A Family Tradition of Giving

For the Millers, giving back has always been more than an obligation; it has been a way of life. Howard Miller still recalls directing traffic as a teenager at the Fifth Regiment Armory on G-Day, watching his father his father and mother, Martin and Hildreth Miller, and hundreds of women mobilize to raise money for the Combined Campaign. Linda Miller grew up watching her parents, Florence and Maurice Caplan, volunteer their time and treasure for Jewish causes. Those examples shaped how Linda and Howard chose to live, building a home where giving and welcoming were woven into the very fabric of family life.

Opening Hearts and Homes

When Soviet and other Jewish refugees arrived in Baltimore in the 1970s and 80s, the Miller home became a place of refuge and welcome. Linda, then active in HIAS, often brought families to the farm in Lutherville for their first meal in America. The family remembers teaching new arrivals the difference between nickels, dimes and quarters, sharing popsicles and watermelon in the summer and marveling at the resilience of families who came with so little yet embraced the chance to start anew. These memories instilled a powerful lesson: generosity is more than writing a check. True generosity is opening your heart and your home and building bonds that transcend language, culture and circumstance. As adults, Linda and Howard deepened their commitments. Linda became president of HIAS locally and served on the international board of HIAS and helped launch Project Fresh Start, a housing initiative for homeless families in Baltimore City Schools. Together, the Millers decided to endow their Annual Campaign gift through The Associated, ensuring that their support would continue to sustain the community for generations to come. “This was a chance for our gift to live on, to be there for future generations, and provide support when times are difficult or stressful,” Linda explained.

As philanthropists, both generations have established donor advised funds at The Associated to organize and direct their giving throughout the Baltimore Jewish community. More than just a tool for giving, a donor advised fund reflects their shared values, creates space for meaningful family conversations about philanthropy and ensures their generosity continues to touch lives in lasting ways.

While not Baltimoreans, Linda and Howard’s older daughter and son-in-law, Jane and Bruce Rollman, are leaders in their Pittsburgh community, serving in a variety of top leadership roles in the Pittsburgh Federation and their synagogue, endowing their generous gifs and also establishing donor advised funds at their Federation. For the Miller family, legacy is not just about what they leave behind; it is about the living example they set in every generation. From Martin to Howard and Linda, and now to Karen and Jane, the Miller/Singer/Rollman story reminds us that endowment giving is not about dollars alone. Legacy giving it is about faith in the future, about honoring the past and about finding joy in the act of sustaining Jewish life.