At the endowment’s recent pace, however, those taxes would be more than compensated by increased returns.

Other non-profit organizations must obtain their own ruling from the IRS to move forward with similar programs for their donors, although approval would likely come easily following Harvard’s precedent, according to Scudder.

As a stipulation of the IRS ruling, only trusts for which Harvard is the sole beneficiary are eligible for the endowment option.

The Planned Giving Office unveiled this year a separate charitable remainder trust, dubbed “tax-efficient,” for donors looking to minimize the tax rate on their payouts.

Scudder said donors with trusts at the HMC will soon have access to online, semi-annual reports of their investments. The system is slated to debut in a few months once security concerns are resolved.

—Staff writer Zachary M. Seward can be reached at seward@fas.harvard.edu.