09/13/2024
Endowing Our Legacy: Securing the Future of Jewish Community Support
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News
Rabbi Jeremy Pappas | SPECIAL TO THE CJN
A community volunteer recently shared a story of her first phone call at a Super Sunday event – a call that forever changed the way she looked at giving.
“I look forward to this call every year,” the woman who answered the phone said “When I arrived here from the former Soviet Union, Federation was there for me. They helped me settle in, find a community and build a new life. Making my gift every Super Sunday is my way of giving back and ensuring that others have the same support I did.”
The volunteer, moved by these heartfelt words, realized something profound. This woman’s annual gift was not just a donation; it was a living testament to the impact of the services she received and a beacon of hope for future generations. To maintain this cycle of giving and support, it is crucial to secure the future of an organization’s annual campaign gifts through endowment.
The Vital Role of Endowing Annual Campaign Gifts
Endowing an annual campaign gift enables you to leave a legacy that ensures our community organizations not only survive, but thrive long into the future. Here’s why this is so crucial:
- Sustaining long-term support: Annual campaign gifts provide essential funding for programs, services and initiatives. By endowing your gift, you help to create a financial foundation that allows the organizations to plan for the future with confidence, ensuring continuity in the services that support our community’s needs.
- Adapting to changing needs: As our community evolves, so do its needs. An endowment allows an organization to be flexible and responsive to these changes. The funds from an unrestricted endowment can be directed to emerging priorities and new initiatives, ensuring that organizations remain relevant and effective in addressing the community’s most pressing issues.
- Encouraging future generations: Endowing an annual campaign gift demonstrates a commitment to long-term giving and encourages others to think about their own philanthropic legacy. By making endowments a priority, we cultivate a culture of giving that will sustain our community for generations to come.
A Call to Action
As we reflect on stories like these of those who endow their gifts, let’s also consider our own role in shaping the future of our Jewish community. By endowing annual campaign gifts, we ensure the work by organizations important to us continues without interruption, that our community’s needs are met and that our collective legacy endures.
The strength of our community lies not only in the generosity of our present-day donors but also in the enduring support we can provide through endowment. It’s an investment in the future, a commitment to our values and a way to honor those who have come before us while paving the way for those who will follow.
Rabbi Jeremy Pappas is managing director, campaign, at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland in Beachwood.
