A philanthropic legacy of love

“We loved traveling – especially our trips to Türkiye, Finland, and Norway. I guess our sons loved it too,” Don said playfully. “We raised our boys to be independent, but we may have over did it a little,” he continued, laughing from his home in Rhode Island. “One’s now in Toronto, another’s in New York City, and the other is in Switzerland! But we stay in touch.”

Through their travels overtime, they saw the work that Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) does worldwide, leading up to Don’s first donation in 2005.

Since then, Don became more familiar with MSF’s work, joined us as a monthly donor, and now even regularly donates from his IRA to meet his required minimum distribution. “I call my brokerage twice a year, give them the direction of where to donate, and then checks are out rather quickly,” he explained.

Don is also a Legacy Society member, meaning he has included MSF in his estate plan, ensuring our life-saving work can continue far into the future. “Looking at Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan today, I’m honored to be connected to MSF and I hope that one day my support will be a part of my legacy.”

When asked about the inspiration behind his generosity, he turned the conversation back to Jane:

“My wife and I have always supported charitable causes. Jane became quite ill in her later years, so I was careful to save money to take care of her needs as she got older. She sadly passed away sooner than we had anticipated, and as I had never intended to use that money for myself, I now donate it in honor and in memory of her.”

Please join us in thanking Legacy Society member Don Rankin for nearly 20 years of support and for sharing his story. If you, like Don and over 7,000 others, have made MSF a beneficiary of your will, trust, of financial account(s), please let us know so we can welcome you to the Legacy Society, too.