What is the JCCSF’s Olive Tree Society?

From the time of Noah and the flood, the olive branch has been a sign of hope for an enduring future. Olive trees grow anywhere, even under the most adverse conditions. Olive trees stand firm in all kinds of terrain and remind us that we should also remain strong no matter what the circumstance.

Olive Tree Society

The Olive Tree Society honors those individuals who have created a lasting legacy by including the JCCSF in their estate plans or through the creation of a named endowment fund. Their gift ensures that the JCCSF continues to be a vibrant center for Jewish values and community life for generations to come.

As a member of the Olive Tree Society, you’ve created a lasting legacy by including the JCCSF in your estate plans or through the creation of a named endowment fund. Your gift ensures that the JCCSF continues to be a vibrant center for Jewish values and community life for generations to come.

Make the Gift of a Lifetime

A legacy gift can help you make a profound impact on future generations and may help you make a larger gift than you thought possible. Legacy Gifts can be as simple as a designation in your will or retirement funds to more complex vehicles that provide income and tax benefits. Call us today and we can work with you to customize a plan that meets your philanthropic and financial goals.

Compelling Benefits

In addition to helping the JCCSF meet future needs, your gift can help you:

  • Retain or increase your income
  • Deduct part of your gift as an immediate charitable contribution
  • Avoid or reduce capital-gains taxes
  • Memorialize a loved one

Legacy giving is a meaningful and sincere expression of what matters most to you and your family. The JCCSF will work with you to develop a strategy that fulfills both your charitable goals and financial needs. Often, planned giving can result in additional income for the rest of your life. Always, planned giving is an opportunity to establish a lasting legacy at the JCCSF to benefit future generations.

Already included the JCCSF in your plans? Let Us Know!

GIFTS FROM YOUR WILL OR TRUST

A charitable bequest is one of the easiest ways you can create a legacy at the JCCSF. A bequest may be made in your will or trust directing a gift to the JCCSF, helping to secure our future for generations to come.

Benefits of A Bequest

  • Receive estate tax charitable deduction.
  • Lessen the burden of taxes on your family.
  • Leave a lasting legacy

How Do You Make a Bequest?

A bequest is one of the easiest gifts to make. With the help of an advisor, you can include language in your will or trust specifying a gift to be made to family, friends or a charity as part of your estate plan.

Your Bequest Options

A bequest may be made in several ways:

  • Gift of a percentage of your estate
  • Gift of a specific dollar amount or asset
  • Gift from the balance or residue of your estate

Making a Bequest of Your Retirement Assets

A retirement asset, such as an IRA account, makes an excellent bequest to us. If the IRA were given to your family, much of the value may be lost through estate and income taxes. By designating a charity as the beneficiary of all or part of your IRA (using a beneficiary designation form provided by your custodian), the full value of the gift is transferred tax-free at your death and your estate receives an estate tax charitable deduction.

GIFTS OF RETIREMENT ASSETS

Create a legacy at the JCCSF by allocating your retirement assets (IRA, 401(k), 403(b), pension or other tax deferred plan).

Retirement assets are typically taxed heavily upon your passing. Most people do not use all of their retirement assets during their lifetime and most retirement plans allow you to easily designate or change a beneficiary with a simple form.

Give Your Retirement Assets in Your Will

A gift of your retirement assets to the JCCSF may reduce the tax burden on your heirs. As a nonprofit, The JCCSF receives the full distribution from your retirement assets, making your savings go further. Preserve the full value of your retirement assets by using them to create a legacy at JCCSF, securing our future for generations to come.

How to Transfer Your Retirement Assets

Your retirement assets may be transferred to the JCCSF by completing a beneficiary designation form provided by your plan custodian. You can often do this very simply online or with a simple form available from your employer or financial advisor.

GIFTS THAT PROVIDE INCOME

Trusts and annuities are great tools for estate planning, ensuring fixed income, passing on assets or reducing tax burden. The information below is provided solely for your information. It is always best to discuss with your financial advisor if an annuity is the most appropriate vehicle to meet your individualized financial goals. The JCCSF can also refer you to qualified financial advisors who can answer questions for you.

Charitable Gift Annuity

Establishing a Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) allows you to make a gift of cash or property to the JCCSF in exchange for fixed annuity payments to yourself or a loved one. CGAs simultaneously provide a charitable donation, an income tax deduction and a guaranteed lifetime income stream.

A charitable gift annuity (CGA) is an excellent way to increase your income, reduce your taxes and make a generous future gift to the JCCSF at the same time.

This is how it works:

You make an irrevocable transfer of cash or marketable securities to the JCCSF. In exchange, the JCCSF agrees to make fixed payments to you or others for life. A portion of this income will be tax-free over your life expectancy and you will receive a partial income tax deduction for your gift. In addition, the assets transferred in exchange for your CGA will be considered outside your estate for federal and state estate tax purposes.

It is also possible to establish a gift annuity now, but delay receiving payments until a later date that you determine. Called a Deferred Gift Annuity (DGA), this life income gift provides a higher payment and can be an effective way of securing supplemental income during retirement.

CGAs can be structured to meet the needs of you or a loved one. They can be structured to provide supplement retirement income, care for an aging parent or provide for a grandchild’s education.

The tax deduction is limited to the amount contributed to the annuity in excess of its present value, as calculated using IRS parameters.

Charitable Remainder TrustCharitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) can reduce your individual taxable income by first dispersing income to the beneficiaries of the trust for a specified period of time. Once this time frame expires, the remainder of the assets is donated to the JCCSF. CRTs can be a way to earn income from a highly appreciated asset and reduce capital gains tax.

A Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) is a life income arrangement that enables you to convert an asset, usually appreciated stock or real estate, into an income stream by making an irrevocable gift of the property.

Once transferred into the CRT, these appreciated assets can be sold tax-free and are reinvested into a diversified portfolio. As a result, you have the full fair market value of the gifted property available to produce life income for you.

In addition, your gift will generate a charitable income tax deduction equal to the present value of your future gift. In the year of your gift, this deduction can be taken up to 30 percent of your adjusted gross income. Any unused portion of this deduction can be carried forward and deducted from your income in the same percentage for an additional five years.

Charitable Lead TrustCharitable Lead Trusts (CLTs) are the opposite of charitable remainder trusts. Income is paid annually to JCCSF for an established period of time and then the assets used to fund the gift revert to you or your heirs. CLTs are not for everyone, but for some they provide an excellent tool for estate planning. Consult your financial planner for advice and more information.

A Charitable Lead Trust (CLT) can be used to transfer assets to children or others at a significantly reduced tax liability.

The trust makes a fixed payment to the JCCSF for a specified term, measured either by someone’s life or a selected number of years. After the trust term ends, the assets of the trust are either returned to you or passed on to children or other loved ones. If the assets are to be returned to you, you receive an income tax deduction when the trust is created. If the assets are passed on to heirs, applicable estate or gift taxes on the value of the gift are reduced or completely eliminated. The tax savings from a charitable lead trust may allow you to provide significant support for the JCCSF at little or no cost to heirs in terms of ultimate inheritance.

A CLT can be a powerful tool in gift and estate tax planning, but the technical complexities require careful consideration. The JCCSF is glad to work with you and your financial advisors to see if a charitable lead trust is right for you.

NAMED ENDOWMENT FUNDS

Through a gift to the endowment fund, you can honor or memorialize a loved one or a special occasion in a personally meaningful way. As your contribution continues to grow through prudent reinvestment, you choose the programs you care most about to receive your Fund’s annual distributions.

Benefits to You:

  • You can carry on your family name or remember a loved one or special occasion in a way that will serve others long into the future.
  • You may opt to have JCCSF create a special Web page for you, called a Legacy of Loving Kindness page, that details your reasons for creating your fund. This is particularly heartwarming in situations in which the fund has been created in honor or memory of a loved one.
  • You may use your fund to promote philanthropy within your family and to teach tzedakah to children.
  • You receive a personalized annual report each year describing the fund’s investment performance and the use of the fund’s proceeds during that year.
  • You receive an immediate income-tax deduction for the full value of the charitable gift.
  • You bypass capital-gains taxes on long-term appreciated securities.

Upon request, announcements of the fund will be sent to family and friends.

We thank the following donors for making the future success of the JCCSF a priority by creating a lasting endowment fund.

SAMPLE BEQUEST LANGUAGE

Please feel free to change the numbers or percentages as you desire.

1. Bequest of cash

“I bequeath the sum of $10,000 to The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco of San Francisco, CA.”

2. Bequest of a percent of the estate

“I devise and bequeath 20% of the remainder and residue of property owned at my death, whether real or personal, and wherever located to The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.”

3. Contingent Bequest

“If my brother John Doe survives me, I devise and bequeath 20% of the remainder and residue of property owned at my death, whether real or personal, and wherever located to John Doe. If John Doe does not survive me, then I devise and bequeath 20% of my residuary estate, whether real or personal property and wherever located to The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.”

BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION LANGUAGE

Sample Language for IRA or 401(K) Beneficiary Designation

I designate that upon my death (or the death of my spouse), $______ [or _____ percent] of my IRA [or 401(k)] account be distributed to the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, a non-profit. Funds distributed from my IRA [or 401(k)] shall be used to provide [purpose].

Sample Language for Life Insurance Beneficiary Designation

I hereby name the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco (JCCSF) as the beneficiary of my (Name of Insurance Company) Policy # ______ with a face value of $_______.) I designate that upon my death, the proceeds will be distributed to the JCCSF. Funds distributed from this life insurance policy shall be used to provide [purpose].

Additional information for Designation Form

Tax ID Number for Jewish Community Center of San Francisco:

94-3227260

Mailing Address:

Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
Attn: Planned Giving Officer
3200 California Ave
San Francisco, CA 94118

Phone: (415) 292-1220

PLANNING GUIDE

Your Will

Your will is a testimony to your values and commitments. It expresses your core beliefs, and is shaped by how you choose to invest your time, energies and resources. Wills can be gratifying; they show how you’ve touched the world in constructive, caring ways.

It can be a joyful experience to give gifts to those we love. When writing your will, you may think first of your family or perhaps a lifelong friend. Yet institutions, too, play a large part in our lives; a bequest to the JCCSF will enable it to serve others as it has served you.

How Much to Give

Think first of those persons who need or deserve your support. Your spouse or partner may be included here, but much of your property is already co-owned by your spouse and will pass to him or her at your death. First focus on what portion, if any, should also be designated for your spouse’s lifetime needs.

Even if you don’t know what the exact total of your assets and other possessions will be at the time of your death, you may know enough to place monetary value on the most important gifts; other gifts can be contingent upon the total available or designated as shares of the residue after monetary gifts and estate costs are covered.

Other individuals for whom you wish to provide some measure of lifetime support through your will may include relatives who require financial security, longtime friends, companions or housemates.

The institutions and causes you wish to support by bequest may be included either for specific dollar amounts or fractional shares of your estate or its residue. You may wish to limit the number of charitable beneficiaries, ensuring each gift will be of meaningful value relative to the size of your estate and the nature of the recipient organization.

Wills & Children

The most treasured gifts our children receive are often not expensive, but always reflect who we are. The same should be true of the legacy gifts we give to our children. (Our bequests to our children need not be identical, so long as they reflect our sense of fairness and the equality of our love.) The dollars we leave to the institutions and causes we believe in may also be gifts to our children, making better the world in which they live and reminding them, by our example, of what you cherish most.

Estate Management

It is important that you have confidence in your personal representative and that individual be able and willing to serve. You can choose your spouse, a relative or a trusted friend or advisor. You can also choose an institution, such as a bank, that may have more expertise and neutrality.

Your will is more than a legal document; it is a testimony to your life, to what you find meaningful, and to what you treasure. Include the JCCSF in your will, and help us continue to create meaningful experiences for our community, for generations to come.

The JCCSF Earned
the Gold Seal
of Transparency

Create a legacy for your family at the JCCSF

Contact Chelsea Cooke, Director of Development Operations and Annual Campaign at 415.276.1267 or ccooke@jccsf.org.

 

Email Chelsea Cooke

Olive Tree Society Members*

  • Anonymous** (4)
  • Myrna & Stuart Aronoff
  • Susan Beer
  • Natasha & Nathaniel Bergson-Michelson
  • Harry Blumenthal**
  • Dolores & Jerome Braun
  • Sylvia Cherin**
  • Ilse Elias**
  • Randi Dodick Fields and Bob Fields
  • Ellen & Barry Finestone
  • Gaia Fund
  • Linda & Sanford Gallanter
  • Goldie Garelick**
  • Sadye Garfinkel Endowment Fund of the JCF
  • Paul & Laura Geduldig
  • JoAnn & Paul Gillis
  • Deborah & Steven Goodman
  • The David B. Gold Foundation
  • Olga Perkovic** & David Goodstein
  • Shelley W. Gottlieb
  • Mary Ann & James R.** Grossman
  • The Hearst Foundation
  • Greta A. Hofmann**
  • Ruth Meller Hurshman**
  • Maurice Kanbar**
  • Charlotte Knaebel**
  • Miriam Koschmieder**
  • Lillian Lewin**
  • Sharon Litsky & John Sampson
  • Betty Mann**
  • Deborah Mann
  • Pamela Mann
  • Corine Massey**
  • Bruce Cohen & Gale Mondry
  • Eleanor & Larry** Myers
  • Peter James Neubauer
  • John Pritzker
  • Lisa Stone Pritzker
  • Virginia Greer Quigley**
  • Caryl Ritter
  • Marsha Rosenbaum & John Irwin**
  • Louise & Claude Rosenberg**
  • Gerald Rosenstein**
  • Anne Thorson & Peter Ross
  • Jordan Sachs
  • George Sarlo
  • Hilda Schneider
  • Janet & Albert Schultz**
  • Allison Huegel & James Sergi
  • Barbara B. Shupin**
  • Miriam R. Smith**
  • Phyllis Spandorf**
  • Joelle Steefel
  • Roselyne C. Swig
  • Tad Taube
  • Maurice Urman**
  • Pat E. Weidy**
  • The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation
  • Raphael Yalkovsky**
  • Esfir & Efsei Zalan**
  • Named Endowments

  • Walter O. Choy Fund
  • The Gaia Fund Endowment for Jewish Programs
  • The Gallanter Family Fund
  • JoAnn & Paul Gillis Fund for the Diller Family Preschool
  • The David B. Gold Fund for Youth & Family
  • Goodstein Perkovic Family Fund
  • The Hearst Early Childhood Education Scholarship Fund
  • Greta A. Hofmann Fund
  • The Maurice Kanbar Fund for Media and Technology
  • Betty M. Mann & Family Fund for Senior Services
  • Betty and Maurice Mann Family Fund
  • Miriam Mondry Endowment Fund
  • Larry Myers Endowment Fund for Senior & Émigré Services
  • The Pritzker Family Lecture Endowment Fund
  • The Myrna Rosen-Klein Scholarship Fund
  • The Claude & Louise Rosenberg Fund for Early Childhood Education
  • Ori Sacks Endowment Fund
  • Sarlo Family Fund for Émigré Services
  • Schneider Fund for Senior Programs
  • The Janet & Albert Schultz Fund for Jewish Education
  • Allison Huegel & James Sergi Fund for the Rosenberg Center for Early Childhood
  • Gary Shupin Youth Scholarship Fund
  • The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Endowment Fund

If you have already provided for the JCCSF in your estate plan, please let us know. We are happy to treat your gift as anonymous if that is your preference, but please allow us to thank you now!

* Partial listing
**May their memories be a blessing.