The Lehigh Valley has been selected to participate in the Harold Grinspoon Foundation’s LIFE & LEGACY program as one of only 37 Jewish communities from across North America.

“The Harold Grinspoon Foundation is very excited to be partnering with the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley to establish a culture of legacy giving in the Lehigh Valley said Arlene D. Schiff, national director of the LIFE & LEGACY program. “The time is right.  This legacy program will make the most of the generational transfer of wealth, change the language and landscape of giving and provide generous and forward-thinking members of the Lehigh Valley Jewish community with the opportunity to express their passion, purpose and commitment to their most valued Jewish organizations.”

LIFE & LEGACY is a four-year program that assists communities, through partnerships with Jewish Federations and Foundations to promote after-lifetime giving to benefit local Jewish day schools, synagogues, social service organizations and other Jewish entities. LIFE & LEGACY’s goals are to:

• Educate, train, motivate and empower Jewish organizations to engage their loyal stakeholders in conversations to establish legacy gifts;
• Increase community awareness of the power of bequests, other legacy vehicles and endowments;
• Integrate legacy giving into the philanthropic culture of the Lehigh Valley Jewish community.

The program will grant the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley with matching funds of approximately $80,000 per year to provide participating local organizations the opportunity to receive unrestricted incentive grants based on meeting legacy commitment benchmarks.  

“We are thrilled to be selected for this program and to be able to bring these benefits to our local Jewish institutions,” said Jim Mueth, director of planned giving and endowments for the Federation, who was instrumental in bringing the program to the Lehigh Valley.

Information sessions for Jewish organization representatives will begin on Nov. 29. The Federation will be providing incentives, training and marketing to strengthen the planned giving efforts at each institution.  

LIFE & LEGACY is the newest initiative of the Grinspoon Foundation, which is investing $30 million dollars over a 10-year period to engage communities in legacy building efforts that will secure the future of vibrant Jewish communities.

The Grinspoon Foundation also funds the PJ Library program, which the Lehigh Valley has participated in since 2011. 

For more information about the LIFE & LEGACY program, contact Jim Mueth, Federation director of planned giving and endowments, at 610-821-5500 or jim@jflv.org. To learn more about planned giving at the Federation, visit www.lvjfgiving.org.