"As my ancestors planted for me, so do I plant for those who will come after me...." instructs the Talmud, and very often this planting is sown in the document of a will.
It is estimated that only 3 of 10 people have a will. If this trend continues, approximately 2 million Canadians will die intestate (without a will) by the year 2010, leaving an estimated $700 billion to be passed on without direction. It is those daunting figures which have propelled the Canadian Association of Gift Planners to introduce the Leave A Legacy program to British Columbians.
What is Leave A Legacy?
Leave A Legacy is a community-based public awareness campaign that encourages people from all walks of life to make gifts from their estates to the not-for-profit organizations of their choice.Why now?
Between 1990-2010, 3.5 million Canadians are expected to die (Macleans, Nov. 1990), leaving an unprecedented $1 trillion to their families and the community. People without a will will have lost the ability to control the distribution of their estate to their chosen beneficiaries, including family and community.How will this program help the Jewish Community Foundation?
As governments continue to decrease financial support for the not-for-profit sector, alternative sources of funding to replace this lost revenue must be found. Leave A Legacy provides a public service that encourages people to plan their estates and to leave a gift to the organizations of their choice. Bequests to organizations and programs under the umbrella of the Foundation will strengthen both the individual charities and the overall financial growth of our Greater Vancouver community endowment program.How does Leave A Legacy compliment the Foundation's Book of Life program?
When an individual or family signs the Book of Life they are making a promise to leave a legacy gift to their community. Generally the gift is in the form of a bequest and can be of any worth. The Book of Life program recognizes a deep commitment to provide a permanent gift that will ensure the continued strength of our Jewish community and be woven into the tapestry of our community’s history.
Leave A Legacy can promote others to add their signatures, their stories and their promise of a bequest to the Book of Life thereby making a lasting gift to their community.
Stranger than fiction: 75 percent of bequests received by charities come from strangers — people who have had no giving history or affiliation with the organization during their lifetime.
The following organizations have endowment funds and can be recipients
of a legacy gift through the Jewish Community Foundation:
- B’nai Brith Foundation of British Columbia
- Burquest Jewish Community Association
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region
- Congregation Beth Israel
- Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver
- Jewish Family Service Agency
- Jewish Historical Society
- King David High School
- L'Chaim Adult Day Centre
- National Council of Jewish Women, Vancouver Section
- Ohel Ya’akov Community Kollel
- Shalom BC
- Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre
- Vancouver Talmud Torah Alumni
