Doug ’78 and Sharon ’78 King

When Sharon and Doug talk about MIT, they recall the lifelong friendships they made—and how finding each other through the MIT Ballroom Dance Club led to their marriage. Now retired, they found that making a planned gift through an MIT charitable remainder unitrust supports both their financial and personal goals.

Remembering a beloved friend. “I wanted to make a gift that would recognize the incredible friends I had made at MIT,” Sharon says. One of those friend­ships was with Beryl Nelson ’78, Sharon’s first roommate in McCormick Hall. After Beryl died of cancer in 2015, Sharon wanted to make a gift to honor her friend, who touched so many people’s lives.

Why planned giving at MIT? With a charitable remainder unitrust, donors contribute to a trust that establishes income for themselves or other beneficiaries. The Kings are glad that the residual from their trust can contribute to areas that Beryl supported during her lifetime, namely the Class of 1978 Student Aid Fund and unrestricted gifts to the Institute. “We appreciated that we could establish the fund in memory of Beryl while supporting our own financial goals,” Doug says.

Furthering the MIT experience. “The work that MIT does to encourage creativity and friendships is so important, especially when it comes to cooperative learning,” Sharon says. Doug agrees: “Given our MIT experience, we are confident that the gift will support intentional community building on MIT’s campus, and encourage people to use their unique strengths—personalities, cultures—to achieve more.”

Help MIT build a better world.
For more information, contact Amy Goldman: 
617.715.2932; goldmana@mit.edu. 
Or visit giving.mit.edu.