Steven Meyers asked me to share with you the reasons that led to my
participation in Weizmann’s charitable gift annuity program. I have, in
fact, known about and admired the Weizmann Institute’s notable work
for a number of years.
Norman Mann, a lifelong, now departed friend, was related to Meyer
Weisgal, a heroic champion of a Jewish homeland and an early leader of
the Institute. Weisgal, as told to me by my friend, devoted 25 years of
his life to fulfilling a solemn promise he made to Chaim Weizmann to
nurture the fledgling Institute and bring it "up into manhood."
My remarkable grandmother, Bubba Wolpa, did much the same with a
Jewish Burial Society she founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the early
1900s. It was she who first acquainted me with the word mitzvah, which she defined as a charitable gift that brings blessings both to the receiver and the donor.
I have long been aware of the remarkable men and women at the
Weizmann Institute and the many medical and scientific mitzvahs they
have brought to humanity. They serve Israel as well in bringing the
mitzvah of world-wide distinction, on the highest levels of scientific
endeavors, to our Jewish homeland.
All of us, I believe, have obligations beyond our narrow lives: a
need to give as well as to receive. My participation in the Weizmann
charitable gift annuity program has been a mitzvah in the fullest sense
of the word. It is, in fact, a kind of double mitzvah.
The two charitable gift annuities I have established have not only
rewarded me with the great satisfaction of abetting a noble cause and
notable scientific advances, but they have provided me with a
substantial fixed return for the rest of my life. Since both were
established when I was 88 years old, my return on them is a high 10.6%.
As if that weren’t enough, I got immediate income tax deductions for
more than half of the amount I donated, plus almost 80% of the amount I
now receive is completely tax-free.
The $200,000 I have contributed, along with a future bequest I have
planned, will create the Stanley Posthorn-Norman Mann Discovery
Endowment Fund supporting cutting-edge research in perpetuity. I’m
pleased that the friend who first interested me in the Institute will be
so favorably remembered. Of course, I enjoy the mitzvah of
participation and the frequent updates of wondrous new ventures, and I
know that my generous and charitable Bubba would be very proud.
My suggestion to you is to become involved. It’s a way of feeling
good about yourself, turning weak financial returns into strong ones,
perpetuating double mitzvah Weizmann miracles, and the very special
mitzvah of making your own Bubba proud.
Cordially,
Stanley Posthorn