Meet Jane Busch

Donor Advised Funds

I grew up in a home where Shabbat dinners were a weekly occurrence and I was fortunate to learn first-hand how we must, as Jews, ensure a strong Jewish world.

More than 45 years ago, my parents established a Philanthropic Fund at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland to support causes and organizations related to Judaism, Israel, and Cleveland. After their passing, I became responsible for recommending grants from the fund they created.

I spent a lot of time considering how to distribute the funds in a way that would represent their passions and preserve their memory.

One of my parents’ passions was music. My father was a boy when he began taking violin lessons at the Cleveland Music School Settlement. When my parents married, my mother learned to share my father’s love of classical music, and their season tickets to the Cleveland Orchestra were a staple of their social life.

The last concert my father was able to attend featured violinist Gil Shaham at the Cleveland Museum of Art in 2014, sponsored by the Federation’s Cleveland Israel Arts Connection.

After speaking with a Federation representative, I was moved to recommend a grant from the remaining funds in their Donor Advised Fund to create a permanent endowment.

I believe my parents would be proud to know that an Endowment Fund bearing their names will continue to provide support for performances such as Gil Shaham’s and so much more.

This endowment will ensure that their legacy will be forever entwined with the Jewish future.

How to Get Started: Donor Advised Funds

Donor Advised Funds (known as DAFs) are easy to establish and enable you, the donor advisor, to retain the privilege of making charitable grant recommendations.

1. A Donor Advised Fund may be funded with gifts of cash, securities, or other property.
2. The donor recommends grants from the fund to qualified public charities.
3. The Federation verifies the tax status of the grantee organization.
4. The Federation invests and administers the fund's assets, process recommendations, mails checks to the recipient organizations and reports to the donor advisor.
5. Online tools make accounts accessible at all times, providing record of current and past philanthropic giving.

Let's talk taxes. When you open a Donor Advised Fund, an immediate tax deduction is available for the amount of the initial gift that establishes the fund. Then, income is earned on all donations to the fund and all income generated by the fund is tax-free. Plus, the fund may be used to create endowments in perpetuity.

Meet Michael Cole

For more information, contact Michael Cole at 216-593-2795 or mcole@jcfcleve.org.