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Planned giving is more than leaving a gift for the future. It ensures that an individual’s values, stories, and relationships live on. It creates an impact that lasts forever. It leaves a legacy to be proud of.

There are many powerful examples of how planned giving can lead to much more than financial support. It is a pathway to community connection, leadership, and meaning. One such story is that of Naomi Levine, an Endowment Book of Life Signer in 2022.

“For most of my working life, I was involved in many organizations,” Naomi reflects. “But when I retired, and had a chance to really reflect, I thought it was time to give back. I feel very lucky that my family made it to Canada and had set us up in a terrific position. I wanted to do something to honour my maternal grandparents and my parents.”

With that at heart, Naomi established the Bookhalter-Levine Scholarship Fund at the JFM, which funds scholarships for students attending the University of Manitoba. For her, it was a way to uplift the next generation and pay tribute to her family and their contributions to the Jewish community, the city and the province they call home.

“My mother’s father owned a garment factory, and my father’s father owned a restaurant. Both were very involved in the community,” she explains. “Deciding to leave a legacy gift and sign the Endowment Book of Life was easy for me. It is important to me that their names are recognized as the community grows and evolves.”

Creating the endowments, setting up the scholarships, and participating in EBOL could have been the end of her involvement with the JFM, but they were the beginning. 

She explained that she had felt like an outsider in the Jewish community for many years. Opting for a life without children, instead choosing to pursue education and career, she sometimes felt disconnected from traditional community paths. 

“I would go to shul and feel alone,” she recalls. “At times, I felt alienated. There was no place to belong.”

That all changed when some community members encouraged her to get involved. With their support, Naomi began to see volunteering and leadership as avenues where she truly fit.

“I first became involved with Shaarey Zedek, and now I’m president of the Atlantic Jewish Council,” she says. “It feels comfortable to be at shul because it reminds me of my family. That led me to become more involved and eventually to join committees, including the Foundation’s Women’s Endowment Fund Grants Committee.”

Her planned gift, born from a desire to honour her parents and grandparents, became the springboard for something much larger: a deep connection to her community, a role in shaping its future, and a legacy of leadership.

If you have already made a planned gift to the JFM, but have not signed the Endowment Book of Life, consider sharing your family’s story and joining the hundreds who have already done so. 

At the JFM, we can help you achieve your philanthropic goals, which look different for everyone. We will work with you to ensure your gift leaves the impact you wish for and ensures your place in the story of our Jewish Community. 

We know that philanthropy looks different to everyone, and at the JFM, we embrace this. Naomi Levine found a way to engage with the JFM in a way that is meaningful to her, a way to give back to and connect with her community.