F E B R U A R Y _2 0 2 5

Standing Strong With Our Community

The start of 2025 launched us into collective action to support urgent wildfire relief. We quickly published a vetted list of organizations spearheading relief efforts that resulted in more than 200 grants from our clients and nearly 3,000 page views.

Together with our clients, we have provided $2.25 million in total support to date including support for 40+ Jewish organizations helping the entire LA community and synagogues whose members suffered losses.

Our Center for Designed Philanthropy experts continue to guide clients who seek customized wildfire giving opportunities. At the same time, we are working with other funders to envision longer-term recovery and rebuilding efforts. One such relationship resulted in The Foundation receiving a grant from the California Community Foundation (CCF). It is estimated that over 1,000 Jewish families lost their homes, and 50 Jewish-owned businesses were destroyed, and CCF stepped in to help our community.

The work is far from over, but we will face this ongoing challenge together.

Join Rabbi Aaron Lerner in April at Camp Ramah's Passover retreat in Ojai. He will be among the featured speakers and will address core principles of tzedakah as a key tenet of Judaism.

Learn more and sign up here!

Another Record-Breaking Year in 2024

We made record strides in 2024 thanks to the ongoing commitment and generosity of our clients. For the first time ever, we and our clients surpassed $200 million in grants to the community! Thank you!

Welcome New Chair and Trustees

Mark Schwartz, Chair

Welcome Mark Schwartz!

Our newly elected Board Chair Mark Schwartz has a long history as a Foundation trustee. He served on multiple committees overseeing our grantmaking and financial investments, among other areas.

A serial entrepreneur, Mark is a public and private company CEO, CFO, and board member, a Wexner Fellow, and is deeply committed to strengthening the Jewish community and the broader LA community.

We are happy to welcome Mindy Friedman and Elana Rodan Schuldt as trustees.

Mindy Friedman, Trustee

Elana Rodan Schuldt, Trustee

$2.25 Million in Fire Relief

To date, more than $2.25 million has been directed to fire relief from our clients' charitable funds and from Foundation institutional grants including:

Emergency funds to three synagogues that were directly impacted by the fires: Chabad of the Palisades, Kehillat Israel, and Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center.

“The outpouring of generosity, kindness, and support we are receiving from The Foundation has been amazing.

Thank you!”

- Adam Simon, executive director of Kehillat Israel in the Palisades

$350,000 to JFEDLA’s Wildfire Crisis Relief fund.

$400,000 to Jewish organizations providing direct service.

The Foundation provided grants to 16 local Jewish organizations providing immediate relief and recovery for victims of the Los Angeles fires.

$400,000+ in hardship relief.

Together with JFEDLA, The Foundation provided 26 synagogues with funding for congregants who lost homes and businesses.

Delve deeper into best practices for philanthropic support after a disaster with these helpful recommendations from Charlotte Friedman, senior program officer at our Center for Designed Philanthropy.

A Bris, a Wildfire, and 1,000 Meals

The Foundation's Vice President of Community Relations, Lew Groner, shared a moving personal account of how generosity, the strength of coming together, and a Foundation grant intersected during the wildfires resulting in 1,200 kosher meals for fire victims and first responders.

Read the story

Review Your Investments

Clients with $50,000+ in their fund have multiple investment options including JLens, a competitive investment vehicle that reflects Jewish values-inspired research.

Have questions? Reach out to our team

Transform Gains into Giving

Unlock the tax efficiencies of donating appreciated stock and cryptocurrency to make more impact.

Read this article from The Foundation's Vice President of Advancement, Steve Gamer.

An Employee Benefit that Pays Forward

Thanks to the meaningful employee benefit of a staff Donor Advised Fund, The Foundation's Janet Keller describes how she was able to give instantly when the wildfires devastated Los Angeles.

Learn more!

Legacy

Read personal stories of giving from Foundation clients and see how our grantmaking is having an impact.

Dive into Legacy

Tzedakah Breakfast Seminar

Rabbi Aaron spoke about the roots of tzedakah at a breakfast seminar hosted at the office of Foundation client Dr. Matt Lefferman, using our recently published guidebook on the subject, Tzedakah: Our Sacred Obligation.

A lively Q&A session ensued about what actually constitutes charity according to Jewish law, as well as the different levels of giving tzedakah.

One interesting note: Opening a Donor Advised Fund is considered fulfilling the mitzvah (commandment) of allocating charity!

Reviving Jewish Life in Hungary

We hosted Marcell Kenesei, director of JCC Budapest, at an exclusive conversation for clients in January. His captivating presentation included insights on Jewish renewal in Hungary and the JCC's role in fostering pride and welcoming "rediscovered" Jews to reconnect with their heritage after decades of suppression.

Tu B'Shvat Celebration at the Skirball

The Foundation is proud to have sponsored the recent Tu B'Shvat celebration, Roots and Renewal: Honoring the New Year of the Trees, at Skirball Cultural Center.

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