MAJOR GIFTS

Eying his legacy, Charles Bronfman commits $25 million to Birthright Israel Foundation 

'I knew that we had to have a long-term solution, and I thought I'd lead it off. No one asked me, I just volunteered,' Bronfman told eJP

Charles Bronfman considers Birthright Israel, the organization that runs free Israel trips for young Jewish adults he co-founded, as his “life and love for the past 25 years,” the philanthropist told eJewishPhilanthropy on Tuesday.

So roughly a year ago, he approached the Birthright Israel Foundation with an offer to help secure the program’s long-term viability. This week, that proposal came to fruition as Bronfman committed to posthumously donate $25 million to the Birthright Israel Fund for the Jewish Future, a fund within the foundation’s endowment.

“I knew that we had to have a long-term solution, and I thought I’d lead it off. No one asked me, I just volunteered,” said Bronfman, who was named honorary chair of the fund.

He said that he discussed the idea with his longtime advisor, Jeff Solomon, whom he described as “my right and left hand — and an arm,” before deciding to go forward with it.

Concerns about Birthright Israel’s future were raised in 2022, when the family of another co-founder, Sheldon Adelson, significantly cut its support for the organization. The foundation’s then-CEO told eJP at the time that the reduction was planned and was part of the Adelsons’ vision of greater community buy-in to the program. And indeed the Birthright Israel Foundation says it has succeeded in finding new donors to support its programs.

Bronfman said he believes deeply in the Birthright Israel program, particularly as a remedy to the current rise in global antisemitism. He added that this was why the name — “Fund for the Jewish Future” — was chosen.

“With this whole antisemitism thing, we need Jews to become Jewish again, and it’s not easy,” Bronfman said. “Birthright is the best example of taking worldwide Jewry and making it Jewish again.”

He called on members of the foundation’s board to also contribute to the fund but has not yet reached out to other philanthropists to contribute. He said the decision to make a contribution to the endowment fund was to ensure the program’s sustainability. “When you’ve spent 25 years of your life deeply involved in something, you don’t want to go into the afterlife [in a situation] where it could go down the tubes. The answer is a long-term gift,” he said.

Elias Saratovsky, president and CEO of Birthright Israel Foundation, lauded Bronfman’s contribution and called on others to follow suit.

“Charles’ $25 million legacy gift will help ensure that countless Jewish young adults, including many second-generation participants, continue to benefit from this transformative Israel experience,” Saratovsky said in a statement, noting that $80 million from 100 donors has already been already committed to the foundation’s endowment fund.

Bronfman, in turn, hailed the fundraising efforts of Saratovsky, who stepped into the role in June 2023.

“With Elias Saratovsky coming in as CEO, the fundraising became much more aggressive and excellent,” Bronfman told eJP. (Board Chair Phil de Toledo told eJP in December that the group raised some $80 million last year and planned to double its fundraising over the next five years.)

Bronfman said his decision to make the $25 million commitment to the endowment came as he is thinking more about his legacy and his lasting impact on the Jewish people.

“I have to think about legacy. I’m 93-and-a-half years old,” he said. “If you don’t think about legacy at that age, you’re making a big mistake.”

Referring to the Jewish tradition of wishing people to live to the age of 120, Bronfman quipped that he was planning to “get to 119 and renegotiate.”