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Planned Giving

Thank you for your interest in planned giving at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Planned giving allows donors to leave their own legacy while securing a bright future for the institution. It is immensely important to our mission and vision for the future.

A legacy gift commitment is a relatively affordable way to support the School of Medicine and may allow you to give at a level you never imagined possible. There are many ways to make such a gift. It can be done through a bequest, life insurance policy, retirement plan, charitable trust, real estate or any combination of these.

Your legacy gift commitment can even be designed to obtain current income and estate tax advantages and can also pay income to you or your loved ones for life.

A legacy gift commitment conveys membership in the Frank C. Bressler Legacy Society, a donor recognition group established in 2008. This leadership group honors donors who have made provisions through their estate plans or other planned giving vehicles to support the School of Medicine.

We invite you to learn more about planned giving at the University of Maryland School of Medicine by exploring this website or by contacting a development professional in our office by calling 410-706-8503.


UMB Foundation, Inc.

The University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation, Inc. is the public charity that accepts private donations on behalf of the School of Medicine. Learn more about how planned gifts can benefit the donor while supporting our school at the same time.

Visit the Planned Giving Website


Frank C. Bressler Legacy Society

The Frank C. Bressler Legacy Society honors alumni, faculty, grateful patients and friends who have made provisions through their estate plans or other planned giving vehicles to support the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Frank C. Bressler, a member of the class of 1885, left $1.2 million in a bequest to benefit the School of Medicine at his death in 1935.

Dr. Bressler's bequest, realized during the troubled time of the Great Depression, provided the School with a truly exceptional sum. The Bressler Legacy Society serves to recognize those individuals who have demonstrated a special, long term commitment to the School of Medicine and to promote and encourage transformational lifetime philanthropy that ensures our tradition of excellence continues for generations to come.

A Message From the Bressler Legacy Society Chair

I appreciate the value my medical education and the important work being done at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Today the School of Medicine continues to perform its mission masterfully, and it benefits from the generosity of contributors who make gifts to the institution. Planned gifts, by their nature, ensure that that the School of Medicine will continue its tradition of excellence for generations to come. The Frank C. Bressler Legacy Society acknowledges the importance of these gifts.

I invite you to consider making such a gift if you haven't already. After providing in estate plans for family and loved ones, many graduates and friends of the School of Medicine do consider making an legacy gift. These gifts can provide naming and memorial opportunities for you while strengthening the financial future of the School. A bequest through your will allows you to make a gift of a specific amount, a percentage of your estate, or a specific asset or piece of property. The possibilities are many. Please join us in this important initiative.

Joseph S. McLaughlin, M.D. '56
Chair, Frank C. Bressler Legacy Society

Membership Qualifications

Membership is obtained upon written notification informing the University of Maryland School of Medicine or The Medical Alumni Association of the University of Maryland of its designation as a charitable beneficiary. 

Benefits of Membership

  • Access to gift planning professionals to ensure your charitable interests with the School of Medicine are accomplished in a personalized and meaningful way.
  • Acknowledgement as a Bressler Legacy Society member in the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
  • Inclusion, if qualified, in the John Beale Davidge Alliance, the permanent recognition society that includes donors to the Medical Alumni Association and the School of Medicine.
  • Access to selected concierge clinical services. 

Grateful Patient Story

Pam and Tom Nowell

A Grateful Patient: Pam Nowell

For years, Pamela Nowell lived as if under a looming deadline. Diagnosed decades ago with diabetes and at age 21 with renal disease, Nowell was told by one of her doctors that she wouldn’t live past her early 30s. "I said ‘OK,’ and then I lived my life day to day and I made the most of it,” Nowell remembers. "I never let a moment slip by." Learn more