David Harris
Beth and Louis Guttman Honored for Philanthropy and Commitment to Community
This past June, community leaders from across the city came together to celebrate giving. The Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Council hosted its 21st annual Voices of Giving event on June 12th. The event recognizes and celebrates philanthropists who have made a bequest or planned gift which will help ensure the long-term welfare of many non-profits in our community.
As part of this year’s event, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati recognized Beth and Louis Guttman for their generous and loyal leadership and support. The Guttmans said they have a strong sense of responsibility to act and participate. They have both served as Campaign Leaders for the Jewish Federation annual campaign, and have either led or participated in many community-wide fundraising initiatives over the past 30 years. They’ve each led capital campaigns for Adath Israel Synagogue and Jewish Family Service of Cincinnati, and Beth has served as President for both the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati and The Jewish Foundation.
“Louis and Beth are among our most thoughtful and loyal leaders and supporters who truly set the standard for others to follow,” said Danielle Minson, Chief Development Officer and Managing Director. “They lead through their values and by example and feel a strong sense of responsibility to act and participate. They use their relationships to strengthen our community and we are so fortunate to have them as champions for the work we do.”
As a long-time trusted major gifts solicitor for the annual campaign of the Jewish Federation, Louis has shared his passion for planned giving, hoping others will follow. “No one enjoys discussing bequests and legacy giving,” Louis said. “But when we think about the organizations we truly believe make Cincinnati lives better, those are the programs and services we want to be available for generations to come. And we can help that happen.”
Recognizing how important permanent endowment funding will be to future operations of local non-profits within the Jewish community, Beth and Louis participated in a significant multi-year effort to provide support and training for endowment fundraising through the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.
Based on the values that drive their current philanthropy, the Guttmans created a unique formula for their own legacy giving. In hoping to continue making Cincinnati a great hometown, they have made commitments to leave significant bequests that will benefit the long-term sustainability of The Jewish Federation, Adath Israel Synagogue, Rockwern Academy, the Mayerson JCC, the YWCA of Cincinnati, United Way of Greater Cincinnati, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
In their forward thinking manner, the Guttmans have made a legacy provision through a beneficiary designation from their retirement assets to fund a permanent endowment fund held at the Jewish Federation. This permanent endowment will make gifts to the many organizations that they currently support. Because of this gift, Beth and Louis have been long-standing members of the Abraham Moss Legacy society at the Jewish Federation and have been strong advocates for legacy giving, by promoting their Create Your Jewish Legacy programs.
As a result of these current and future gifts, the Guttmans will ensure the vibrancy of the community for generations to come. Their generosity is visionary. It has already, and will continue, to inspire others to follow their example. The Jewish Federation and its partnering organizations are forever grateful that Beth and Louis Guttman have provided such invaluable resources and leadership in making the Greater Cincinnati community a wonderful place to lead a rich and rewarding life.
Thanks for caring about our community and what we do.
Stay connected: sign up for our newsletter here.
