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Perpetual Giving (Endowed Gifts)

A gift that lasts forever: perpetual support through endowed gifts

An endowed gift to The Wistar Institute today secures support for Wistar’s future in perpetuity. When you make a donation to an endowed fund, you give a gift with both immediate and long-term benefits.

Endowed funds are invested. A portion of the Fund’s annual income, generated from the investment’s growth, is used to address current needs at Wistar. The remaining assets are reinvested to ensure growing support for years to come.

Endowed gifts are particularly special because these donors are providing a source of support for Wistar that will never end, and in doing so have established a meaningful legacy for them and their family at the Institute.

We proudly recognize our perpetual donors – those making gifts of $25,000 or more to an endowed fund at Wistar – as members of our 1892 Legacy Society.

Why might an endowed gift suit you?
  • Many of our perpetual donors like knowing that their endowed gift creates a source of income for Wistar both today and beyond their lifetime. It truly is a gift that will never end.
  • While Wistar establishes new, named endowed funds with gifts of $100,000 or more, our donors can contribute a gift of any size to an existing endowed fund (see below list).
  • Establishing your own named endowment is a wonderful way to permanently demonstrate your legacy of involvement at Wistar and can be something you – and perhaps the next generation of your family – add to and build upon over time.
  • Endowed gifts can also be a meaningful way to memorialize or pay tribute to a loved one.
    Endowed gifts can be outright contributions or they can be multi-year commitments with pledge payments spanning over up to five years.
  • You can use any giving vehicle you wish to make an endowed gift. It is not the giving vehicle or way you make your gift, rather the nature of the gift itself that makes it a Legacy Gift. You may benefit from tax savings depending on how you make the endowed gift.
Fund an endowed gift through any of the following:

Immediate

  • Cash
  • Appreciated securities or closely held stock
  • Donor Advised Fund
  • IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) also known as a charitable rollover

Deferred

  • Gift in your will
  • Beneficiary designation (IRA, 401(k), Life insurance policy, Donor Advised Fund)
  • Gift of life insurance
  • Charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust
Key factors to consider:
  • Do you want to support an existing endowment or establish a new, named Endowed Fund? Talk to our team about what you are hoping to achieve!

  • If you plan to make your endowed gift through your estate plans it’s important that we document your wishes and speak with you about Wistar’s long term needs to best honor your intention. Let us know!
Endowed funds at Wistar that anyone can support:
The Wistar Endowment

Income generated annually from the Fund is used to provide unrestricted support that can be applied by Wistar where it is needed most.

The Noreen O’Neil Endowed Fund for Melanoma Research

Income generated annually from the Fund is used to support costs associated with Melanoma Research at Wistar.

The Elaine M. Ominsky, Ph.D. Breast Cancer Research Endowed Fund

Income generated annually from the Fund is used to support costs associated with Breast Cancer Research at Wistar.

The Schwartz McDonald Talent & Technology Endowed Fund

Income generated annually from the Fund is used to provide Wistar’s scientists with access to technology in a way that helps advance their research including:

  • to award internal grants to support unbudgeted/ unfunded/ underfunded/ unanticipated technological access to advance/accelerate research
  • new technology purchases at Wistar
Wistar Science Discovery Fund Endowment

Income generated annually from the Fund is used to support Wistar scientists in support of technology-based research with a high potential for translation and commercialization, from novel, early-stage research projects, to drug and vaccine development and clinical trial support.

Examples of Perpetual Giving
Endow Your Annual Support

­Longtime Wistar supporters John and Jane have contributed $1,000 annually to Wistar for decades. They want to make sure The Wistar Institute continues to receive this support in perpetuity, even after they are gone. John and Mary make a $25,000 donation to Wistar’s Unrestricted Endowed Fund which is then invested. Each year, a portion of income from the invested gift – similar in size to what they have given annually in the past*, and likely to grow over time – will be available to support Wistar’s current priority needs. Through this Endowed gift, John and Jane’s annual giving will live on in perpetuity.

*based on a Board-approved spending rule of 4.75%

Use Estate Planning to fund an Endowed Gift

Wistar supporter John Smith cares deeply about cancer research to find better treatments, a vaccine, or even a cure, having a lost his wife to the disease several years ago. John has been supporting The Wistar Institute’s Cancer Center with modest annual gifts but does not have the resources to make a major gift during his lifetime. John makes a provision in his will to bequeath $100,000 to Wistar to establish the Jane Smith Endowed Fund for Cancer Research, named after his wife. Every year moving forward, a portion of income generated from the invested gift will be available to support Wistar’s cancer research and John and Jane’s legacy of support will be preserved in perpetuity.

Endow a Professorship at Wistar

Wistar supporters John and Jane Smith were so impressed the first time they came to The Wistar Institute and met with scientists who explained their current research. Over time, they come to understand how discoveries are made by investing in the people who have endless curiosity, perseverance and grit in their research pursuits. Inspired by the scientists they have met over the years, John and Jane commit $1.5 million to The Wistar Institute to establish the “Smith Family Endowed Professorship”. Their Endowed gift is invested and annual income generated from that investment supports the Professorship which is a critical tool in attracting, recruiting and retaining superior talent from around the world, for generations. The Smith family legacy will live on at Wistar, connected in perpetuity to the bright minds of scientists like those who captivated their imagination all those years ago.

Take action today
  • Contact Brittany McCrimmon at 215.495.6856 or bmccrimmon@wistar.org to discuss the different options for making an endowed gift.
  • Seek the advice of your financial or legal advisor.
  • If you include Wistar in your plans, please use our legal name and federal tax ID.
    • Legal name: The Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology
    • Address: 3601 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
    • Federal tax ID (EIN) number: 23-6434390

Contact Us

We would be happy to speak with you about perpetual giving and endowment fund options in confidence, with no obligation.

I have a question.

Already included Wistar in your estate plan?

Let us know.
Why let us know?

When you notify us of your Legacy Gift intention using this form, we are able to thank you up front, recognize your incredible provision during your lifetime, and keep you informed on Wistar’s work in a manner that is meaningful to you. It also enables us to document and honor your wishes.

While you can choose to make an irrevocable Legacy Gift to Wistar if you wish, signing this intention form does not make your Legacy Gift provision legally binding. It is a way of sharing your thoughtful intention with us and you can revoke or make changes to your plans at any time.

While we know that considering what people and what causes you wish to provide for after you have passed is a deeply private matter, we hope you will give us the opportunity to pay tribute to you for including Wistar in those plans. We are honored to recognize our Legacy donors in Wistar’s 1892 Society.