LIFE & LEGACY program launches in eight more cities, including Pinellas

AGAWAM, Mass. – To secure legacy funding for many Jewish organizations and institutions, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation is expanding its leveraged philanthropy-style campaign called, “Life & Legacy,” to eight additional communities across the country. Life and legacy offers programmatic matching grants and incentive grants to inspire Jewish leaders to encourage afterlife gifts for their organizations and loyal donors to make legacy commitments.

The results are impressive. In just two years an estimated$70 million has been committed - to 183 Jewish organizations in 12 communities across the country. In partnership with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, local Jewish federations, and community foundations work closely with day schools, synagogues, and social service organizations to direct conversations about after-lifetime gifts for those organizations. To date, 2,000 such commitments have been made, totaling an estimated $70 million in future gifts.

“With the Baby Boom Generation expected to pass along sizeable wealth in the coming years, these commitments are vital life lines for sustaining Jewish organizations of all sizes across North America,” said Arlene D. Schiff, Life & Legacy’s National Director. “It’s very exciting to see this level of responsiveness to our efforts, and the cooperation that is developing among organizations is inspiring. The collaboration around legacy giving and philanthropic planning with an eye toward sustaining programs and services for the Jewish community as a whole in many communities has been transformative.”

Life & Legacy recently added eight more partner communities to its outreach efforts including: Phoenix, AZ; Cincinnati, OH; Delaware; East Bay, CA; Tampa, Orlando and Pinellas in FL; South Palm Beach/Boca Raton in FL; Houston, TX, and Indianapolis, IN. Over the last two years, the program has been underway in 15 communities: Charlotte, NC; Chicago, IL; Princeton/Greater Mercer County, NJ; Greater Washington DC; Memphis, TN, MetroWest, NJ; Miami, FL; Milwaukee, WI; New Haven, CT; Jacksonville, FL; Omaha, NE; Orange County, CA; Portland, OR; Sacramento, CA; and Southern NJ.

One of the hallmarks of Harold Grinspoon’s philanthropic strategy is to inspire other donors. To encourage them, he offers incentive grants so they join in and ultimately support Jewish institutions of all kinds. The Harold Grinspoon Foundation is focused on building a vibrant Jewish future for day schools, synagogues, camps, and community programs through philanthropy. It’s a method that he successfully integrated into his Jewish camping program to help endow camps across North America. With Life & Legacy, his $3 million investment has already resulted in $70 million in future gifts.

Here is how it works: Life & Legacy partner communities are provided matching grants to support the implementation of the program as well as funds to incentivize their local organizations to be successful. Legacy commitment goals are established for each organization and the community as a whole. Matching grants are paid on an annual basis upon achievement of the community goal. Organizational incentives are granted each year as institutions achieve, or in many cases, exceed their individual goals. The receiving organizations have the discretion to use these funds as they see fit. With a return on investment that is more than 20 fold, it’s a formula that works.

“Life & Legacy is a way to secure our Jewish future,” Schiff said.

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LIFE & LEGACY, a program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation (HGF), assists communities across North America, in promoting after-lifetime giving to benefit the local Jewish community by taking advantage of the unprecedented transfer of generational wealthy taking place before our eyes. Through partnerships with Jewish Federations and Foundations, LIFE & LEGACY supports a diverse array of community organizations- day schools, synagogues, social service organizations and others- in securing after life gifts. Through training, support and monetary incentives LIFE & LEGACY motivates Jewish organizations of all types to secure legacy gifts, steward donors and integrate legacy giving into the philanthropic culture of the Jewish community. For more information, visit www.jewishlifelegacy.org