Endowments are permanent funds set up by individuals, sometimes during estate planning, for organizations or projects that they’re most interested in philanthropically.
When it comes to future generations, leaving a legacy of prosperity and programming now will build a better tomorrow, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia is trying to do just that.
Endowments are permanent funds set up by individuals, sometimes during estate planning, for organizations or projects that they’re most interested in philanthropically.
Rachel Gross, director for planned giving and endowments for the Jewish Federation, said donors can support whatever they like that’s also in line with the community, whether it be Jewish education, projects in Israel or the elderly.
She said there’s a fairly steady amount of people donating, although the agency don’t always know a gift is coming because the Jewish Federation isn’t always notified about donations made through someone’s will.
Gross said there’s about $265 million in the endowment fund, which has been around since the Federation’s founding in 1901.
“Endowment gifts provide a foundation for our community,” she said. “Over $5 million every year goes from the endowment into what we call the allocable pool, the money that goes out to the community, and an additional $2.25 million goes to other things in the community that were designated by the donor, whether it’s a specific program or a synagogue or an agency.
“It’s fairly complex, and there are a lot of different ways to leave a gift,” she noted.
As such, donors can give several types of endowment gifts.
The Perpetual Annual Campaign Endowment (PACE) Fund is a permanent named endowment fund set up with a minimum of $25,000 that is given to the Jewish Federation’s Jewish Community Fund.
A percentage of that gift is given each year to the Jewish Federation’s annual campaign in the donor’s name as well.
The Lion of Judah Endowment (LOJE) Fund is another permanent endowment fund established to maintain a woman’s annual gift of $5,000 or more. The minimum commitment is $100,000.
LOJE enables women to take their support to the next level by sponsoring Jewish causes of their choosing.
Donating $100,000 or more places the donor in the Legacy Society, which honors individuals and families who have arranged their planned or endowment gifts. They can benefit the Jewish Federation or other agencies.
About 300 people are a part of the Legacy Society, according to Gross, which includes people who have passed away and people who have made commitments toward a gift.
About 5 percent of the LOJE is given to the annual campaign in the donor’s name or in the name of a woman the donor chooses.
There’s also the Unrestricted Endowment Fund, which disperses a gift to meet the most pressing needs each year.
A Special Purpose Fund, however, designates the gift to a particular interest of the donor, such as education, elderly care, care of the needy, arts and culture or a particular organization.
Morey Goldberg, president of the Federation Endowments Corporation, said these endowments provide services to the broader Jewish community.
“Our generation has benefited greatly from the prior generation’s generosity, both in the Jewish world and in the secular world,” he said.
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