place within 10 years, potentially pushing your beneficiaries into higher income tax brackets. If you give your retirement assets to a tax-exempt organization such as the IHP, 100 percent of the retirement assets will be available for its charitable purposes. If you want to remember us in your estate plan, a tax-efficient strategy is to leave other types of assets—cash, securities, real estate—to your heirs and give the more heavily taxed retirement assets to the IHP.

Note: Directing your retirement assets to both charitable and noncharitable beneficiaries can accelerate the income tax. Always consult with your advisors before naming the beneficiaries of your retirement assets.

Life Insurance

You can also use a life insurance policy to make a gift to the IHP. It’s usually as simple as completing a form with the insurance company designating MGH Institute of Health Professions as the beneficiary of all or a portion of the death benefit of your life insurance policy. As an alternative to naming the IHP as the beneficiary, you can transfer ownership of the policy. Transferring ownership can produce an immediate income tax charitable deduction for the value of the policy and future income tax deductions if you continue to pay premiums on the policy.

Other Assets

Commercial Annuity Contracts: a commercial annuity will sometimes have a remaining value at the end of the annuitant’s lifetime. You can name the IHP to receive all or part of this amount by designating us as a beneficiary (sole or partial) on the appropriate form from the insurance company.

Bank Accounts: you can instruct your bank to pay the IHP all or a portion of what remains in a checking or savings account. Your bank can provide you with the appropriate beneficiary designation form.

Investment Accounts: you can instruct your investment company to transfer to the IHP some or all investments held in the account at the time of your passing. Your broker or agent can help you complete the process, which may be as simple as amending the name on the account to include MGH Institute of Health Professions.

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The IRA Gift (QCD)

Your IRA can provide a tax-smart way to make an impact with MGH Institute of Heath Professions now. The Qualified Charitable Distribution or QCD (sometimes called an “IRA Charitable Rollover”) is a great way to make a tax-free gift now to the IHP and satisfy your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD), too.

The Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) offers multiple benefits for making gifts from your IRA.

  • You must be 70½ years or older at the time of the gift.
  • Gifts must go directly from your IRA to MGH Institute of Health Professions.
  •  For 2025, total QCD gifts cannot exceed $108,000 per donor.
     
  • If you don’t itemize your income tax deductions, a QCD offers all of the benefits of an itemized income tax charitable deduction
  • If you are age 73 or older and must take a Required Minimum Distribution RMD, a QCD gift can satisfy your RMD without increasing your income taxes.
  • You may direct your gift to a program or area of your choice.
  • It is a wonderful way to create an immediate impact on MGH Institute of Health Professions.
     

Contact your IRA administrator to request a Qualified Charitable Distribution from your IRA to the IHP.

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For Advisors

Our Planned Giving team is available to work with you to create a charitable gift that meets your client’s personal charitable, estate, financial and tax planning needs. Contact us with questions or for more information on ways your clients can make a gift. We are happy to provide suggested bequest language, life income gift illustrations, or the IHP’s tax identification number. Working together, we can create a planned gift that meets your client’s goals and makes a lasting difference at the IHP.

To learn more, giving [at] mghihp.edu (please contact us).

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The Ruth M. Farrisey SON '38 Legacy Society

The Farrisey Society recognizes those who contribute to MGH Institute of Health Professions through estate, capital, and planned gifts. By notifying the Office of Development of your gift commitment, you will be included among the donors recognized by the Farrisey Society. We are deeply grateful for these gifts and know they will enhance the programs and support the people who are part of this great Institute.

Ruth M. Farrisey was a 1938 graduate of the Massachusetts General Hospital School of Nursing, the predecessor institution of MGH Institute of Health Professions. Miss Farrisey led a distinguished career as a clinician; senior administrator at Massachusetts General Hospital and its Neighborhood Health Centers; advocate for health care access for all; and as a faculty member of the MGH School of Nursing and later, the IHP. She was known as a visionary advocate for the advanced practice nursing role and a strong leader in the development of collaborative nursing and medical practice. When she passed away in 2007, she made a generous gift to the IHP through a bequest.

It is a privilege to recognize alumni and friends who share in Ruth Farrisey's vision for the IHP and have included the Institute in their future philanthropy.

For more information about planned giving, giving [at] mghihp.edu (please contact us).

faded photo of ruth in her nursing uniform over a bunch of hanging stethoscopes