MORE THAN EVER

2022 at a Glance

$160 Million

to 2,500 organizations

In 2022, The Foundation and our donors broke the record for the most grants given in a single year. Our donors’ generosity displayed a steadfast commitment to repairing the world, now more than ever.

Letter to the Community

The Foundation and its donors awarded a record $160 million in 2022 – eclipsing our prior all-time high by more than $30 million. To put this record in context, charitable giving declined by an inflation-adjusted 10 percent nationally last year, making us exceptional.

This has been a consistent theme over the past few years. In times when others are pulling back, Foundation donors are stepping up their giving, ensuring that essential nonprofits are sufficiently funded so that critically needed programs and services reach beneficiaries.

Evan Schlessinger, Chair, and Rabbi Aaron Lerner, President & CEO

We are especially proud of leveraging our vital connections with thousands of nonprofits to help guide our donors in fulfilling their charitable passions. Additionally, our resources and grantmaking were applied most efficiently and effectively last year. We provided Foundation grants to address the physical and mental health needs of many nonprofit professionals. We ensured organizations survived the pandemic fallout and declines in charitable giving. And we fostered community, providing opportunities to gather and even celebrate amidst many ongoing challenges.

Of course, our core work continued as we seeded and supported programs that strengthen the Jewish and general communities of Los Angeles and beyond. And our account holder base grew, drawing primarily on Los Angeles’s flourishing and philanthropic Jewish population of more than 600,000. This reflects an increasing recognition that Donor Advised Funds are the smartest, most efficient vehicle for virtually all philanthropists.

This work is a team effort. As the Talmud says, Kol yisrael arevim zeh bazeh (Shevuot 39a). All of Israel are responsible for one another. We are all part of a single body. Simply by virtue of being a Jew, one is responsible for the well-being of our community. What happens to one of us affects us all. When we help others, we also care for ourselves.

We are enormously grateful to everyone who’s contributed to caring for our community by envisioning and creating a thriving and dynamic nonprofit ecosystem. We offer thanks to our management team and staff, The Foundation’s board of trustees, and the professional advisors who entrust their clients with us.

With our management team transition completed and more and more Angelenos opening funds with us every year, this is The Foundation’s moment. As we approach our 70th anniversary next year, we recognize that the broad, deep knowledge gained from seven decades of experience is now combined with more than a billion dollars in assets. This places The Foundation at the forefront of Jewish and Los Angeles philanthropy. It’s an immense responsibility and a wonderful opportunity.

More than ever, we are deeply grateful to you, our growing donor family, for making this a record-breaking year of grantmaking. Your unwavering generosity and concern for the betterment of others is inspiring.

With much gratitude,

Evan Schlessinger
Chair, Board of Trustees

Rabbi Aaron Lerner
President & Chief Executive Officer

“What I like about the endowment we set up is that it’s in perpetuity, and years from now, people will still be giving in my grandparents’ name.”

Elly Kramer

Our Foundation Grantmaking

Cutting Edge Grants 2.0

$2.5 Million

The Foundation awarded $2.5 million in grants to 10 local organizations to support innovative and creative programming that supports a vibrant and inclusive LA Jewish community. The programs reach a broad range of ages and address an array of issues, including antisemitism, Israel and Holocaust education, mental health, and Jewish teen engagement. The grants will reach diverse communities and vulnerable populations.

BAMIDBAR cultivates mental health and wellness in the Jewish community through a unique approach that integrates Jewish and experiential education, including the first-of-its-kind Jewish wilderness-based therapy program.

FOUNDATION FOR JEWISH CAMP helps more than 300 Jewish summer camps across North America thrive and grow by gathering data, building new programs, and providing operational support.

HILLEL AT UCLA

Our grant supports LA Campuses United Against Antisemitism, a multi-campus coalition directly engaging student leaders and thousands more in fighting antisemitism on college campuses through campus activities and an annual West Coast region summit focused on Israel advocacy.

HOLOCAUST MUSEUM
LOS ANGELES is the first survivor-founded and oldest Holocaust museum in the United States. Our grant funds the development of an augmented reality app featuring virtual gallery-like areas, interactive features, and a virtual docent to narrate the visit.

JEWS OF COLOR INITIATIVE advances racial equity in the U.S. Jewish community by centering the leadership of Jews of color and ensuring that Jewish communities and institutions reflect the racial diversity of the Jewish people.

OPENDOR MEDIA is a global digital media company that works to strengthen young people’s understanding of and connection to Israel, Judaism, and the Jewish people.

OUR BIG KITCHEN LA operates a community-run, industrial kosher kitchen that engages volunteers to prepare and distribute restaurant-quality meals to individuals and families (Jewish and non-Jewish) experiencing food insecurity in LA County.

SACRED SPACES builds healthy and accountable Jewish communities by partnering with Jewish institutions to prevent and respond to sexual abuse and other abuses of power.

TZEDEK AMERICA offers immersive social justice-focused experiences, service learning trips, summer programs, and mitzvah project for Jewish day school and religious school students.

VALLEY BETH SHALOM, a Conservative synagogue in the San Fernando Valley, launched Sayva: A New Approach to Positive Aging. In collaboration with TEMPLE RAMAT ZION and TEMPLE JUDEA, the program provides educational, recreational, community-building, and wellness programming to hundreds of Jewish older adults.

“Our legacy is our 11 nieces, their spouses, their children, and their giving. We hope they will follow our lead.”

Steve Hochstadt & Steve Sass

Israel Grants

$2.5 Million

In 2022, The Foundation awarded approximately $2.5 million in grants to 10 organizations in Israel focused on strengthening Jewish engagement and advancing economic development. Funding supports a range of populations and programs, including tech training for Druze women and ultra-Orthodox men, workforce programs for youth on the autism spectrum, transition support for young adults seeking to leave ultra-Orthodox communities, and engagement of Russian-speaking immigrants.

ITIM
To help all Israeli Jews, regardless of religious affiliation, participate in Jewish life by providing information, guidance, and support on government-administered religious matters, including birth, burial, marriage, and conversion.

Panim: The Israeli-Judaism Network
To build a new national alliance of Jewish organizations in Israel that will provide dynamic pluralistic programming while collaborating to strengthen the jewish engagement field in Israel for the long term.

Shishi Shabbat Yisraeli
To support the integration of Russian-speaking immigrants into Jewish and Israeli culture through Shabbat retreats, holiday celebrations, volunteer initiatives, and cultural activities.

Amutat Kaima
To provide hands-on agricultural training for at-risk youth and young adults so they can earn a salary while learning the fundamentals of organic farming, environmental stewardship, social entrepreneurship, and teamwork.

Erez College
To provide training to ensure low-income factory workers improve their vocational education so that they can retain jobs, strengthen their financial circumstances, and advance in their careers.

Hillel—The Right to Choose
To assist Yotzim – those who leave ultra-Orthodox communities – and bridge significant employment and education gaps, through increased counseling, scholarships, and employment support.

Jewish Brain in High-Tech
To help Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men enter the high-tech workforce by providing high-quality training in computer science, software development, mathematics, and English while enabling them to maintain their religious commitments.

Lotus: Women’s High-Tech Hub
To train young religious Druze women, including mothers, in an intensive high-tech program that includes computer programming boot camps and soft skills workshops while partnering with tech firms to ensure job opportunities in the Israeli workforce.

Roim Rachok (Looking Ahead)
To help youth with autism realize their full potential through training programs, coursework, and mentorship that prepares them to serve in the Israel Defense Forces and later integrate into the high-tech industry.

Therapeutic Riding and Canine Institute
To assist at-risk young adults in learning a trade, acquiring important life skills, and gaining employment through intensive training programs preparing them to become professional animal groomers, handlers, and instructors.

“The Foundation has events that expose me to some projects I might not have known about.”

Sheryl Neuman

General Community Grants

$1 Million

The Foundation awarded grants to five community nonprofits working to alleviate older adult poverty. The funding expands support for programs assisting low-income older adults through access to food, healthcare, housing, and supportive care to live independently and age with dignity.

Los Angeles LGBT Center serves thousands of LGBTQ+ older adults who, due to decades of stigma and marginalization, have high rates of financial instability, isolation, lack of familial support, depression, and poor health outcomes.

Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MOAF) serves Latinx families and seniors in Boyle Heights and Eastside Los Angeles through programs in early childhood education and family services, job training, and senior lifestyle development.

ONEgeneration provides equitable support and assistance to older adults in underserved communities in the San Fernando Valley, including its innovative intergenerational adult daycare that integrates childcare with its senior services.

Partners in Care Foundation supports senior health in Los Angeles by addressing the social determinants of health and equity disparities affecting diverse, underserved, and vulnerable populations.

St. Vincent Meals on Wheels delivers nearly 100,000 meals a month in Los Angeles to homebound, low-income older adults with mobility and health issues at risk of hunger.

Helping You Help Others

Our Center for Designed Philanthropy team oversees millions of grant dollars directed into the community annually. Their deep knowledge of the broad nonprofit landscape locally and in Israel allows them to help donors make informed decisions about where to give and have the most impact.

Our philanthropic experts spent hundreds of hours with Foundation donors in 2022, helping to develop meaningful giving strategies, assist multigenerational charitable families, and offer knowledge in areas of interest such as homelessness, social welfare, early childhood development, Israel, and engagement of all ages and stages in Jewish life.

Contact the Center today if you’d like to speak with someone about your philanthropy!

Naomi Strongin

Vice President,
Center of Designed Philanthropy

Warren Fong

Senior Program Officer

Sara Hahn

Senior Program Officer

Charlotte Friedman

Program Officer

Marissa Nachman

Program Officer

Meet Our Team

“One of the best ways to contribute in today’s tax environment is through appreciated stock."

David Nimmer

Financials

2022 at a Glance

Total Assets - $1.3 Billion

Donor Advised Funds - $622 Million
This popular charitable tool represents nearly 50% of all our assets and requires a $5,000 minimum gift to begin.

Family Support Organizations - $256 Million
A permanent legacy of multigenerational family philanthropy that requires a minimum of $2.5 million to start.

Legacy Endowment Funds - $256 Million
Provide ongoing support to donors’ favorite causes or The Foundation’s community grants and require a minimum of $25,000 to get started.

Nonprofit Endowments & Cash Reserves - $141 Million
Are established at The Foundation by Jewish nonprofit agencies.

$160 Million Total Grants

By sector, more than half of our Foundation and donor-directed grantmaking went to Jewish organizations in 2022, more than twice that of general community organizations. By field of interest, nearly half of all grantmaking was directed equally to health, science & environment and religious life. The second highest amounts went to education and human services, each receiving 19% of all giving.

By Field of Interest

By Sector

View more financial information

View complete list of endowments

Endowments

We gratefully acknowledge the 350+ families who had the foresight and commitment to help strengthen the future by creating endowments at The Foundation. We celebrate their legacy for this generation and the generations to come, and we thank them for enabling The Foundation to grow to $1.3 billion of charitable assets over 69 years.

To learn more about the power of endowments and how The Foundation ensures that its donors’ legacies are fulfilled, contact The Foundation’s Development Department at 323.761.8704 or development@jewishfoundationla.org.

Leadership

Officers

Evan Schlessinger

Chair

Robert Avery

Vice President, Finance

Steve Gamer

Vice President, Advancement

Deborah Johnston

Chief Financial Officer
SVP, Finance & Admin

Natella Royzman

Vice President, Charitable Gift Planning

Naomi Strongin

Vice President, Center for Designed Philanthropy

Rabbi Aaron Lerner

President & CEO

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Anthony Chanin

Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair

Selwyn Gerber

Secretary, Israel Grants Committee Chair

Marcia Weiner Mankoff

Vice President, General Community Grants
Committee Chair

Mark Schwartz - Cutting Edge Grants 2.0 Chair

Mark N. Schwartz

Vice President, Cutting Edge Grants
Committee Chair

Adlai W. Wertman

Vice President, Center for Designed Philanthropy
Committee Co-Chair

Dan Rothblatt

Executive Vice President

Abby L.T. Feinman

Vice President, Center for Designed Philanthropy Committee Co-Chair

Lewis Groner

Vice President, Marketing & Communications

Ellen Rosen

Vice President & General Counsel

Eugene Stein

Vice President

Marvin Schotland

President & CEO Emeritus

Board of Trustees

Martin S. Appel*

Lynn Bider

Anthony Chanin

Allan B. Cutrow*

William R. Feiler*

Abby L.T. Feinman

Lorin M. Fife*

Mindy Freedman

Selwyn Gerber

Daniella Naim Kahen

Stacy Reznikoff Kent

Jeffrey H. Kinrich
Audit Committee Chair

Mark Lainer*

Jeffrey Loeb

Matthew Louchheim
Next Stage Grants Committee Chair

Marcia Weiner Mankoff

Heidi Monkarsh

Ari Moss

Lawrence Rauch*

Nurit I. Robin

Marc Rohatiner

Scott Sandler

Evan Schlessinger

Mark N. Schwartz

Alexandra Shabtai

Annette Shapiro*

Debra Smalley

Michael G. Smooke

Andrea Sonnenberg

Eugene Stein

Adam J. Weiss

Cathy Siegel Weiss*
Investment Committee Co-Chair

Adlai W. Wertman

Jewish Federation

Albert Praw (2022)

Orna Wolens (2023)

Rabbi Noah Farkas

*Past chair

Advisory Board

Kenneth A. August

Leah Bishop

George T. Caplan

Jonathan Cookler

Sonia S. Cummings

Cliff Einstein
Marketing Committee Chair

Max Factor, III

Irwin S. Field

Alan J. Gindi

Bertrand I. Ginsberg

Herb Glaser

Jonathan M. Glaser

Glenn Golenberg

Daniel V. Goodstein

Dorothy S. Goren

Ronald M. Kabrins

Mitchell T. Kaplan

Mark S. Karlan

Martin L. Kozberg

Ronald L. Leibow

Jeffrey L. Levine

Jordan L. Lurie

Francis S. Maas

Harold J. Masor

Todd M. Morgan

James A. Nathan
Investment Committee Co-Chair

Scott H. Richland

Karen Sandler

Nathan Sandler

Richard A. Schulman

Richard S. Volpert

Peter Weil

Barbi Weinberg

Keenan L. Wolens

Marilyn Ziering

Raymond J. Zolekhian

THANK YOU!

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated donors, whose unwavering commitment to philanthropy drives our work. We could not make the significant impact we do in our community without your invaluable partnership. We thank you for your belief in the power of giving, which, now more than ever, is helping shape a brighter future.