The most flexible form of giving is the Unrestricted Gift to JEF’s General Fund. This permits the Jewish Endowment Foundation to use its discretion to meet the most pressing needs of the day. It was gifts to JEF’s General Fund that allowed JEF to fund the unprecedented needs presented by Hurricane Katrina and to underwrite unique programs such as the Shabbat dinners operated by Hillel in 2008. Donors enjoy the firm assurance that their contributions will be used wisely in the face of ever-changing future demands. Gifts can be made in the form of cash, securities, property, art work, or other items of monetary value acceptable to JEF’s Board of Directors.
You can establish a Donor Advised Fund to be maintained as a component of JEF with a gift of money or property. You can name the fund and recommend distributions to qualified charities subject to the approval of JEF’s Board of Directors. JEF makes it possible for anyone to become a philanthropist. You can open a Donor Advised Fund at JEF with as little as $4,000 (with $1,000 contributed if you qualify for the Cahn-Tolmas Donor Advised Fund Incentive Program). You receive a letter from JEF for tax purposes and a binder for your paperwork. We charge a modest 1% administrative fee to your fund.
You use your fund for most of your charitable giving by making $100 minimum grant recommendations to qualified charities. JEF invests your fund’s assets, makes the distributions recommended by you and approved by our Board of Directors, and provides you with an annual statement. Learn more in our Guidelines for Donor Advised Funds.
A Designated Fund specifies that all or part of the income earned by your gift may be used for a specific purpose, agency, or field of interest. A Designated Fund may be established in any name you choose. A Designated Fund may be used to perpetuate a Federation gift such as a Lion of Judah Endowment (LOJE) or a Perpetual Annual Campaign Endowment (PACE).