HISTORY

Live On: Build Your Jewish Legacy is a grant initiative supported by Rose Community Foundation that followed on the success of The Endowment Challenge. The Endowment Challenge helped Jewish agencies and synagogues ask their donors for endowment donations and educated them about the importance of building endowments. By the initiative's completion, the participating organizations had raised more than $19 million in new endowments. By 2011 these endowment funds were valued at more than $21 million and have distributed more than $8 million in operating funds since inception. The first phase of Live On helped 27 metro-area Jewish organizations, schools and synagogues secure nearly $36 million in bequests and planned gifts.

Between 2005 and 2007, the original Live On initiative:

In 2008, Rose Community Foundation extended the initiative’s reach for another two years to help 17 of the original organizations continue stewardship of legacy donors, cultivate new donors and engage lay leadership in the solicitation and stewardship process. Between 2008 and 2010, Live On II

This new phase, Live On III, happening August 2011 through 2012, will train and support four new organizations and help another 11 organizations that have completed training to steward gifts that have already been pledged. The four new organizations will also receive incentive grants to help board members and staff create a bequest plan and develop solicitation and stewardship skills. A donor awareness and recognition campaign will continue reminding the public about the importance of leaving a legacy.