From Jim Heeger, Immediate Past Chair, Moishe House Board
As I transition out of my role as Moishe House’s Board Chair, I do so with my eyes on the organization’s future. One of the pieces I’m most excited about is the work we’ve begun with some of our closest partners to secure strong, long-term financial stability for the organization. We recently cemented two new investment mechanisms, creating opportunities to ensure continuous support for young adults in their Jewish community building today and well into the future.
For the last decade, Ron and Pam Rubin have been generous supporters of Moishe House. Their investments have been diverse and impactful, including the development and support of Moishe House St. Louis, a pioneering multi-year challenge grant to help the organization raise significant local matching support in eight different cities, support for Moishe House’s North American Training Conference and foundational support for the Moishe House International Fund.
Through their investments in Moishe House, the Rubins have been true leaders in philanthropy and recently, they did it again. Last month, the Rubins created Moishe House’s first endowment and generously provided $1M to support Moishe House St. Louis long term:
“We wanted to make this investment while we can still see first-hand the impact of investing in Jewish young leaders in our home community, and celebrate the difference it will make today and well into the future.”
The other pioneering Moishe House effort, our new Legacy Giving program, has also seen great initial success. We are just getting started and I’m thrilled to share that more than half of my fellow board members have already joined with my wife Daryl and me in making long-term commitments in Moishe House’s work. Moishe House will continue to extend its reach and impact dramatically, and our bequests and planned gifts will help to ensure the organization can provide the support and resources for young adults to create Jewish homes and communities today and well into the future. You’ll be hearing more on this front in the coming months as we roll out a campaign and ask more folks to be a part of this venture.
In the meantime, some of my fellow board members shared their thoughts on why they are making legacy gifts:
“It’s really about the sustainability of Moishe House and its critical role in young adult Jewish engagement. Every generation of Jewish young adults, on a global basis, should be offered the opportunity, through Moishe House (and other organizations), to connect to the global Jewish community, and I hope that a meaningful legacy gift will help to facilitate this opportunity.” – Russ and Leslie Robinson, Houston
“Legacy gifts serve as a catalyst for continued growth, and it is our hope that by committing to Moishe House in this way, it will serve as a lasting reminder to my children and succeeding generations of the values that are most important to us. It is the best way to help ensure that Moishe House will continue to grow and thrive long after we are gone.” –Jill and Bob Smith, NYC
I am thrilled to see the strides Moishe House has made in the past year alone to spearhead innovative and impactful ways to give. My time leading the board has been an honor and a privilege, and I am pleased to introduce Ben Lusher as our new Board Chair.
Ben joined the Moishe House board three years ago. He has most recently co-led the effort to build the Moishe House International Fund, and he’s been an effective advocate for Moishe House’s work throughout in the Denver/Boulder community.
Ben is an experienced board chair recently completing a three-year term as the Board Chair of the Colorado Jewish Community Relations Council where he turned around a critical and visible community resource that was sorely in need of leadership at a critical time in national and international politics. He has also served on the board of JewishColorado and Rose Hospital in Denver. Professionally, Ben leads his family’s oil and gas business and previously spent four years as a senior policy advisor to the Governor of Colorado. He and his wife Nicole have three young daughters. Ben has a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Public Policy and an MBA, all from the University of Michigan.
With Ben’s leadership and the organization’s ever-evolving vision for long-term support, Moishe House’s success is ensured for the future of the greater Jewish community.
For more information on Legacy Giving, please visit: moishehouse.org/legacygiving/
