After a last-minute suggestion by his high school guidance counselor, Mike Dornbrook submitted an admissions application to MIT just before the deadline. Since that moment, MIT has been a part of his life each step of the way. He built a career working with other MIT graduates, and the friendships he formed at the Institute have lasted to this day.

When asked what impact MIT has had on his life, Dornbrook says it was so critical that without it “I can’t even imagine what I’d be doing or where I’d be.” This deep connection with MIT is what motivated him to establish a gift annuity, a charitable remainder unitrust, and a bequest in addition to making multiple outright gifts. Some of these gifts benefit Dornbrook now by generating income, and given how well the MIT endowment is invested, he says: “I’m amazed that there aren’t more people taking advantage of these types of donations, especially since you can essentially invest in MIT in a way that helps you.”

As a planned giving donor, Dornbrook is a member of the Katharine Dexter McCormick Society (KDMS), named after an alumna who was one of the most generous individual benefactors in MIT’s history. KDMS recognizes and appreciates those who have made provisions for gifts to benefit MIT after their lifetimes, while creating a strong sense of community among donors.

In 2015, Dornbrook was named chairman of the KDMS, succeeding Sherwin Greenblatt ’62, SM ’64. In this position, he hopes to educate alumni and friends about how making a planned gift to MIT benefits not only the Institute—and future students—but also the donors and their beneficiaries. After all, Dornbrook knows firsthand the impact MIT can have on one’s life.

Please consider your own gift to MIT.
For information, contact David Woodruff: 617-253-3990;
daw@mit.edu. Or visit giving.mit.edu.