The Jewish Federation of Los Angeles received its largest-ever single donation on Wednesday, a $20 million endowment gift from the estate of Geri Brawerman that will expand the organization’s Geri & Richard Brawerman Leadership Institute. The gift breaks a record that was previously set by the Brawermans in 2012.

The institute provides a $40,000 academic scholarship (distributed over four years) through a fellowship program to qualifying high school seniors who demonstrate “academic excellence, leadership potential, and financial need,“ according to the federation.

“We are incredibly grateful for the longstanding support and partnership Geri and Richard Brawerman provided. They exemplified what it means to give back and put the values of community and leadership into action,” Rabbi Noah Farkas, the federation’s president and CEO, and Orna Wolens, its board chair, said in a joint statement. “Especially at a time when our college students need additional support on campus, this generous gift will help us pave the way to help mentor many of our future community and industry leaders — for generations to come.”

Farkas and Wolens noted that the gift comes as Jewish students have struggled on college campuses amid a spike in antisemitism following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks and the still ongoing Israel-Hamas War. On Tuesday, UCLA reached a $6.5 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by Jewish students who alleged discrimination and harassment during last year’s pro-Palestinian protests.

The fellowship provides selected students with mentorship opportunities, annual retreats and a Birthright trip. The $20 million gift will expand the fellowship, though an advisory committee is still assessing the exact direction, the statement said. 

“JFEDLA is in the process of convening an advisory committee and engaging expert consultants to explore how best to grow and sustain the Brawerman Fellowship. This includes possibly expanding access to more students, increasing scholarship amounts, increasing programmatic offerings and deepening long-term engagement with Brawerman alumni,” the federation said. 

Geri Brawerman, who died in December, was a major donor to causes throughout the Los Angeles area, alongside her husband, Richard, who died in 2009, establishing the Geri & Richard Brawerman Elementary Schools, and the Geri & Richard Brawerman Nursing Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. 

In 2012, a multi-million donation from Brawerman in memory of her late husband created The Geri & Richard Brawerman Leadership Institute at the L.A. federation. In 2012, Brawerman’s gift was the largest in the federation’s history. The $20 million endowment gift announced on Wednesday has again broken a federation record.  

“If Richard were here, he would be thrilled to know that his legacy now includes a program that builds leadership and ensures the Jewish future by both supporting the educational goals of Jewish high school students and giving them the experiences and skills they’ll draw upon as future stewards of Jewish Los Angeles,” Brawerman said in a statement in 2012.