Ten Jewish organizations will together embark on an effort this spring to strengthen the future of the Lehigh Valley Jewish community through the LIFE & LEGACY™ program.

 

LIFE & LEGACY is a program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation that assists communities across North America in promoting legacy giving to benefit the local Jewish community. The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley has become a partner with the Grinspoon Foundation to bring the LIFE & LEGACY program to our community.

 

Through training, support and monetary incentives, LIFE & LEGACY and the Federation will enable our local Jewish organizations to conduct legacy meetings with their supporters. The organizations will work together to make sure that each supporter’s philanthropic desires and needs are met. This means each organization will discuss with supporters their interest in benefitting their own organization and others all dependent on the wishes of the supporter.

 

Over the next four years, the Federation, through the Lehigh Valley Jewish Foundation’s existing budget and matching grants from the Grinspoon Foundation, will provide training, planned giving expertise, marketing, materials and support in excess of $80,000 per local partner agency.

 

“I am excited to take the next step in our partnership with LIFE & LEGACY,” said Jim Mueth, director of planned giving and endowments at the Federation. “The truly exciting aspect of this program is that volunteers from each partner organization will learn how to have broad legacy conversations that are meaningful to each supporter. Whether these conversations and the resulting planned gifts benefit one organization or multiple organizations, they will each strengthen our Jewish community.

 

"With our application process complete and organizations on board, we will be able to start really diving into the substance of this important endeavor,” he added.

Legacy giving provides a way for donors to continue giving to their favorite organizations for generations. Through conversations and planning, a donor can make a gift that both supports the donor’s family and make a lasting impact on their favorite organizations.   

To learn more, contact Jim Mueth at 610-821-5500 or jim@jflv.org.