From Generation to Generation: One Family's Legacy

As they considered their legacy, Diane and Neil Exter had two priorities: to support CJP's work and to create a way for their children (and their children's children!) to stay connected to the Jewish community long into the future.

For the Exters, a CJP endowment fund was the answer. The Exter Family Endowment Fund was created in 2020 to perpetuate the family's annual support to CJP. Yearly distributions from the fund make a gift to CJP's Annual Campaign in the Exter family name. The fund ensures that the Exter family - Neil, Diane, their sons Michael and Jared, and Michael's wife, Leigh - will continue to support top priority areas for the community now and well into the future. "We wanted to give back to the Boston Jewish community, and we wanted our whole family to be part of it," Diane says.

As longtime donors and volunteers, the Exters say it was an easy decision to choose CJP as their philanthropic partner. Diane sat on the CJP Board of Directors for nine years; Jared is now participating in CJP's Dewey Stone Kadimah Leadership Program for young adults to build his own path with the organization and the Jewish community. "It's a very well-run organization that is always thinking about how to best use both donor dollars and skill sets to advance the mission of inspiring and mobilizing our community," says Diane. "CJP is constantly innovating ways to engage the 300,000 members of Greater Boston's Jewish community as well as the broader global Jewish community."

For Neil, endowing their gift to CJP ensures that the values he and Diane instilled in their children will continue l'dor v'dor - from generation to generation. "This endowment fund ultimately helped us cement our legacy," says Neil. "It's an amazing way to support an organization that mirrors our Jewish values, while continuing the tradition of giving and Jewish engagement in our family for generations to come."