JDRF BETA Society

John McDonough
Founding Chair of the JDRF BETA Society
June 13, 1936 – Feb 16, 2021



Many JDRF supporters like you discover the ultimate way to ensure JDRF-backed or inspired research continues is by including a legacy gift in their will, trust or retirement account. When you make this important commitment to JDRF, you are invited to become a JDRF BETA Society member, a group of supporters who have made a lasting commitment to type 1 diabetes (T1D) research by naming JDRF in their estate plans. Becoming a BETA Society member allows us to thank you and honor you as a visionary supporter who will provide the present and future financial energy needed for JDRF-backed or inspired research.

In the last two decades alone, JDRF has received more than $120 million from contributions so generously included in the estate plans of thousands of supporters. Without this generosity, recent funding of nearly 160 new grants that could have a profound and lasting impact as we find the breakthroughs that will lead to cures for T1D would not have been funded.

Today, there are more than 2,800 BETA Society members. But with so much to be done to find cures for T1D and help those living with T1D live fuller, safer lives, we need to keep moving forward.

By making a legacy gift today and becoming a BETA Society member, you are helping ensure JDRF’s work continues until our mission is accomplished. To become a BETA Society member, you simply need to include JDRF in your estate plans and let us know by completing the member profile form. Your partnership as a BETA Society member may also inspire generosity in others—thank you for your leadership!

Benefits of Membership

  • Invitations to research update events
  • A distinctive lapel pin
  • Listing in JDRF publications (unless anonymity is preferred)

Requirements to Join

  • Communicate JDRF is a beneficiary in estate plans
  • No minimum commitment (you do not need to disclose amount)