Lives in: Venice
Occupation: President and CEO of MJW Investments, a real estate investment firm.
Professional accomplishments: Under his leadership, MJW has acquired approximately $500 million of real estate holdings. MJW was recently voted the #1 fastest growing company in Los Angeles and the 17th largest developer by the Los Angeles Business Journal.
Community involvement: Mark is involved with more organizations than we can list here! To name just a few: He is the current endowment chair of the Jewish Federation's Real Estate Construction Division, is active with United Jewish Communities, the Young Presidents' Organization and the City of Los Angeles. A Wexner Fellow, Mark has served on a long list of boards of numerous non-profits.
Where did you learn about giving? "I got connected to the Jewish community when I was a teenager at summer camp. I first learned about giving from my cousin Zel Camiel who lived in Del Mar. He was very philanthropic and everyone loved him. He was the honorary mayor and a great influence on me."
When I joined The Foundation family: Opened a Donor Advised Fund in 2007.
Why I joined The Foundation family: "Through my philanthropic work, I have been referring people to The Foundation to set up their funds for years-even before I opened my fund! The Foundation does for me what I don't have the time to do myself-administer funds, and handle the details. They advise me and take out the guesswork. I know they have my best interest in mind and my charitable desires will be honored."
Focus of my philanthropy: Mark is the national co-chair of the Jewish Leadership Forum, a high-level retreat for creative philanthropy and is involved with the Jewish Venture Philanthropy Fund, an initiative of the Jewish Federation. Mark recently traveled to the Ukraine with the Joint Distribution Committee and looks forward to future involvement. "I am passionate about Israel, AIPAC, the Jewish community and serving low-income communities of Los Angeles."
My hopes for having a fund at The Foundation: "Leverage is a big thing for me. My goal is to gain information on important causes and to grow and leverage my fund with other individuals and organizations. The Jewish Overnight Camping Initiative which was supported by The Foundation and administered by the Jewish Federation is a great example. Summer camp is where I first got connected to the Jewish community and thanks to this Initiative, many kids will enjoy a Jewish camp experience this summer. There's no better leveraging than that!"
The Development Perspective
I've known Mark for almost 10 years and have seen him grow in both his leadership and philanthropy. As an enterprising real estate developer, Mark was a perfect candidate for a solution I'd dubbed "entrepreneurial philanthropy"-helping entrepreneurs use interests from their businesses to fund their charity. So when he asked me if there was any way for him to create philanthropic liquidity, I told him "absolutely yes." Mark established a Donor Advised Fund with the Jewish Community Foundation by contributing an LLC (Limited Liability Corporation) interest in his Santee Lofts Condominium project in downtown Los Angeles. His Donor Advised Fund created a pool of philanthropic dollars enabling him to support worthy causes close to his heart-namely, the Jewish Federation and Jewish summer camping initiatives. Mark knows what it means to help a Jewish child connect to his/her Jewish identity and feel a part of the greater Jewish community. After all, that's exactly what happened to Mark...and just look at the result.
- Baruch Littman, Vice President, Development