When Mrs. Sally Appelbaum first met with Carrol Gottfried, her
Regional Director, and Steven Meyers, ACWIS Vice President of Planned
Giving, almost ten years ago to discuss a gift to Weizmann, she
considered supporting ongoing areas of research, particularly in
health-related fields. Sally, though interested in these projects, had
rather unconventional interests. She wanted to support research for
which scientists struggled to find funds—scientists whose ideas and
dreams hadn’t a prayer of receiving financial support because they
boldly explored the far frontiers of science and technology, without
the promise of immediate, marketable, or commercial application. She
wanted to honor the Weizmann tradition of unfettered scientific
inquiry.
And so the idea of the Discovery Endowment Fund was born. Discovery
Endowment Funds provide scientists with "dream gifts" to pursue their
curiosity-driven interests to the fullest. Sally has created the Kenneth
and Sally Leafman Appelbaum Discovery Endowment Fund. She is proud
that the Fund will honor her late husband, Kenneth, while supporting
such forward-looking, imaginative, and innovative research.
According to Sally, Ken Appelbaum was a doer. "I love to work. You can give the money away," he’d tell her.
Sally is also a doer! She is making generous annual gifts so that
deserving research projects can receive immediate funding. Some of these
annual gifts are coming from her donor-advised fund. And, she has
pledged to provide the resources to endow her fund in perpetuity through
her estate plans—in part with proceeds from her IRA.
Though Mrs. Appelbaum typically prefers to keep a low profile, she
has volunteered to "go on the road" to encourage others to create their
own Discovery Endowment Funds, because she knows that the Weizmann
Institute’s interdisciplinary approach is the ideal environment for
breakthroughs in basic research. She was pleased with the 16-page
brochure that has been created on Discovery Endowment Funds, because it
captured her intent and the spirit of the Weizmann Institute for a
potential donor.
Sally shares Chaim Weizmann’s dream that the Institute will produce a
pathway to peace through the sharing of research and collaboration
with scientists in the region and throughout the world.
According to Sally, "Born on the eve of World War II, my most
cherished hope and fondest dream has always been of world peace. Through
its world-class basic scientific research, reaching to man’s unknown
future horizons, Weizmann can and will have a singularly profound effect
on humanity. By providing ways to feed the hungry, improve health and
the quality of living, world conflict will be reduced, and peace in our
lifetime can remain our fervent prayer. To realize and fund its future
miracles, I call upon people of all faiths—worldwide—who may read,
see, or hear my words…The world needs Weizmann."