Nursing Alumna Pays It Forward Through Scholarship

Trish Bernal considers herself very fortunate, and her career working at VCU Health on the MCV Campus has been an important part of her success.

“In 1978, I was a newly divorced, single mom with a two-year degree,” Trish said. “I chose to work at MCV specifically because they had a wonderful program where I could go back and get my bachelor’s degree and they would support me through that,” Trish said. “That was very important for me then, and it’s still important to me now.”

Trish, who is semi-retired, walks to work at VCU Health from her home in Church Hill. She’s worked at the health system since 1978, winning awards for her service and continuing to grow and thrive as a professional.

“I went back to school later and got my master’s degree, and that’s when I started getting more involved with the alumni association,” Trish said.

She remains proud of the education she received at VCU and has served on several alumni boards associated with the MCV Campus, including as chair of the nursing division and on the board of the MCV Alumni Association. In 2014, she received the MCVAA’s Hodges-Kay Service award in honor of her volunteering.

To pay it forward, Trish also created a student scholarship to enable future generations of nursing professionals to go back to school and advance their careers at VCU Health. She also has listed the MCV Foundation as a beneficiary designation in her estate plans to ensure the scholarship can provide support for generations to come.

“What inspired me to set up the scholarship fund was my journey,” Trish said. “Later when I was rewriting my will, I wanted to include the foundation in my estate, and my lawyer suggested that I consider a beneficiary designation.”

The process, she said, was incredibly easy. It involved a simple form and a conversation with her financial advisor.

“MCV and VCU have been really good to me over the years,” Trish said. “I received a fabulous education, enjoyed a 40-plus year career and am financially stable, and I wanted to make sure that I can give back in this way so that other nurses can have the opportunity to go back to school and continue their careers.”

Make a Great Impact with a Charitable Beneficiary Designation

Allows You to

• Name the MCV Foundation as a beneficiary of your retirement plan or other account.
• Make a gift that doesn’t cost you anything right now.
• Provide future support for MCV Foundation.

How It Works

• Retirement plans, IRAs, life insurance and commercial annuities are not controlled by the terms of your will but instead use beneficiary forms to determine who receives them.
• Beneficiary forms supersede your will when it comes to passing these assets, making them effective and easy ways to leave a legacy.
• By naming the MCV Foundation as a beneficiary of one of these assets, a gift will come directly to the MCV Foundation to be used in the manner you have directed.

How You Benefit

• It is one of the simplest ways to make a legacy gift.
• You maintain control of your assets during your lifetime and can modify your plans as needed.
• Your gift passes outside of probate and is excluded from your estate for tax purposes.
• You avoid passing heavily taxed assets to heirs if you designate certain asset types for the MCV Foundation.
• You will become a member of the MCV Society, which honors those who have made a planned gift of any size to support one of the MCV Campus partners. Society members are invited to special events and programs in appreciation of their commitment to the future of the MCV Campus.

Ways to Give

• Retirement plans and IRAs
• Life insurance policies
• Commercial annuities
• Bank accounts
• Investment accounts

For more information about charitable beneficiary designations or any other planned gift to the MCV Campus, contact Ann Deppman, director of gift planning at the MCV Foundation.