A bequest is a gift created now, in your will or living trust, and given at the end of your life. Bequests focus your support on the exciting horizon of MIT education and research and provide MIT with essential resources to explore the world's challenges.

If you would like to inform MIT of your bequest, please fill out and send a completed Bequest Intention Form to the Office of Gift Planning.

MIT welcomes bequests of all sizes, from individuals at all stages of life. 

Your gift may take the form of a percentage of your estate, a specific amount, or a particular asset.

Many bequests are unrestricted, enabling MIT to apply your gift to the greatest need when it is received. Often, donors choose to direct their bequests to fund undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships. 

A bequest to MIT is deductible from your taxable estate and thus can help you to reduce or avoid estate taxes.

If you would like your bequest to be credited as a pledge on your MIT giving record, you must meet the following requirements:

  • You are at least 65 years old when the bequest is documented.
  • A signed bequest intention form is returned with a copy of the pertinent pages of the applicable documentation referencing the future transfer to MIT.

Please note that the amount of the pledge will equal the present value of the bequest intention.

  • You are at least 65 years old when the bequest is documented.
  • Your bequest pledge can be recorded in the four years prior to your reunion year, or in your reunion year.
  • Like other reunion pledges, your bequest pledge counts for the reunion gift only if another gift is made outright during the fiscal year of your reunion (July 1 – June 30).
  • The amount of the pledge will equal the present value of the bequest intention.

Please contact Bonny Kellermann ’72, bonnyk@mit.edu or 617-253-9722, with any questions or concerns about the Class Reunion gift bequest policy. 

 

How might you word your bequest?

“I give [all of the residue of my estate OR an amount equal to X percent of the residue of my estate / thereof OR $____________  ] to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a Massachusetts nonprofit corporation, for its general educational and charitable purposes.”

This information is provided for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered legal, tax, or financial advice. We encourage you to discuss these options with your attorney. Please note the MIT EIN is 04-2103594.