Episode 66: Arlene Schiff

Join Lori and her guest, Arlene Schiff, as they talk about the Life and Legacy program and how to build a very progressive structural program in your community. Arlene is the Senior Advisor of the Life and Legacy Initiative at the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. She discusses her journey from looking for a job that positively impacts the community to eventually becoming Life and Legacy's Senior Advisor. Stay tuned!

Here are the things to expect in this episode:

• Arlene’s journey to becoming Life and Legacy’s Senior Advisor

• What is the Life and Legacy Program?

• The importance of training nonprofits in life and legacy

• Arlene’s advice for people who feel like they have a lot of different causes to support.

• And much more!

About Arlene Schiff:

Arlene Schiff is the Senior Advisor of the Life and Legacy Initiative at the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. 

Connect with Arlene!

LIFE AND LEGACY Program at Harold Grinspoon Foundation: www.jewishlifelegacy.org

Jewish Federation of the Berkshires: https://www.jewishberkshires.org/

Jewish Women’s Foundation of the Berkshires: https://www.jewishberkshires.org/jewish-womens-foundation

Email: arlene@hgf.org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arlene-d-schiff-2121b010/

Connect with Lori Kranczer!

Website: https://www.linkphilanthropic.com 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorikranczer/

Episode Transcript

You're listening to the positive impact philanthropy podcast where we share the journeys of everyday philanthropists as they incorporate philanthropy into their lives. Philanthropy is a personal journey through the stories we share here. We hope this sparks something in you and how you can make your own philanthropic impact in the world. I'm your host, Lori Kranczer attorney, philanthropic advisor and legacy giving strategist. Together we're going to explore what it looks like to be an everyday philanthropist and make a positive impact in the world. But before we get started, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a new episode posted on Wednesday. Now today, I'm really excited to welcome a guest because I've known her for quite a bit and we've worked together and I'm thrilled that she is a guest today. Arlene Schiff is the senior advisor of the Life and Legacy initiative at the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. Welcome, Arlene.

Hi Lori, nice to see you again.

Great to see you. So alright, Arlene, why don't you tell us and our listeners more about you.

So as you noted, I've been at Life and Legacy. For several years I just changed roles. From national director to senior advisor, running the program for about nine and a half years and now I'm looking to change my roles and to focus on the stuff I love the most, which is coaching and mentoring communities and organizations on how to integrate legacy giving into their philanthropic culture. But prior to this, I had a very circuitous route to get to this position. I actually have a master's in landscape architecture, and I originally envisioned being one of those people who designed the landscapes inside shopping malls. But that didn't happen. And I ended up being an urban planner in Boston for several years prior to my husband getting a job in Western Massachusetts, which took me away from the urban environment and we love living where we are living but it has required us to change roles. So when we first moved here, I was the Community Development Director for one of the cities in Western Massachusetts, working on economic development, low income housing, working with planning and zoning boards, Conservation Commission. I really love that job because I could drive around the city and see my impact. And that was the same with a job. In Boston. I could drive around the city and see certain buildings that I helped bring to fruition or projects. Unfortunately, a city counselor made an anti semitic remark about me while I was serving in this role of community development director, and then ended up on the radio and every day for six months in the newspaper and that took a physical toll on me and as a result I left that position it was just a toxic environment in which to work. And given that six months ordeal, I was in no place to really go out and get a new job and at the same time, my father in law found out he had cancer and he had a family clothing store that was about to turn 100 years old. So I said, I'll manage the store you go take care of your cancer and get better, which unfortunately, he didn't happen and we ultimately ended up buying the store. But I have to tell you it was just shortly into my ten year there. That I was like, I don't care what people wear. I really need a job that has an impact. So like, I need this. This doesn't speak to me and so when the store turned 102 years old, we sold it and then I moved on to something else. I had a short stint as the Administrative Manager for a social service organization. And then I became the Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of the Berkshire's. And that's really I think, where I found my stride in raising funds and programs to really impact what is a very small Jewish community where you wouldn't have Jewish life if it wasn't for the efforts of the Federation, and, you know, the five synagogues that exist in the county, and I was there for 12 years. At which point Harold Grinspoon offered me this wonderful opportunity to lead Life and Legacy and to really work to secure the Jewish future by encouraging donors to leave a legacy gift that is going to impact valued organizations that have impacted them and that they want to continue to impact on the lives of others. And so that's how I ended up where I am today, very Securitas, but you know what, I do think things happen for a reason. And while I had always been, you know, volunteering in the Jewish community and the general community I think when I got to the Federation that sort of is where I found my place

so thanks for sharing this because I knew some of the story and I didn't know I think I knew the beginning but not the whole middle. So this fills in a lot of those. I didn't even know there were gaps in the story, but I knew about the urban planning and you really hit on some of the patterns that I already noticed as you were talking about you're a builder and you like to sit you like to grow things and and which is what you've done with the Life and Legacy program as well. So, for those that don't know about the program, can you share a little bit more information about it?

Sure. Life and Legacy is a program that was started in by the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego, I think back in 2007 or so. And they had the idea of incentivizing Jewish organizations to go out and encourage their donors to leave a legacy gift. And they had a whole structured program in which to incentivize them with cash to do so. And Gale Littman of blessed memory whose vision this was met Harold Grinspoon and Harold after a while, bought into the idea and brought Gale to Western Massachusetts to run the program and I was able to participate in it through my work at the Jewish Federation. Eventually Harold said this is genius, and we need to take it national and so he encouraged Gail to leave the Jewish Community Foundation in San Diego and join HGF. So she launched the program in 2012, with seven communities about 70 organizations, and then she tragically passed away that December and Harold gave me the opportunity to carry on her vision and really bring her vision to reality. So we work we partner with either Jewish Federation or Jewish Community Foundation. We provide funding and consulting support over a four year period. Actually now we're expanding it to an eight year period, but initially a four year period to help them work with local organizations to integrate legacy giving into the philanthropic culture of both the community and the organization. And we provide training, there's 12 training over four years, we provide financial support to help the community pay for the program. Part of that financial support is to incentivize local organizations to reach certain goals by securing legacy commitments. They get cash that they can use today. So not only are they building the pipeline for their endowment, but they're getting cash today, which we know all organizations need and is usually the reason they don't focus on the future. Now we're helping them do both. So what started as seven communities and 70 organizations in 2012 is now 72 communities and 758 organizations throughout the US and Canada, with over 1.3 billion dollars in expected legacy gifts and 152 million that's already been placed in organizational endowment. So Harold's vision is to work with as many communities as possible. And our goal is to really make legacy giving normative behavior so that everybody who is an annual donor or committed to an organization through volunteering, or by being a member understands they have the opportunity to have a major impact by leaving a legacy.

Absolutely. Alright, so there's so much in there so I just made a couple of notes. So for those that aren't aware so I was part of that pilot program with Gale Littman so I knew Gale and so when I was in the nonprofit sector, that was one of my responsibilities as I created a program within Gale’s pilot program, and it was so successful that it then launched into Life Legacy and we had a couple of cohorts also in Life and Legacy. So it is it hits upon a couple of things that Elaine mentioned that nonprofits need and maybe why they're not doing this is the the funds to do it. And the overwhelming not knowing how to do it. And so the training is really important, because you can give them funds, and nonprofits, but still they don't know how to execute on a Planned Giving Program or for legacy giving. It's not going to happen and it's not going to be successful. So the program is great as it's structured, which really has helped a lot of nonprofits. And these are smaller nonprofits. They don't have the planned giving department where you can go down the hall and ask questions. So this type of support is really important to these organizations. And I want to go back to personal philanthropy for you Arlene because I know that you have a lot of issue areas that you are aligned with and I'd love for you to share some of those stories and what you support.

So the majority of my philanthropy does go to the Jewish community, because I've seen and especially in a small community how important it is. That you have that infrastructure, but I also support the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, mostly through friends who do their PMC challenge bike ride, but I do support cancer research. It's important to me and my family that we find a cure for all kinds of cancer. I am also interested in food insecurity. So I support a local organization that actually started by gleaning the fields of people who had apple trees and things in their yard, but now has grown into a much larger local institution that you know, collecting food from donors purchasing food, providing food to food pantries, while also continuing to glean from the yards of people who are willing to give that and I recently joined the board of the Jewish Federation of the Berkshire's, so I'm volunteering in that capacity. I'm co chair of the Jewish Women's Foundation grants committee in the Berkshires and I recently joined the board of community health Programs, which is looking to provide access to health care to all who need it here in Western Massachusetts as well. So you know, occasionally I will, like when the incident in Ukraine happened I you know, wanted to make sure that I supported that. I also support you know, a lot of disaster relief requests when those come through, because I can't imagine what it's like to you know, not have your home anymore, and those are the things that really touched me personally. Yeah, and

I love when I speak with individuals that are in the nonprofit sector as professionals, it's what they do for a living and they are philanthropic as well. It's not just business, right? It really is part of their values as well. And many of them share who inspired them when they were younger to go into this. I mean, a lot of people know my story. I practiced law for many years. I was doing volunteer work for domestic violence victims and lawyers for the arts. And I felt that connection that I want to do this professionally, so I know that you had that transition as well, because you did a bit of a career switch as well. What inspired it was there a certain spark?

I honestly don't know of any person who inspired me. It's possible my maternal grandmother volunteered a lot so it's possible some of it came from her. But I do remember being in like middle school and at the Jewish Community Center, they wanted they we're running a Big Brothers Big Sister program. And I remember being one of those mentors, and I also remember like everybody else stopped coming, but I kept going and all of a sudden I was in charge of 25 kids. But I remember it being so fulfilling that I you know, it really resonated with me. I remember doing walks for hunger in high school and other fundraising, things during high school, those kinds of walks and things like that. In college, I don't really have much of a memory but you know, once we moved to Western Mass and got settled, I was on the board of an affordable housing organization that's very near and dear to me as well. I'm I volunteered for my synagogue for my children's Jewish Day School. I served on a local senior organization board so I really felt compelled to give up my time, a lot more before I was able to give up my money and to make a difference in that way.

And what I find really interesting, Arlene, is that you support a lot of different causes. And I wonder if you have any advice or tips for people that also feel like there's a lot of different things that they want to do and where should they start?

Yeah, actually, it's interesting because there's another organization we fund community access to the arts. My husband and I fund that which is providing arts opportunities for individuals with disabilities. And then we today you know, we just got invited to another gala and I started thinking about, you know, I don't know that I want to keep going to all these things because I don't want to dilute my philanthropy. I really want to try to stay on track and keep what keep to the things that are most important to me. So I think it's really about thinking about your values, understanding you have a certain pot of money in which to give and thinking about how can you have the greatest impact? Do you have the greatest impact by giving a little bit to multiple Is that what you find most fulfilling? Or would you prefer to give a lot to a viewer because you know, that is going to have a greater impact. So I have to say I'm actually struggling with that right now because you know, I do have I’m blessed with the ability to give to multiple but do I really want to do that? Or do I would prefer to just stick to two or three or four, real the things that are most important to them,

right? And it really does come down to values, which are personal and for each individual, and some people could also, you know, not only give monetarily but also they can start to volunteer, right. So you do a lot of or you've done a lot of volunteer work for organizations. That's another way that also they could probably start to do some sort of philanthropic activities to see if they want to pursue that issue area.

Yeah, I think that's how I started right you know, when you're younger and you're raising your children you know, you're just watching your budget but what you can give is your time and as I said it started when I was in middle school and gave of my time to be a big brother, big sister and I so I think I've always tried to carve out time, even when my kids were little. I remember running to this meeting or running to that meeting and then wanting to explain to them why it's important to give of yourself to make the world a better place. Yeah,

and with that, that's a perfect segue. into my next question. So what do you consider your legacy to be?

I would like to be thought of as a kind and compassionate person who really tried her best to make the world a better place. And to have given of her resources, whether that's time or financial resources, to help have an impact and make a difference in the lives of others. So, you know, through my work, I've had that opportunity, through my volunteering I've had that opportunity and I really do hope that I am remembered for having really given my all to make the world a better place.

Well, I can certainly concur that you have because I know your work. And so for those that want to look into more about the Life and Legacy program or about you where can they find information?

So, www.jewishlifelegacy.org all one word is the website for Life and Legacy. So there's some information there. You could always email me at my office, arlene@hgf.org I'm on LinkedIn, I'm on Facebook. So there's a variety of places if you wanted to connect with me that you could find me.

Fantastic yes for those who are listening, want to know more about how to build out especially very progressive structural programs in their community. Arlene has a lot of experience in doing that right in her community and also nationally. So think about looking into Life and Legacy program if it fits within what you're doing or just take some inspiration. About what Arlene has done in her life, made a transition and has created a huge impact. So Arlene, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been a pleasure hearing your story. I learned a lot of things I didn't know before about you. So this is wonderful. And any last thoughts?

Lori, thank you for the opportunity. Thank you for all that you do to help integrate legacy giving into organizational life. It's really we know there's this transfer of wealth going on. We know that people want to have an impact. Yes, they're gonna leave things to their family, but they also want to leave the world a better place. And so I do hope that those who are listening to you if they have an opportunity to leave their own legacy do so either volunteering or with their financial resources. All of us pulling together and giving what we can, whether it's small or large, is really going to make a difference in the world.

Absolutely. Again, thank you for joining us and for those that want more information. We will post all the links in the show notes so you can find our Arlene and find information about Life and Legacy program. So until next time, we'll see you soon. Take care. Thank you for joining us. I hope we provided some insights and inspiration that you can use for your own philanthropic journey. You can tune in every week on Wednesdays when new episodes are dropped. We'd love to hear your feedback. So leave a comment and a rating about what you liked and what you'd like to hear more about. And if you liked the episode today, make sure to share it to raise awareness about the story to inspire other women to take action. I'm Lori Kranczer And until next time, you can make a positive impact through philanthropy every day. Thanks for listening.