Gail Littman likes to take a stack of 10 dimes with her when she goes to speak to groups. She breaks them into three sets of three to illustrate someone dividing an estate among their children. The leftover dime goes to the community.

“It’s actually a great exercise,” she said. “People look at it and say, ‘I can do that.'”

Getting them to do that is what Littman is all about. It was also the reason she was in town last week as part of a unique partnership between the local Jewish Federation, a national group of philanthropists and 17 area agencies and synagogues. Labeled “Create a Jewish Legacy,” the methodology was conceived in 2009 by Littman, vice-president of endowments and communications for the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego.

The Jewish Federation of St. Louis had set up its own Jewish Community Foundation as part of an effort to manage long-term giving and endowments in 2005.

Now in conjunction with a grant from the Areivim Legacy Community Project, St. Louis is one of five pilot areas across the country chosen to expand the Create a Jewish Legacy program and work to train synagogues and Jewish non-profit agencies on the best ways to raise the topic of bequests and endowments.

“We were chosen because of the fact that we were the first ones out there,” said Ruth Lederman, assistant executive vice-president/director of development with the Federation. “We already had the infrastructure in place and had already started it.”

The Federation’s efforts date back to before the economic crisis when many philanthropic organizations were facing the fact that as the Baby Boom generation begins to pass into history, a large-scale transfer of wealth would occur. Structures and training were increasingly necessary to smooth that process. It was something that was already occurring in non-Jewish arenas, Lederman said.

“We are trying to make sure that we have the people power that we need to really go out into the community and help community members be philanthropists and make an impact on the community which they love,” she said. “We want to help them understand that leaving a legacy is a very easy thing to do.”

The concept goes beyond training sessions that develop solicitation strategies, though that is a part of the effort. Incentive grants are also being offered to organizations that set and meet certain goals. Participating organizations are partnered with a JCF consultant and examine the best ways to recruit leadership, develop a work plan and implement marketing, advertising and communications strategies.

They also work to create a “case statement,” said Wendy Rosenblum, associate director of development with the Jewish Community Foundation of St. Louis.

“It’s an organization sitting down and saying ‘What makes us special?'” she said. “‘What makes us unique in this community? What’s the story that we want to tell about ourselves to a donor so they will connect with our message?'”

Rosenblum, who noted that there is still one spot left in the program for a local congregation to join, said participants have connected strongly with the message. A similar effort last year brought in more than $3.1 million in bequests and gifts from 18 donors benefitting at least eight organizations. So far this year, the initiative has raised about $2.6 million in deferred bequests and $350,000 in cash bequests from 20 different donors that will benefit nine local Jewish groups.

Lederman said there is another benefit to the Create a Jewish Legacy effort – unity.

“By partnering with our agencies and congregations, it gives us a much bigger sales force to make sure that the community sees us asking as a whole and that our intent is to strengthen our community as a whole,” she said. “They’ll see us doing that in a very collaborative manner and I think that’s a very powerful statement.”

Littman said she talks to many groups and finds that once they get past the initial intimidation they are eager to hear the message.

“They think they need to be experts in planned giving and know all the vehicles,” she said. “They don’t think that they have the resources or the time to do this. What we’ve designed is something they can wrap their arms around and commit to one or two Jewish conversations a month, whatever they can handle.”

Those kinds of conversations can be a challenge but they are necessary.

“There’s always been a need for a greater community response in terms of long-term thinking rather than just immediate need,” said David Rubin, a representative of Nusach Hari B’nai Zion who attended training sessions last week. “I think this entire program should lead us to a significant increase in depth on charitable giving.”

Gary Kodner, chair of the board of directors for Shaare Zedek Synagogue, another participant in the program, said he thought the idea would bear fruit. He called the training “outstanding” and said people often ignore the importance of thinking about bequests.

“I think there are some in our community who are just not familiar with it,” he said. “If they saw how simple it was and how meaningful it can be, they could leave a legacy and be able to sustain some of these institutions and programs long after their days.”

He said that, in his view, it’s not a deficiency that can wait.

“It’s urgent. I hope people will understand that we need to do this now,” he said. “This isn’t something we’ve got to push down the road or think about. We all need to do this. Had the people of the previous generation done this for us, we’d probably be in much better circumstances right now.”

Rabbi Avi Greene, head of school at Epstein Hebrew Academy, said the program is an opportunity to ensure a vibrant future for community institutions.

“It’s one of those things that really has the potential to establish St. Louis and give us a real future for our children. Without that, without having the funds, we’re going to end up being a community that can’t afford all the wonderful resources that currently exist,” he said.