Think about the Jewish summer camp where you made lifelong friends. The synagogue where you celebrated your wedding or your child's bar or bat mitzvah. The Jewish Community Centre where you attended programs, brought your children to swim lessons or found a sense of belonging.

These are more than buildings and programs. They are the places where memories are made, friendships begin and Jewish identity takes shape. They are part of our lives, often from childhood through to our senior years.

Now imagine being able to ensure that these same places and experiences are there for your children, grandchildren and generations you will never meet.

That's the power of legacy giving, and the Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation is here to help make it possible.

Through its Life & Legacy Plus program, the Foundation helps individuals and families plan charitable gifts through their wills and estates, allowing them to continue supporting the Jewish organizations and causes they love long into the future.

The Foundation also works directly with local Jewish organizations, providing the training, guidance and resources they need to develop their own legacy giving programs. This means that when someone wants to remember a synagogue, school or other Jewish organization in their will, there is support available to help turn that intention into a lasting gift.

Life & Legacy Plus builds on a partnership with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, which works with Jewish communities across North America to encourage legacy giving.

In Ottawa, six organizations participate in the program: Congregation Machzikei Hadas, Hillel Lodge LTC Foundation, the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, Kehillat Beth Israel (KBI), the Ottawa Jewish Community School and Temple Israel.

For Yudit Simmons, the Foundation's Senior Development Manager of Annual and Planned Giving, the importance of legacy giving is something she understands from personal experience.

“I grew up benefitting from the generosity of people I had never met,” she said. “From Jewish education to summer camp, these programs helped shaped my identity and connection to community. So many of those experiences were made possible because someone before me believed in investing in the next generation.”

Now, as a parent, Simmons watches her own children enjoy many of the same opportunities that helped shape her Jewish identity.

“As both a parent and someone working in Jewish philanthropy, I see legacy giving as a way to pay that generosity forward,” she said. “It’s about making sure the next generation has the same opportunities to connect, belong, and build meaningful Jewish lives.”

That desire to give back to the places that have shaped our lives is already inspiring members of Ottawa's Jewish community to make legacy commitments.

At KBI, members are choosing to leave gifts to the congregation because of the role it has played in their lives and the lives of their families.

According to Norman Ferkin, chair of KBI's Life & Legacy program, many are motivated by the hope that their children and grandchildren will continue to have a welcoming Jewish home.

“Ultimately, a legacy gift to KBI is about more than financial support,” said Ferkin. “It is an investment in Jewish continuity and ensures that future generations will always have a place to call their Jewish home.”

At Temple Israel, the program is helping the congregation build financial stability for the future, ensuring that the community it has nurtured for generations can continue to thrive.

“Through training, guidance, and incentives provided by the Life & Legacy program, Temple Israel has been able to continue strengthening its legacy giving efforts and building a foundation for future generations,” explained Temple Israel's Life & Legacy chair, Martin Freeman.

Both Ferkin and Freeman say that what motivates donors is often a deep sense of belonging and gratitude for the community that has been part of their family's story.

Congregants’ “legacy commitments reflect a desire to ensure that their children, grandchildren, and future generations, as well as others seeking Jewish connection, will have access to the same welcoming and meaningful community,” said Freeman.

While the idea of leaving a legacy gift may sound like something that requires significant wealth or complicated financial planning, Simmons says it can be much simpler than people imagine.

“The word ‘planned’ can make legacy giving sound more intimidating than it actually is,” she explained. “Getting started … often begins with a conversation about the organizations and causes that matter to you. From there, you can explore options like including a charitable gift in your will or naming a charity as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy.”

The Foundation is available to help people explore their options, understand how legacy giving works and connect with the resources they need to put their wishes into place.

There may also be financial assistance available to help with the legal costs of estate planning.

“Through Foundation’s Legacy Challenge Fund, individuals who commit to leaving $10,000 or one percent of their estate to the Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation may be eligible to receive up to $1,000 toward legal fees associated with preparing or updating their estate plans,” she said.

Simmons emphasizes that there is no need to have everything figured out before reaching out. People can begin by thinking about the organizations that have mattered most to them and the kind of Jewish future they hope to help create.

“The most important thing is starting the conversation and knowing that there are people and resources available to help you along the way,” she said.

The Jewish community we enjoy today exists in large part because generations before us chose to give, build and invest in a future they might never see.

Through legacy giving, we have the opportunity to do the same.

The camp where a child discovers the joy of Jewish friendship. The synagogue where a young couple begins their life together. The community centre where an older adult finds connection and companionship.

These are the experiences that make a community feel like home. And with a little planning today, we can help ensure they remain part of Jewish Ottawa's story for generations to come.

To learn more about Life & Legacy Plus, visit ojcf.ca/life-legacy or contact Yudit Simmons at [email protected].