Charitable Bequests – Leaving A Legacy for All Time
The charitable bequest is the most time-honored method of philanthropy. Bequests made through your Last Will and Testament allow you to be eternally associated with the causes important to you. By leaving a bequest you receive not only various tax benefits, including a reduction or elimination of federal estate taxes, but also the personal fulfillment of knowing you have left a lasting legacy to the Jewish community.
“We had a strong interest in perpetuating our support of the community beyond our lifetimes,” said Donald Schaffer, former Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas president. “Leaving a bequest was a simple way we could make a financial commitment that would always be there for future generations.”
Donald and his wife, Marilyn, have been involved with the Federation from the time they married in the mid 1960s. After participating in a Young Leadership Mission to Israel in 1972, the Schaffers became fully committed to the Jewish community. It soon became a priority to them to extend that commitment to future generations.
“It was important to me to endow my gift to the Federation so it would continue to help the Jewish people even after I am gone,” Marilyn said. “Additionally, I hope my Lion of Judah endowment will serve as a constant reminder for my children and grandchildren to continue the work that Donald and I started. This is the greatest legacy I could ever leave.”
The philanthropic motivations of many donors like the Schaffers are recognized in the Dallas Jewish Community Foundation’s Endowment Book of Generations, which is on permanent display in the lobby of the Jacob Feldman Building. The Book contains the community’s legacy and endowment donors’ family histories and personal testimonials, emphasizing their reasons for providing for the future of the Jewish community.
One page in the Endowment Book of Generations is dedicated to Moe Stein, former Federation executive director, and his wife Lil (of blessed memory). There they expressed their hope that the Dallas Jewish community would continue to thrive and prosper for future generations.
“We named the Foundation in our Will to continue our giving in perpetuity so that our children, grandchildren and those that follow them will live in a Jewish community with strong institutions which will continue to carry its share for Israel and Jews throughout the world,” they stated.
The Eternal Flame on the grounds of the Jacob Feldman Building serves as a tribute to those who have remembered the Jewish Community in their wills. The Flame and its surrounding benches memorialize those individuals who have left an endowment or bequest of $10,000 or more to be administered through the Foundation.
Minette Landa’s name is engraved on the Flame. During her lifetime, Minette was nationally recognized for her original writing for Jewish organizations. All fees she collected for her writings were donated to charity. When Minette died in 1997, the Foundation received a bequest that created a Lion of Judah Endowment in her name. “My aunt was a beautiful woman and a wonderful homemaker,” said her niece, Carol Landa. “She was very devoted to my Uncle Calmon and made a lovely home for him."
Also found on the Eternal Flame is the name of Gerda Vogel Marx. Gerda, who had no children of her own, devoted much of her life to helping others less fortunate than herself. “The basic thing I remember about Gerda is that she was such a giving person,” said Berta Goetz, a longtime friend.
According to Berta, Gerda was highly devoted to Hadassah, Presbyterian Hospital and Shearith Israel. In October of 2000 the Foundation was informed of Gerda’s ultimate charitable deed, a bequest that would endow her Lion of Judah gift so it would continue to live beyond her own lifetime.
“Gerda was a marvelous, independent woman,” said Hannah Goren Gallerstein, another longtime friend. “She set an example for those of us who were near her, and I feel very privileged to have had her as my friend.”
Create a partnership between yourself and the Jewish community that will live forever. Through a charitable bequest, you ensure that the organizations you supported during your lifetime will continue their good works for generations to come. For more information on leaving a legacy to the Jewish community through a charitable bequest, contact the professionals at the Dallas Jewish Community Foundation at (214) 615-9351 or info@djcf.org