SS
ebottb
3o .nort4
Jeff Stewart and Edna Skolnick (Jeff's aunt) sit in front of Teitel Federation Apartments.
Jewish communal organizations have been taking a close look at would-be future givers,
and they are tapping into endowments to survive into the next century.
SUZANNE CHESSLER
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
effrey Stewart, 35, attends
meetings regularly at the
Jewish Federation Apart-
ments in Oak Park to
make sure the quality of
life is aboveboard for his
aunt, Edna Skolnick, a res-
ident.
During a meeting last
November, he first heard
about the Horizons endow-
ment, a United Jewish
Foundation administered
giving program that under-
writes costs of innovative
projects that cannot be
supported by agencies'
annual budgets.
Mr. Stewart had listened
intently to concerned com-
munity advocates talk
about a need for funds to
improve the quality of life
for elderly residents of the
Federation Apartments.
He was pleased with the
service his aunt had
received, and he decided to
make life just a little bit
easier for her and the other
seniors by establishing a
$10,000 Stewart Family
Endowment Fund through
Horizons.
His gift is one of many
endowments — beginning
at $5,000 and going as high
as $1 million — created
within the Jewish commu-
nity in recent years. As
with all endowment
arrangements, the princi-
pal sum remains invested
over a period of time, and
the annual income from
the investments is spent
for specific programs.
Mr. Stewart's endow-
ment interest will be put
toward programming each
year at the Federation
Apartments.
Federation officials, who
coordinate endowment ini-
tiatives for most metropoli-
tan Detroit Jewish agen-
cies, say the Stewart fami-
ly is part of a growing
group of people helping
Jewish communal organi-
zations ensure their
futures through endow-
ment giving. They want to
create long-term, philan-
thropic resources and bol-
ster innovative programs
not addressed by direct
donations.
Endowment giving is not
a new concept. But the
Federation did not begin
its major campaign to raise
money for the long term
until 1984, when a commit-
tee set a lofty goal of
attaining $100 million in
new gifts.
So far, the campaign has
brought in $60 million in
new endowment gifts. And
in 1992, Federation offi-
cials boast, endowment
income used strictly for
charitable purposes was
more than $12 million.
"We have a wonderful
community that has great
needs, and while they are
being met, they cannot be
met simply by the old, tra-
The principal
sum is invested
over a period of
time; the annual
income is spent
for specific
programs.
ditional methods," said
Michael Maddin, chairman
of the Federated
Endowment Fund.
"The goal we set as
endowment is not just to
raise money but also to
raise the consciousness of
those in the community on
how to give in ways that
are creative for the commu-
nity and creative for the
persons making dona-
tions," Mr. Maddin said.
If endowment donors are
interested in supporting
programs sponsored by the
Federation, a variety of
programs exist. Among
them: Horizons; the Per-
manent Endowment Fund,
which is set up during a
lifetime or as part of an
estate plan and is intended
to perpetuate the Allied
Jewish Campaign as an
institution; Generations,
designed to encourage the
development of major spe-
cial gifts of $100,000 or
more to the United Jewish
Foundation; and Philan-
thropic Fund, designed for
all levels of contributions
beginning at $5,000.
Another endowment
option, the Supporting
Foundation, brings to
donors hoping to create a
$1 million endowment a
separate legal entity with
its own board of trustees.
Like Generations, this is a
vehicle for major donors
who wish to play a role in
investment and grant-mak-
ing decisions.
The Supporting Found-
DEVOTED DONORS page 30