Create Your Legacy

Creating your Jewish legacy starts simply and can proceed at your own pace. After you have thought about your personal and family needs, think about sharing a portion of your assets either now or in the future with your community — the organizations and causes that are most important to you. A legacy plan is a proactive way to continue supporting your favorite charitable organizations and causes after your lifetime.

LIFE & LEGACY: L'Chaim New Mexico — To Our Jewish Future

The Foundation is committed to helping secure the future of New Mexico's Jewish community. We are excited to continue our partnership with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation to "Assure Jewish Tomorrows."

More than 300 donors have committed to make a legacy gift to one or more local Jewish organizations. Total estimated value of endowment gift commitments reached $6.2 million with over $716,000 added to organization endowment funds to-date.

LIFE & LEGACY is an endowment program designed to help you create permanent legacy gifts, demonstrating your belief in the continuity of Jewish life in New Mexico for generations to come. Working together with Jewish organizations and synagogues in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, this program helps individuals and families create ongoing support for the Jewish causes you care about.

Partners participating in this collaborative effort:

Todah Rabah — we appreciate our legacy donors!

All of us, regardless of age, wealth, or affiliation, can help sustain a vibrant Jewish community.

Download LIFE & LEGACY Letter of Intent

Download LIFE & LEGACY Gift Confirmation Form

We appreciate the support of our Legacy Celebration sponsor:

If you would like to learn more about LIFE & LEGACY, contact us at [email protected].

Legacy Planning

The Jewish Community Foundation of New Mexico is here to help you make the planning experience meaningful and gratifying. You'll be surprised at how simple and gratifying the process is!

Here are the basic steps:

1. Think about what is important to you

You decide you want to leave something to the Jewish or wider community in New Mexico, Israel or elsewhere and make a commitment to do so. You may not know precisely how you will fund your legacy or which causes or organizations will be the beneficiaries. You can choose to make your promise public by signing a page in the Book of Life.

2. Determine how you will fulfill your commitment

You specify how you will fund your legacy and name the causes and/or charitable organizations you'd like to support. This is typically done through a fund agreement with the Foundation, which you can change easily during your lifetime, or through a provision in your estate plan to support a specific cause that is important to you.

3. Fulfill your commitment

Your assets come to the community — into a permanent endowment fund in your family name, if you like, for causes and beneficiaries that you have designated in your fund agreement or to another fund.

Additionally, you may create a Donor Advised Fund in which you make recommendations during your lifetime to support charities of your choice.

How Do I Start?

You start by making an appointment with the Foundation's Executive Director who will guide you through the legacy conversation and planning process at your own pace. All discussions are confidential. The Foundation does not charge any fees for the legacy planning process.

There are many ways to fund your plan, and you may also be able to achieve tax benefits during your lifetime or for your estate. We encourage you to discuss specific options with your legal and tax advisors, with whom we are happy to work.

If you would like to discuss creating your Jewish legacy, contact us.

Jewish Legacy Society

Members of the Jewish Legacy Society agree to create a permanent endowment fund or make a meaningful gift to the Foundation's LIFE & LEGACY New Mexico Opportunity Fund. You can designate endowment fund distributions to support causes that are important to you—Jewish or non-Jewish, local or global.

No money need change hands right now. All we are asking for is your promise—to create a permanent endowment at the Jewish Community Foundation of New Mexico or to support the LIFE & LEGACY New Mexico Opportunity Fund. How you fulfill your promise is up to you. You should consult with your attorney, accountant, or other financial professional to determine the best method for you to implement your promise. A Foundation representative is available to meet with you and your professional advisors upon request.

Jewish Legacy Society — September, 2022

*of blessed memory

L'Dor V'Dor — “From Generation to Generation”

The Book of Life symbolizes the concept of L'Dor V'Dor, passing on traditions from one generation to the next. Individuals or families may sign the Book of Life when they promise a legacy gift or establish an endowment of any amount. These gifts help ensure the future of our Jewish community locally, nationally, in Israel and worldwide. The inscriptions in the Book of Life may include the personal thoughts, life experiences and philanthropic vision that inspired the gift.

LIFE & LEGACY donor
Shirley Morrison

Donor Statements from the Book of Life

“As an active member of the Jewish community at large, as well as a participant in Congregation Albert, it is my hope and desire to see that the divergent needs of Albuquerque's Jewish population are continued and enriched in the future. The JCEF gives me an opportunity to contribute to the enhancement of our Jewish community and encourage its growth.”

Pearl Gross z"l

“I have been inspired by the statement, 'You make a living out of what you get... You make a life out of what you give.' I have benefited tremendously by the generosity of those who came before me. I hope, through this gift, that others will benefit as well. And I also hope that this gift will motivate others to continue this tradition of giving. L'Chaim.”

Howard Friedman