More than 100 community members from across 13 local Jewish organizations attended the one-year celebration of the Greater Philadelphia Life & Legacy® initiative on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El.
The celebration marked a year of success for Greater Philadelphia’s The Life & Legacy initiative, a partnership between the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Philadelphia – the new name for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s Endowments Program – and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
The evening recognized and thanked community members who joined the initiative by planning a legacy gift for their organization. It also featured musical guest Avi Wisnia, an Emmy-nominated, nationally recognized singer-songwriter who shared a moving and powerful story about the musical legacy he received from his grandfather.
"We gathered to celebrate our successful first year of Life & Legacy," said Karen Kramer, Jewish Community Foundation co-chair and chair of Life & Legacy initiative. "This past year has been inspiring as we have seen our community unite in recognizing the power of creating lasting legacies to secure a strong Jewish future."
Life & Legacy provides Jewish institutions across North America with the skills and resources they need to build and grow endowment programs, which will be used to sustain their Jewish communities for generations to come.
The Jewish Community Foundation joined the Life & Legacy partnership as part of its commitment to provide local Jewish organizations with training, guidance, consultations and the opportunity to grow their endowments to ensure a vibrant Jewish future.
The inaugural cohort of 13 organizations successfully engaged 286 donors, securing 305 gifts and raising almost $30 million in funds across the participating organizations. This early success has generated excitement and optimism among the organizations and the Jewish Community Foundation.
“The Jewish Federation supports our local organizations to carry out their mission every day and through Life & Legacy, we are establishing a support system for the organizations’ futures, ” said Chief Planned Giving Officer Jennifer Brier of the Jewish Federation’s Jewish Community Foundation. “We’re committed to thinking ahead, planning today to ensure tomorrow.”
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To learn more about the Life & Legacy program, visit jewishphilly.org/life-and-legacy.
