The Charlotte Jewish News - December 2009 - Page 13
Creating a Legacy for CJDS
By Rich Osborne
“Estate planning” sounds like
something of little concern to most
people. Gilligan’s wealthy friend,
Thurston Howell III, needs “estate
planning”; we just need “a will.”
That concept of “just needing a
will” is widespread but in many
cases erroneous.
Once our obligations to family
are fulfilled, we should stop and
consider whether we can and want
to provide for some of the causes
and institutions we cherish. Think
of the difference a gift of $1000 or
$5000 or $25,000 would make to
an important organization whose
work is constrained by its ability to
raise money. While we may not be
able to provide such gifts during
our lives, we may feel comfortable
and perhaps compelled to provide
something for such groups when
we pass away.
I personally have made provi
sions for Jewish organizations,
including Charlotte Jewish Day
School and organizations in the
general community. Why the Day
School? It occupies virtually new
space and has no apparent capital
needs. Nevertheless, the Day
School has one persistent, critical
capital need: resources for scholar
ships.
Rich Osborne
Education is expensive. Quality
education is very expensive. The
costs increase with each level. Pre
school costs less than elementary
school; elementary school costs
less than middle school, and mid
dle school costs less than high
school. The greater span and com
plexity of classroom and non
classroom curriculum drives this
cost structure. Tuition at Charlotte
Jewish Day School is about
$11,000- a lot of money: a good
deal less than the most expensive
secular private schools in
Charlotte, somewhat more than the
Catholic schools which can better
take advantage of economies of
scale.
About one third of the 120 stu-
I
CJDS students ran into mayoral candidate John Lassiter while they were selling
Auto Bell certificates as a school fund raiser at the Arboretum. The city council
man was happy to stop for a quick photo-op..
Festival
(Continued from page 11)
loon sculptures from Corky, The
Magic Clown. Teachers and par
ents were on hand to help run the
show. Special thanks go to JPS
mom Amy Augustine for chairing
the event as well as Lorin Steifel
who organized all the volunteers.
JPS also appreciates the generosi
ty of My Gym and Your Event
Source for helping to make the
day a big success. ^
Save The Date!
Come roll the dice on January 28 at JPS’s “Casino Night” and
annual silent auction in Lemer Hall. Bid on travel, jewelry, spa and
sports experiences, and more. Tickets are $25 for one or $45 per
couple; price includes raffles and funny money for gaming. To pur
chase tickets or donate items to be auctioned (accepted through
January 25), contact JPS at 704-364-8395.
Thanks once again to our 2009 Auction Sponsors: Laxer, Long
& Savage Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics; Ditesheim
Cosmetic Surgery; Diamonds Direct Southpark; Your Event
Source; Mecklenburg Foot & Ankle Associates & Diabetic Foot
Clinic, PC; OrthoCarolina; Diefendorf Capital Planning; Bernard
Investigations, LLC; Pathways for
Learning; Irv Schwebel with Prudential
Carolinas Realty; Web Full Circle, Inc.;
Southside Constructors, Inc.; Charlotte
Pediatric Clinic; Family Dollar; Steve
Lepow RE/MAX Executive Realty;
Donald S. Homer, MD.; Amity Obstetrics
& Gynecology; Charlotte Jewish Day
School; Greenspon & Associates.
*»'Jewish
Preschool
□n Sardis
dents at the Day School receive
scholarship assistance. No student
receives a full scholarship; every
one pays a portion of the cost.
Scholarship resources come from
the Day School’s annual fund
which raises over $180,000; from
the Federation, which allocates
about $150,000 for scholarships;
from periodic scholarship grants in
memory of Sam Lemer; and from
endowment. Endowment, howev
er, has provided only about $7000
annually. Indeed, the school has
only one named, endowed scholar
ship fund, that generously created
by Barbara and Jerry Levin.
Determining who needs schol
arships and how much they should
be granted is a difficult, complicat
ed task. The Day School confracts
with a Delaware company that spe
cializes in providing this kind of
service to private schools. This
ensures confidential, impartial,
objective and consistent freatment.
Until this year, the Day School
has been able to fiilly fiind all
scholarships recommended by this
service. This year, the weak econo
my dealt the process a double
whammy: more students needed
assistance, and donors were able to
provide less support. As a result,
for the first time the Day School
had qualified Jewish students who
could not attend the school
because of a lack of scholarship
funds.
This is an intolerable situation. I
have increased my own commit
ment to the annual fund at the Day
School. I also have made a provi
sion in my “estate plan.” This is
something that many of us can do.
I hope those who can, will. ^
Rich Osborne serves as co-
President of the Charlotte Jewish
Day School with Julia Greenfield
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