Creating Your Jewish Legacy at NVHC

Each of us, regardless of age, wealth, or affiliation, has the ability to leave a legacy. Legacy giving does not require great wealth, only great commitment. Every dollar makes a difference to the NVHC community you care about.

When you create a Jewish legacy, you take an important step toward strengthening Jewish life in Northern Virginia for generations to come. Planning your gift now will help ensure that future generations can enjoy the same rich traditions and closeness of the community that has given your life so much meaning and purpose.

How to Create Your Jewish Legacy at NVHC

Step 1: Think

Think about your values and the Legacy you want to share with future generations. By including NVHC in your estate planning, you join the NVHC Legacy Giving Circle. Your legacy gift will be use to support our mission, programming, and strategic initiatives. The Board of Trustees will be responsible for the oversight and appropriation of funds in a manner that is consistent with NVHC’s mission and strategic needs:  NVHC is our spiritual home where we connect through community to Judaism that matters. 

There are three options for how you can designate your gift:

Unrestricted. Making a legacy gift without restrictions is straight-forward and provides the Board of trustees the greatest flexibility to allocate your gift towards the greatest need at that time.

Endowment Fund.  Alternatively, you could designate your gift to our endowment fund. The endowment fund will be governed according to the NVHC Endowment Governance Policy and invested and carefully managed by the NVHC Investment Committee to assure long term sustainable growth.

Customized. We are happy to work with you to direct your gift towards a specific program or need.

Please schedule an appointment with Joe Miller, Executive Director or a member of the clergy to discuss which option is best for your situation. To schedule an appointment, please call 703-437-7733 or email Joe Miller at ShowClick Here to View Contact Information.

Step 2: Consult

Making a Bequest:  To make a legacy gift to NVHC, we suggest you consult your attorney or financial planner on how to finance your gift and how to update your estate documents.

Sample Bequest Language:  I hereby give, devise, and bequeath [ENTER DOLLAR AMOUNT OR PERCENTAGE OF YOUR ESTATE HERE] to Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation, Inc., a non-profit organization located at 1441 Wiehle Ave, Reston, VA 20190 for NVHC’s general use and purpose.

Restrictions on Your Gift. If you wish to restrict the use of your gift to a particular purpose, please contact us so we can discuss options. We can work with you to develop appropriate language if needed.

Inform your Executor. We encourage you to explain your intentions for your gift to your Executor and loved ones.

Step 3: Confirm

Please read the NVHC Giving Guide and complete the Legacy Giving Declaration of Intent: NVHC Legacy Giving Guide. Once your Legacy Giving Declaration of Intent has been finalized and signed by you and the Executive Director, please keep a copy of it with your will and estate planning documents.

Click here to make an appointment with our Executive Director

What Are Legacy Gifts?

Anyone can do it. It’s easy to do.

Legacy is what you leave behind for your loved ones and your community. By making a legacy gift, you invest in your values and make a difference in Jewish lives, year after year. It’s easy to do. And it’s changeable and revocable at any time. There are many ways to establish your gift, but when it comes through, you will be supporting the NVHC community forever.

Simple Ways to Make a Lasting Impact

Bequest

Bequests: Enables donors to give the Congregation a fixed amount or percentage of their personal property or financial assets through a will or an estate plan. Gifts could include:

  • Cash
  • Stocks and Bonds
  • Real Estate
  • Personal Property
  • Insurance Policy
  • Retirement Plan Assets

Lifetime Income Gifts

Life Income Gifts: Enables donors to receive payments for life while knowing they will also be supporting NVHC. Some examples include:

  • Charitable Gift Annuities: Provides donors with a lifetime fixed income stream.
  • Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts: similar to a Charitable Gift Annuity, but with greater flexibility. Provides donors with a lifetime fixed income stream but with potentially better tax benefits for donors giving highly appreciated assets.
  • Charitable Remainder Unitrusts: Provides donors with income payments that fluctuate with the value of the trust.

IRA Charitable Rollover Gifts/Qualified Charitable Distributions

IRA Charitable Rollover Gifts/Qualified Charitable Distributions: Enables donors to designate a gift to NVHC that will count toward their annual required minimum distribution and can be excluded from donors’ gross income in the year it is given.

FAQs

What if I need all my money for retirement?

Legacy gifts that are set up as a beneficiary designation in your will, retirement fund, or other ways do not affect your retirement or spending during your lifetime. If you need the resources, you spend them. However, if there’s anything left, you will make a tax free gift with whatever percentage of the remainder that feels right. That percentage can be adjusted anytime during your lifetime. If circumstances cause you to exhaust all of the money in your retirement account during your lifetime, then the charity will not benefit from your intended legacy gift.

I am not wealthy. Are endowments only for wealthy people?

Anyone can make a legacy gift in an amount or percentage that feels right. A legacy gift is not measured by an absolute amount nor is it a reflection of someone’s wealth. Instead, it is a demonstration of what is in your heart as a way to perpetuate your values. A legacy gift can be made by anyone, regardless of financial resources, in an amount or percentage appropriate for that individual. Those amounts or percentages can be adjusted at any time as circumstances change.

In fact, the accumulation of many legacy gifts of all levels is what makes a community strongest.

What if my first concern, my family, is what I consider my legacy?

Absolutely, you should provide for those you love. Please consider that in a real way your legacy gift also provides for your children and grandchildren by ensuring a vibrant Jewish community for them. Even if you only designate five or ten percent of your assets to organizations you care about through a legacy gift, you will still pass along most of your inheritance to your family while still providing for your charitable heirs.

How is legacy giving different than annual giving?

In most instances, the actual payment of a legacy gift happens after your lifetime and is made from a portion of your estate. That means you do not have to part with any money during your lifetime if you choose not to fund the legacy gift while you are living. Annual gifts are normally paid within a year of when the commitment is made. Further, depending on your wishes, legacy gifts are often put into the organizations’ permanent endowment and only a small-specified amount is spent each year to benefit ongoing expenses. The bulk remains in the endowment to grow over time. In contrast, normally all the proceeds of annual gifts cover ongoing programming and operating expenses.

When should I do this?

There is no time like the present to make a legacy commitment. Since, in most instances, your legacy gift will not be paid until after you are gone, there is no financial risk of specifying at least a small percentage of your eventual remaining assets now. This can always be modified in the future as your assets change and your family’s needs evolve. By making the commitment now, you will also enable the organizations you care about to know what they can count on from you and other supporters for their future sustainability.