After the religious service and the party are over and after the thank you notes have finally been written and mailed, a B’nai Tzedek Fund can keep the memories of your bar/bat mitzvah in your mind forever.

Starting a B’nai Tzedek Fund is easy.  You just take some of your gift money.  The Foundation for Planned Giving will match part of it with dollars from the Lewis D. Cole B’nai Tzedek Fund – and voila, you’ve done it.  The money in your B’nai Tzedek Fund is invested and then every year you get to decide which Jewish charities will get a portion of the allocatable dollars from your fund.

What a good feeling – you win and the community wins.  Not as great as your bar/bat mitzvah, but the benefits last a whole lot longer!

Through the Jewish Community of Louisville’s Foundation for Planned Giving, b’nai mitzvah candidates can join the B’nai Tzedek program and become participants. Each puts a minimum of $300 from the gifts he/she receives at the time of the simcha into a named B’nai Tzedek Account, which is partially matched with $200 from the Louis D. Cole Youth Initiative. These young philanthropists then make annual allocations from their funds.

Anyone can add to the principal of a B’nai Tzedek fund. You choose the fund(s) to which you want to donate. Click here to make a donation.

If you own a B'nai Tzedek fund and want to make a distribution recommendation for your available funds contact Alan Engel (502) 451-8840 or click here to fill out an online form.

For more information about establishing a B'nai Tzedek fund for a bar/bat mitzvah candidate, contact Foundation Director Alan Engel This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (502) 451-8840.

Many teens have pledged to set up funds when they became Bar/Bat Mitzvah