By virtue of their surgical skills and efficient management, the Mayo brothers were financially successful and professionally prominent. They both served as president of the American Medical Association and achieved international recognition as surgeons. In 1919, the brothers and their wives donated the assets of the medical practice including land, buildings, and equipment, as well as the majority of their life savings, to transform the private partnership into a not-for-profit organization dedicated to an integrated mission of patient care, medical education, and medical research.