By: UJF President Beverly Stein
A legacy gift—also known as a planned gift or bequest—is a meaningful way to create a lasting impact that extends beyond your lifetime. While many people give during their lives to support causes they care about, a legacy gift ensures your values and passions live on. Whether large or small, it’s a powerful way to shape a future that reflects what matters most to you.
Legacy giving is also deeply personal. It’s more than a financial contribution—it’s a statement about who you are and what you believe in. It tells your loved ones and your community what you stood for and what you hoped to leave behind. Your gift becomes part of your story, ensuring your values continue to inspire others. Legacy giving is a beautiful testament to the values, passions, and compassion that define us. Through a planned gift, you can provide enduring support to the causes that matter most, ensuring that your legacy leaves a positive mark on the world.
Importantly, you don’t need to be wealthy to leave a legacy gift. Many people assume that planned giving is only for those with significant means, but this isn’t true. Even modest gifts can have tremendous impact, especially when combined with those of others. Legacy giving is about intention, not income—it’s about choosing to make a difference in a lasting way.
One of the key reasons to consider a legacy gift is its long-term impact. Legacy gifts allow organizations to plan ahead, grow sustainably, and pursue projects that will benefit future generations. For organizations, legacy gifts offer stability and a foundation for the future. Unlike annual donations, which typically support current operations, legacy gifts create a dependable stream of future funding that helps sustain programs, expand services, and invest in long-term growth. Legacy gifts also show that the person leaving the legacy gift has a deep level of trust in the organization’s mission and future. This message of trust will resonate with others in the community who will follow the donor’s lead.
When donors share their plans to leave a legacy gift, they inspire others to do the same. This helps build a culture of generosity and forward-thinking within a community. It strengthens the bond between donors and organizations and sends a clear message about the importance of continued support for meaningful work.
Ultimately, leaving a legacy gift is an act of vision and generosity. It’s a way to ensure that your beliefs endure, your story continues, and your impact reaches far into the future.
Through the Life & Legacy initiative, a partnership with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and United Jewish Federation, UJF supports legacy giving across the Jewish communities of Stamford, New Canaan, and Darien. All local synagogues and agencies participate. As our community enters year 5 of this program, I am proud to share that our community has 610 promised gifts with an estimated value of over $16 million.
If you’re not yet a Life & Legacy donor, consider how you can leave your legacy and make a long-lasting impact on our Jewish community. Your gift will benefit generations to come.
To learn more about Life & Legacy opportunities, please contact Eric Ross at Eric@ujf.org.