Donor Spotlight:

Philip Siegel

Synagogue life and the Jewish community have long been integral aspects of Philip Siegel’s world. “I was just raised that way,” Philip says. “Judaism is important to me and the Conservative movement is important to me.”

This being the case, it is not hard to see how Philip’s path led to his current role as Executive Vice President of Ahavath Achim (AA) Synagogue. “Really, all of my outside and extracurricular activities have been involved with the Jewish Community.”

Philip is now in his third year as an Officer of the AA Board of Directors. Along the way, he held positions as his BBYO Chapter President and as a Collegiate Intern with the Detroit Jewish Community Center. Philip has been an active financial supporter of Jewish organizations since entering the workforce in 1997. Prior to accepting a position on the Ahavath Achim Board, Philip held a number of important roles at AA including: serving on the Brotherhood leadership, as a Chair for The Eizenstat Family Memorial Lecture Series, and as a member of the Cantorial Search Committee.

Philip has also been a participant in AA’s Create a Jewish Legacy Program (CJL) since its early stages. Shortly after AA began participating in the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta initiative, Philip says, “I was asked to attend several of AA’s CJL planning meetings, after which I met individually with Gerry Benjamin — AA’s CJL Chair.” Philip describes the process as a straightforward one:  “A number of Legacy giving options were presented to me. In some instances significant Legacy giving can be easier than current giving, but it still can have a tremendous impact. I have since learned even more about several of the options and have retained someone to prepare an updated Will. While AA was already represented in an earlier version of my Will, I do intend to increase the size of my legacy gift now that I know more about CJL.”

Philip’s involvement in CJL, both in a planning capacity and through his own commitment, have only served to strengthen his belief in the import of working to build an ever-stronger Jewish community. Cleary, CJL is seen as an important component of this work. Philip notes, “The Synagogue is engaged in many wonderful efforts and I’m fully committed to these plans. I believe in our objectives and finances are certainly important. We need to make certain that our current successes continue.” He goes on to say: “CJL will have impact on our future success. AA has recently benefited from a handful of significant realized Legacy gifts, and as a Board Officer I’ve seen first-hand how they make a huge difference. They’ve turned into real money for the Synagogue.”

In addition to helping to sustain the budget over the long term, Legacy Giving to Ahavath Achim has another, deeper, impact as well.  Philip feels that most important of all, “Giving to CJL is still giving to our heirs — it is just in the form of giving THROUGH the Synagogue. Our children and grandchildren will benefit. And when the community comes together in this sort of effort it benefits us all.”

As you can see Philip’s positive impact on Ahavath Achim and the Jewish community started a number of years ago, and through Create a Jewish Legacy it is clear that this impact will continue to flourish for many years to come.

The Houston Jewish Community Foundation is a donor centered community foundation which seeks to perpetuate Jewish values and institutions through the acquisition, professional management, and distribution of charitable resources.