For more than 200 years, the Boston Athenaeum has been a home for curious lifelong learners. Members who have sustained this longevity through a planned gift have understood something profound: institutions like ours exist not just for today’s members, but for future generations. 

Leaving a gift in your estate plan to the Boston Athenaeum is one of the most profound acts of generosity and foresight you can make. We are deeply grateful to those who have made this commitment, and honor them through inclusion in the John Bromfield Society.   

Making your planned gift could take many forms

• A bequest through your will or trust
• Naming the Athenaeum as a beneficiary of assets such as retirement accounts or life insurance
• Qualified Charitable Distributions from your IRA (which can be made now, satisfying required minimum distributions while reducing your tax burden)

We’d love to explore your relationship to the Athenaeum, the impact your gift will make, and what legacy means to you. Every conversation begins with understanding your unique connection to the Athenaeum and your hopes for its future.

Let’s Talk: If you have included the Boston Athenaeum in your will or estate plans, or are considering it, please let us know so we can honor your wishes.

Download our confidential reply form and mail it to:

Development Office
10½ Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02108

or email Jacqueline Chambers at chambers@bostonathenaeum.org.