Supporting the Life & Legacy Initiative Will Help Sustain this Community

The following is a reprint of an article published in the August 5, 2026 issue of the Jewish Community Voice, titled, "Supporting the Life & Legacy initiative will help sustain this com

munity":

250+: This is the number of participants in the Life & Legacy initiative of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation who have indicated that they will be leaving a gift (bequest) in their will or estate plan to benefit the future of the South Jersey Jewish community.

From the entire Board of Trustees and staff of the Jewish Community Foundation, Inc., THANK YOU to each of these 250+ legacy donors who have so generously opted to carve out a portion of their life’s savings to benefit deserving Jewish organizations for many decades on end.

How Can You Follow in the Lead of These Donors?

Simple! August is “Make a Will Month,” and if you are either creating or updating your will or estate plans, please consider including wording such as the following, customized to your personal preferences:

“I hereby give, devise, and bequeath the sum of $___ (or __% of my estate) to the Jewish Community Foundation, Inc. (1301 Springdale Rd, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003), to establish the ‘(Name of Donor) Endowment Fund.’ The JCF is a non-profit corporation organized and operating under the laws of the State of New Jersey, and the EIN for the JCF is 20-1260545.

“Five percent (5%) of the total value of the Fund is to be used on an annual basis to make a gift to the (insert name, address, and EIN of each selected beneficiary non-profit organization).”

What Happens When this Legacy Gift is Completed?

When your estate is processed, the portion that you allot based on your bequest wording will be distributed to the JCF.

Then, the JCF opens an endowment fund in your name, which is where the dollars will be added. Many donors will often establish an endowment fund (or multiple funds) during their lifetime and add to it via a legacy gift.

From there, every year, the JCF will provide 5% of the fund’s value to benefit the charitable cause that you indicate.

For example, Sis Levy (z”l) left a bequest to the JCF upon her passing in 2018 at the age of 84. Levy devoted countless hours and seemingly endless energy during her lifetime to ensure that Jewish Senior Housing & Healthcare Service (JSHHS) would provide top-notch residential communities for older Jewish adults, allowing residents to live comfortably and in good health. She established multiple endowment funds for JSHHS (as well as the Katz JCC) during her lifetime, and then left a bequest in her will to expand these funds. Levy made the world a better place for over eight decades, and her charitable legacy continues.

Another example is Dr. Harry Gershenowitz (z”l), who died in 2013 at the age of 87. He led a full and active life, working as a professor at Rowan University for 35 years, earning six separate degrees, and even becoming a bar mitzvah at age 86. Although he was not active with the JCF during his lifetime, he appreciated all that we do to help the entire Jewish SNJ and wanted to ensure that this would continue for future generations. Today, Gershenowitz’s memory lives on 13 years later, with his endowment fund providing annual support to the JCF, enabling us to offer scholarship awards, grants, and other services to benefit thousands of people in South Jersey and beyond.

To discuss how you can leave a gift in any dollar amount in your will to establish a lasting endowment fund, please contact me at (856) 673-2571 or dsnyder@jfedsnj.org

Your gift will be a mitzvah that will keep on giving back to this Jewish community, just like that of hundreds of others who want to see future generations thrive.