In about a month, Jews will celebrate Pesach and Christians will celebrate Passover. It is a time to reflect on the resilience needed to survive hardship and suffering. While we may not be able to predict a catastrophic event (who knew Nashville would be flattened by an ice storm?), we can plan for difficult times. Planning begins with securing our family’s financial well-being and then helping our community build financial resilience.
Fortunately, the Nashville Jewish community can do both simultaneously through the LIFE & LEGACY™ program. A legacy gift made through the LIFE & LEGACY™ program allows a donor to use their resources now when their families need them. Later, after the donor’s lifetime, a gift will be made to the organizations chosen by the donor.
The Nashville Jewish community has been participating in the LIFE & LEGACY™ program since 2017. As of January 2026, the program has generated more than $29.4 million in promised gifts to 14 participating organizations. The organizations have already received $5,176,669 from donors.
The LIFE & LEGACY program was created by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation to support Jewish organizations across North America through partnerships with local Jewish Federations and Foundations to promote after-lifetime giving.
Becoming a LIFE & LEGACY™ donor is an easy, straightforward process. A donor must sign a letter of intent (LOI), pledging a gift to one or more participating organizations. Donors currently promise to leave a gift to an average of 2.2 organizations and may then take up to a year to formalize their LOI’s by adding a bequest to their will or adding their chosen organizations as beneficiaries to a retirement account or life insurance policy.
Many donors also decide that they would like their LIFE & LEGACY™ gift to be used to create an endowment fund. There are several types of endowment funds at the Foundation at the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville, including a donor advised fund (DAF) and an annual campaign endowment (ACE) fund.
A donor who opts for a DAF can leave written instructions regarding how she or he would like the annual distributions from the fund to be used. Alternatively, an ACE fund contributes to the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville’s annual campaign where the money supports a variety of organizations locally and globally.
Ensuring the financial resilience and longevity of the Jewish community has never been easier. The LIFE & LEGACY™ has already provided five million reasons demonstrating the resilience of Jewish Nashville.
If you have questions about the Foundation or the LIFE & LEGACY™ program, please contact the staff at the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville for assistance.
The Jewish Observer is published by The Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville and made possible by funds raised in the Jewish Federation Annual Campaign. Become a supporter today.
