Named Funds

Named funds provide critical resources to the Physicians Committee and offer a way for family members, friends, and colleagues to permanently honor or remember a person, to articulate what they value, and to encourage others to join them in their support.

For additional information and to contribute to any of these funds, please contact Betsy Wason at 202-527-7366 or bwason [at] pcrm.org (bwason[at]pcrm[dot]org).

Annually renewable or “expendable” named funds allow you to support the Physicians Committee in one of two ways. The funds can be spent as necessary to support the overall lifesaving mission of the Physicians Committee or can be designated to support a program of your choosing.

This is vital for immediate or urgent needs. You will be recognized for your generosity on our website and in appropriate publications. Speak to a director of philanthropy in your area to learn about the initial investment required to establish a named fund.

The Susan Levin Nutrition Intern Fund was established by Susan’s family to honor her groundbreaking work with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and to support increasing the number of plant-based practitioners.

Distributions from The Susan Levin Nutrition Intern Fund will be used to underwrite internship positions for student interns at the Physicians Committee who plan to pursue careers in nutrition, nutrition research, and/or nutrition education and demonstrate a strong interest in the Physicians Committee’s mission. If you would like to mail in your gift, please print out and mail in this donation form.

Like annually renewable funds, endowed named funds allow you to support the overall mission or a selected area of focus within the Physicians Committee. Rather than the entire fund being utilized at once, your gift is invested in perpetuity. The Physicians Committee has investment and spending policies in place designed to preserve the purchasing power of the principal over the long term, protecting the future income stream against inflation and providing the donor(s) a lasting legacy, guaranteeing that the Physicians Committee will still have the support it needs far into the future.

A minimum commitment of $25,000 is required to establish an endowed fund, but like expendable funds, the commitment can be fulfilled via annual, quarterly, or monthly gifts.

This table shows the monthly gift amounts needed to establish a $25,000 endowed fund – either individually or with multiple donors participating.

Monthly gifts may be arranged to establish an Endowed Fund:

This permanent fund was established by Tatiana Gelfand in memory of her late husband, Dr. Israel Gelfand.  Together, the Drs. Gelfand supported the Physicians Committee’s mission to promote ethical medicine and research for more than 13 years before Israel’s death in 2009.   

At age 81, Israel decided to stop eating animals for ethical reasons and became a vegetarian. In 2001, he switched to a vegan style of living.

Israel Gelfand was considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century. He made major contributions to many areas of mathematics. His achievements also included well-known work in biology and works done together with medical doctors. Dr. Gelfand published more than 800 papers and 30 books. Besides scientific work, Israel Gelfand was known for organizing and leading two worldwide known seminars in Moscow: one in mathematics and another in biology. He mentored a large number of students, many of whom became well-known mathematicians themselves. Dr. Gelfand made a significant impact on education by organizing a Correspondence School in Moscow (called currently VZMS) and the Extended Gelfand Correspondence Program in Mathematics (E-GCPM) in the United States. He also wrote a number of educational books for students.  

Dr. Gelfand received numerous prestigious awards and honors for his outstanding contributions to the field of mathematics. One of his awards, the Kyoto Prize, is given for significant contribution to the scientific, cultural, and spiritual betterment of mankind. At the award ceremony in Kyoto, Dr. Gelfand gave a talk on Two Archetypes in Psychology of Man. This was one of the very few times he spoke publicly on general topics. He presented some of his views on mathematics and other sciences and their place in the development of mankind.

In all his work, whether in mathematics, biology, or other fields, it was always essential for Dr. Gelfand to reflect on the broad picture. This included not only the connections between areas of mathematics but also connections going beyond a particular field. This wholeness defined to a large degree his approaches and the directions he took in his work.

Distributions from the Simon Chaitowitz Communications Intern Fund, a permanent fund, will be used to underwrite internship positions for student interns at the Physicians Committee who plan to pursue careers in the communications and/or journalism fields and have demonstrated a strong interest in the Physicians Committee’s mission.

The Dr. David L. & Roberta A. Pierce Memorial Fund was established by Eric & Doug Pierce in memory of their late parents, David and Roberta, to support PCRM’s campaigns to influence and educate students on making compassionate choices. 

David Pierce was a retired otolaryngology surgeon at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital in Boston, MA.  His loving wife, Roberta, was always by his side supporting his work and caring for their three sons, Eric, Jeffrey, and Doug.  The Pierce family lost Jeffrey to Multiple Sclerosis in August 2001, and David and Roberta passed away several years later in March 2015 and January 2020, respectively. 

David & Roberta were generous people who wanted their legacy to live on long after they were gone.  So they created a family trust that allowed Eric and Doug to select their favorite charities to receive a gift from the trust. 

Eric has always loved attending Vegan Summerfest run by the North American Vegetarian Society. He has been vegetarian since 1990, vegan since 1995, and a PCRM member since 2011. Because of Doug and Eric's admiration of PCRM and in honor of their father's career as a physician, Doug and Eric choose PCRM as one of only a few charities to receive a generous bequest to establish a permanently endowed fund in memory of their parents.

This fund accepts contributions of any size that donors intend to be permanently endowed and applied to an unrestricted purpose. Annual distributions from the fund are used to support PCRM’s general operations.

The Critical Action Reserve Fund will generate income for the Physicians Committee’s budgeted operations. However, the fund will provide greater spending flexibility by allowing the board of directors to make distributions by drawing upon any or all of the value of the Critical Action Reserve Fund when deemed necessary for the following purposes:

1. To support the Physicians Committee’s unbudgeted but urgent program priorities or
2. To support the Physicians Committee’s budgeted operations in the instance of an unfavorable economic climate.

While the board of directors has the power to distribute any portion of the Critical Action Reserve Fund, the intent is to allow this fund to grow over time through investment gains and additional gifts, and to be conservative about the distribution of its overall assets. Gifts of any size may be made to the Critical Action Reserve Fund. In addition to supporting urgent needs that may arise, distributions from the Critical Action Fund support PCRM’s work on an ongoing, annual basis.