Why Giving Back Means So Much: Conversation with a Donor

Ron Burkman with Dr. Heather Z. Sankey, inaugural incumbent of the Ronald T. Burkman Endowed Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology

November 2024

Former Longmeadow resident Ronald T. Burkman, MD is a distinguished physician, researcher, educator, leader, and mentor, who had a long and prominent career in obstetrics and gynecology, including 23 years at Baystate Health, with 12 of those as department chair. He and his wife Millie made a gift that established the first named endowed chair at Baystate Health: The Ronald T. Burkman Endowed Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 

What are you most grateful for professionally?

What has been meaningful has been seeing the success of my students, how they have grown into wonderful clinicians and even tremendous leaders. For example, I hired and mentored Dr. Heather Z. Sankey (shown in photo), who chairs Ob/Gyn at Baystate Health and holds the endowed chair my wife Millie and I established. I am so proud of the ways she continues to advance the department and bring the best care to patients.

At what point in your life did your personal philanthropy become important to you? 

My father was an incredible athlete at St. Lawrence University. He went on to become a professional baseball player, returning to St. Lawrence as a coach and athletic director, where the basketball court in the athletics center was ultimately named after him. My mother was a longtime nurse and mentor to many. She loved to give back to her church, public radio, and the local hospital. She even worked on the volunteer fire department emergency ambulance service into her early 70s. Watching how they gave back inspired me to give back through mentorship and philanthropy.

What guides your thinking about inheritance and what you want to give to the charities you care about most?

I was fortunate to connect with a professional advisor early in my career who helped me think about long-term investing. My wife and I also never wanted a second home or to go on expensive vacations. We found our joy in our work, in family, and in volunteering and making charitable gifts. As another example, we recently funded an endowed professorship at Towson University where my wife had studied nursing.

What would you share with others about ways to give beyond cash or check?

Giving from a charitable IRA rollover, now called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), increased our capacity to make a gift. We could donate directly from our IRA without having to pay any taxes on it, and the gift did not count as income, so it did not affect our Medicare or other taxes. Making gifts with a QCD also lowers the balance in our tax-heavy IRA and saves other assets for our kids and grandkids. 

What did your gift to Baystate Health mean to you?

By making a gift and sharing my story, I hope to inspire others to create their own endowments at Baystate Health. Healthcare organizations across the country are facing increasing financial pressure. Maintaining high-quality patient care is their highest priority. This means potential declines in funding for some educational efforts. Being able to provide financial support to maintain and improve education and training for physicians, nurses and other care providers at Baystate Health, an institution where I spent much of my career, is, to me, highly rewarding. It benefits these incredible medical professionals and advances care for patients.

What would you say to someone considering making a special gift to Baystate Health Foundation?

Having served as Department Chair of Ob/Gyn for a long time, I know that gifts of all sizes can make a difference. For example, another donor understood that that there was not a place close to the clinical care floors where residents could work on improving their surgical practice skills. That donor made a gift to buy suture practice kits and other training models that were set up adjacent to the on-call rooms so residents could practice during down time. Give in a way that is meaningful to you.

Want to be part of something larger than yourself?

Join with others in the community to create a legacy gift to support the area of Baystate Health that matters most to you. By creating a gift in your will, trust, or through a beneficiary designation, you, too, can give the gift of health and make a difference.

We’re here to help!
For a free Will Guide or to explore ideas, reach out to Kylie Johnson at 413.794.7789 or Kylie.Johnson@BaystateHealth.org. All inquiries are confidential.