Image: John Soares
Since early 2025, Harvard Medical School has been navigating a particularly turbulent period in its long history. A freeze on $2 billion in federal grants to Harvard University, the disruption of hundreds of research awards, and mounting pressures on the national research enterprise have created a defining moment for the School.
“With federal research dollars on unstable ground, securing non-federal sources of support has never been more critical,” says HMS Dean George Q. Daley, AB ’86, MD ’91, PhD.
That support increasingly includes realized bequests—legacy gifts that have provided critical backing to HMS for centuries. One such lifeline is a recent bequest from the estate of David Stoughton, who attended Harvard College in the early 1960s and later made his home in Santa Monica, California. By including HMS in his estate plans before his death in March 2024, Stoughton set in motion a gift that is now delivering more than $8.4 million to the Dean’s Leadership Fund. The fund provides vital discretionary support that the dean can allocate to the School’s most critical needs.
Legacy gifts can give HMS a more reliable foundation for long-term planning. By sharing their bequest intentions, donors help ensure that their values are honored and give School leaders the information needed to anticipate and prepare for future needs. |
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Unrestricted, flexible gifts like Stoughton’s have a significant impact as HMS seeks to respond thoughtfully to a challenging financial landscape. Federal dollars currently account for roughly three-quarters of the School’s research funding and nearly one-third of its annual revenue, yet recent federal actions have shown that those dollars are vulnerable and subject to sudden disruption. Meanwhile, a large portion of the HMS endowment is restricted to specific purposes and cannot be used to plug gaps or address emerging needs.
With unrestricted gifts, the dean can respond quickly to urgent priorities, whether that means helping sustain critical basic science projects threatened by grant cancellations, providing stability for early-career scientists at a vulnerable moment, or supporting students whose paths might otherwise be derailed by financial hardship. These gifts give HMS the flexibility to sustain its educational mission, uphold its commitments to need-blind admissions and need-based aid, and nurture a vibrant, inclusive campus community.
“The current crisis is testing us, there’s no doubt about it,” Daley says. “Thankfully, individuals who believe in the power of science, medicine, and discovery—including alumni, friends, and new supporters alike—have come together in powerful and inspiring ways to stand behind Harvard Medical School, reaffirming our mission and strengthening our resolve.”
For centuries, HMS discoveries have fueled new treatments and better health care