Parting Thoughts

By Winnie Sandler Grinspoon
President, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation

This story appeared in the summer 2025 issue of PROOF, a PJ Library magazine.

An endowment fund can ensure lasting stability for future generations.
PHOTO BY LYNNE GRAVES

There is a Jewish summer camp in New York that has been creating unforgettable summer experiences for children since 1902. Generations of children and staff members have been forever changed by their happy days on the breathtaking grounds of that camp, celebrating Shabbat together and making great friends. Over more than a century, that camp has created many grateful alumni.

In recent years, the camp has been growing its endowment fund. They have been asking alumni to leave financial gifts to the camp for a restricted fund that would distribute a small percentage of its value each year. The distribution from that fund is helping to make ends meet. The endowment fund is an important step, as the cost of running camp is rising far beyond what an affordable tuition structure can cover. This camp, like other nonprofit Jewish camps, must rely on fundraising and other revenue streams beyond camper tuition to cover its expenses.

I was inspired to learn about this camp’s recent endowment fundraising success — it’s a testament to their vision and commitment to long-term sustainability. By taking bold steps now to build a strong endowment, they are ensuring that future generations will benefit from their foresight. Imagine what would be possible if more of our Jewish institutions adopt this approach today. Small gifts, thoughtfully gathered over time, can grow into powerful endowments that provide lasting stability, greater flexibility, and the ability to dream even bigger.

As a community, it is incumbent upon us to help support the programs and institutions that make Jewish life vibrant. Like the beloved secular institutions in our communities, Jewish organizations need to build endowments for the future. Bryan Clontz, founder and president of Charitable Solutions, advises nonprofits with this warning: “If a significant portion of your operating budget — at least 20% — isn’t coming from your endowment by 2035, your organization will be in fiscal crisis.”

At PJ Library, we think a lot about the future. We are committed to serving as a cherished Jewish engagement program for children and families for generations to come, and we know that many of PJ Library’s supporters want that too. That’s why in the next few years we will focus on raising an endowment fund for PJ Library, and we will counsel our local community partners to do the same for their local PJ Library programs.

Thankfully we are already seeing endowment efforts take shape. Just recently we were honored to meet with a funder who is leaving two endowment gifts to PJ Library: one during his lifetime to support PJ Library in his local community, and a bequest in his estate plan to support PJ Library’s national work into the future. This funder wants to ensure that the PJ Library books his granddaughter enjoyed will reach other children with timeless Jewish stories for years to come.

Whether our treasured community assets have been with us for 20 years or 120, it’s never too early — or too late — to start protecting their future. The thoughtful choices we make today can help ensure they will continue to inspire and support future generations.