The Lion of Judah Endowment: Forever Starts Today

Compassion, strength, leadership and deep commitment - 50 women embody these values and have endowed their Lion of Judah level Annual Campaign gift to support, sustain and build Jewish life for the Greater Indianapolis Jewish community. For these women, endowing their gift ensures their philanthropy makes an even greater difference throughout their lifetime and for generations to come.

A Lion of Judah Endowment (LOJE) can be established with a charitable gift of at least $100,000 in a woman’s name. This endowment is designed to provide ongoing support of Federation and the causes most important to them. As a LOJE, these wonderful women are shaping the Jewish future.

Claudette Einhorn was the first woman to create a LOJE in the Indianapolis Jewish community in 1995. She said when the concept was presented, it was an easy “of course, I need to do this.” She was in a leadership position at the time so it was the right progression to become a leader for this endowment and to let others know this was an important kind of commitment.

“Annual gifts are great but sustaining those annual gifts is even more important,” she said. “It shows your commitment to the mission, to the community, and the local federation. I wanted to be sure that my gift was there in perpetuity and that I could be a member of the community no matter where I was.”

Einhorn expressed her desire to reinforce missions in the local Jewish community.

“I look at what our agencies and synagogues provide and realize that without them, we might not have as strong a Jewish community as we have,” she said. 

More importantly, Einhorn says there is also the global impact she considered when making her endowment. She refers to what the Jewish Federation provides for Israel and communities around the world. 

“At this moment, we look at what we are doing for the Ukraine crisis and not just Jews who we help,” she stressed. “We are a humanitarian organization. I love that aspect of what the Federation does. It is a Jewish organization but lives its Jewish values by helping those in need regardless of who they are. It is the living, breathing voice of our Jewish ethos.”

Karen Cohen was also one of the first to create her Lion of Judah Endowment. She followed Einhorn in 1997. Her reason? She says because she wanted to do something meaningful to her, independent of her joint gift with her husband, Chuck Cohen (z”l).

“I wanted to declare my interest in the campaign in my own name to make a statement of support with my own funds,” she said. “I thought it was a lovely idea that has been organized across the country and I feel proud to become part of it.” 

Cohen said Chuck was no stranger to Endowments or fundraising. They created their own endowment fund, and Chuck took on a mission to serve as an example to others to get more gifts endowed to the Federation as well as other local Jewish organizations. When Chuck passed away, in honor of his lasting legacy, the endowment department of the Jewish Federation was renamed to the Charles A. Cohen Planning Giving & Endowment Department.

“We felt very strongly about perpetuating our gifts in order for the Federation to do its job in our community so it was impetus for me once I learned about LOJE,” she said. “We just wanted to make sure we did our part to provide for the Federation to do its work even after we were gone.”

Cohen’s financial interests for the Jewish community are in education.

“Young Leadership, Prystowsky ATID, and other various programming with the younger generations is vital in order for the Jewish community to continue to survive and thrive,” she said. 

In addition, she said taking the younger generations to Israel is a wonderful way of educating and giving people a different way of thinking and experiencing Israel. It helps enlarge their activism and gifts. “Israel changes you,” she said.

The next generation of Lion of Judah members are stepping into female leaders’ shoes who started their legacy years ago. Interested in being number 51 in the Indianapolis Jewish community? Contact Josh Lodolo, Senior Director of the Charles A. Cohen Planning Giving & Endowment Department, at jlodolo@jfgi.org or visit www.jewishindianapolis.org/planned-giving-endowment and start creating your legacy today!

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