When philanthropists think about legacy giving, they often imagine foundations with broad missions that adapt over time. When planning his own legacy, Jack Greenberg, who left his entire over $15 million estate to the cause of Jewish day school education, chose a different path, one that prioritized precision over flexibility. He did this intending to address a challenge he saw in legacy giving: mission creep over time. 

As two of the trustees of the JZ Greenberg Foundation, named for Jack and his wife Zeana, both deceased, we have seen firsthand the power of his methodology. His approach offers valuable lessons for anyone looking to ensure their philanthropic purpose endures. We are writing to share his innovative strategy and the wisdom it holds for others, especially those committed to Jewish day school education.

Jack’s advocacy and vision

Before you can understand Jack’s strategy as a philanthropist, you must understand that he was a passionate advocate for the Jewish people and the State of Israel, and he was someone who lived his principles. 

Well into his 90s, he was still fighting for the community. For instance, when a play being performed in downtown Seattle was misrepresenting Israel, he stood in the rain outside the theater, holding a handmade sign and rallying others to join him; and when a local co-op debated BDS, Jack met with community leaders and led letter-writing campaigns. These were not isolated events but emblematic of his dedication to the Jewish People and the state of Israel and his belief in the responsibility of Jews to stand together. 

This passion drove his planning for the JZ Greenberg Foundation — he did his best to ensure that his philanthropic legacy would help train future generations to follow in his footsteps.

A clear vision for supporting Jewish day schools

Jack saw Jewish day schools as the cornerstone of the Jewish future in the Diaspora. He believed day schools uniquely nurture Jewish fluency, Jewish identity and a passion for the state of Israel and the Jewish People. He also championed equal access to Jewish education for both boys and girls, believing that a rigorous dual curriculum in a coeducational setting was the best structure for Jewish day schools.

To realize this vision, he narrowed his foundation’s focus solely to two traditional Seattle-area Jewish day schools that he personally selected as aligned with his vision and priorities. While prescriptive in choosing schools, he trusted them with broad discretion to apply foundation distributions to the specific priorities determined by each school.

Affordability as the anchor

Jack’s generous commitments were driven by his conviction that the high cost of Jewish day school tuition was an insurmountable barrier for many families. He wanted his legacy to ease this burden, ensuring more children could benefit from a Jewish day school education.

However, his foundation’s giving wasn’t limited to affordability initiatives. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, one grantee school used Jack’s legacy to offer a blanket $5,000 tuition reduction for all families, while the other used the funds for emergency-related costs. In both cases, enrollment stabilized during this crisis.

This accelerated impact was possible because of the foundation’s emphasis on efficiency. Our role as trustees was simply to ensure the schools had the funds they needed rather than ask for proposals and try to determine “what Jack would have wanted.” 

Beating mission creep

Jack’s approach to maintaining mission integrity included five key elements:

1. Precision with flexibility: Greenberg identified two institutions where he believed his resources would have the most impact, and he trusted these institutions to use distributions with wide discretion, ensuring they could address their most pressing needs without unnecessary restrictions.

2. Minimized trustee interpretation: Jack limited trustees’ interpretive responsibilities, keeping his legacy focused on his priorities. He also emphasized minimizing administrative costs, so funds went toward impact, not overhead. Trustees meet twice a year — once to review financial performance and once to approve distributions, ensuring continuity, simplicity and efficiency.

3. Strategic leadership: Each grantee school’s president serves on the foundation board as an ex-officio trustee. This ensures that valuable subject matter expertise is represented on the board without involving a direct stakeholder like the head of school. With most presidents serving for only a few years, this structure introduces term limits, fostering fresh perspectives while ensuring impartial governance.

4. A small trustee group: Significant changes, such as mission shifts or school closures, are inevitable. Anticipating these challenges, Jack entrusted decision-making to a small group of trustees. This tight-knit group ensured his vision would be upheld, without trying to do the impossible: manage change from the grave.

5. Long-term portfolio stability: Trustees must maintain the foundation’s financial health even when it is not specified in the charter. By optimizing for minimum taxes and smart investments, trustees ensure the foundation’s resources — and mission — will last.

A decade ahead of his time

Over two decades ago, Jack recognized the critical role of a Jewish education in sustaining future generations. He understood that addressing challenges like antisemitism, assimilation and the demonization of Israel required deep knowledge of Jewish traditions, texts and practices.

Jack was a child of the Great Depression and didn’t have the benefit of Jewish education himself as a young person. He acted decisively during his life to ensure more children could access Jewish education by easing the financial burden on families. By making education more affordable, he created opportunities to build fluency and instill passion for Israel and the Jewish people in a new generation. His commitment to traditional, coeducational day school programs reflects his belief that investing in day school education is the key to the sustained and long-term flourishing of Jewish life in America.

The impact of precision and purpose

While Jack’s method of structuring his foundation is not the only effective way, it stands out for its clarity and efficiency, offering valuable lessons for philanthropists who support Jewish education.

In the six years since Jack’s passing, during which schools and the Jewish community have faced unprecedented crises, his model has proven both resilient and impactful, and his Foundation has granted a total of over $4.5million to the two beneficiary schools.

We share this story not to prescribe a single path but to highlight one approach among many that has successfully withstood the test of a very challenging time. For those seeking to make their mark, Jack Greenberg’s vision offers enduring inspiration and practical insights.

Louis Treiger is a Seattle-based attorney, Samis Foundation trustee and president of the JZ Greenberg Foundation.

Melissa Rivkin is the director of day school strategy at the Samis Foundation and a trustee for the JZ Greenberg Foundation.