Invest in Our Future
An endowment gift to Mayo Clinic today can help us advance medical progress by supporting innovative programs in medical research and education. When you make a donation to Mayo Clinic's endowment, you provide a gift with both immediate and long-term benefits.
Here's how it works: Endowment donations are invested. A portion of the annual income from the investment is used to address immediate needs at Mayo Clinic. The remaining funds are reinvested to ensure support in perpetuity.
An Example From Mayo

The gratitude of a patient who depended on Mayo Clinic for more than 40 years was expressed through one of the largest gifts ever received by Mayo Clinic. Barbara Woodward Lips left a bequest to Mayo Clinic of $127.9 million. The funds were placed in the Mayo Clinic endowment in support of Mayo's research and education programs aimed at achieving excellence in patient care.
Mrs. Lips was born in Oklahoma. In her early years she worked as a sales clerk in a department store and later as a secretary at a sawmill. She met Charles Storch Lips in the 1940s, and the couple married in 1949 at his home in San Antonio. The family had extensive oil, gas and ranching interests in Kansas and Texas. When Mr. Lips became ill, Mrs. Lips began learning the business. After the death of her husband in 1970, she expanded the family businesses.
Mrs. Lips was a Mayo patient for more than 40 years and made many significant gifts to Mayo during her lifetime, including $10,000 to have fresh flowers placed at all times in the Lips Atrium on Mayo's campus in Rochester, Minnesota. She believed that philanthropy is a way to "cultivate hope."
Make a Distribution to Mayo Clinic Through Your Donor Advised Fund
If you have a donor advised fund with another provider, please consider making a distribution to Mayo Clinic or listing us a final beneficiary. You may request an immediate distribution utilizing the tool below.
Learn How to Fund It
You can create an endowed gift using the following assets:
Ensure Your Future Is Secure.
Download our FREE Personal Estate Planning KitGet Your Free Kit
You can make a big difference with just a little effort by including a gift to benefit Mayo Clinic your will or living trust. Learn more in our free kit Transforming Care With a Gift to Mayo Clinic.
Be Our Partner for the Future
Learn how you can become a member of The Mayo Legacy in our guide Planning Your Philanthropic Legacy: Estate Giving at Mayo Clinic.
Get Your Free Kit
Ready to start paying it forward? View and download your FREE copy of Endowments: A Gift That Lasts Forever.Contact the Mayo Legacy
Jess Nelson LeMay
TML Phone: 1-844-330-5855
TML E-Mail: TheMayoLegacy@mayo.edu
Information contained herein was accurate at the time of posting. The information in this publication is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor. Figures cited in any examples are for illustrative purposes only. References to tax rates include federal taxes only and are subject to change. State law may further impact your individual results. Mayo Clinic policies may impact gift acceptance, gift structure, and options available. California residents: Annuities are subject to regulation by the State of California. Payments under such agreements, however, are not protected or otherwise guaranteed by any government agency or the California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association. Oklahoma residents: A charitable gift annuity is not regulated by the Oklahoma Insurance Department and is not protected by a guaranty association affiliated with the Oklahoma Insurance Department. South Dakota residents: Charitable gift annuities are not regulated by and are not under the jurisdiction of the South Dakota Division of Insurance.