The Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles (The Foundation) has announced receiving a $3.4 million bequest from the estate of philanthropists Raymond J. and Shirley R. Kornfeld, long-time supporters of The Foundation. The charitable gift by the Kornfelds, who both passed away during the past decade, creates the Raymond and Shirley Kornfeld Endowment Fund, which will support educational and medical causes.

During their lifetimes, the Kornfelds supported numerous philanthropic and educational institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania, Jewish Free Loan Association, a nonsectarian program that distributes interest-free loans, and the Henry George School of Social Science in New York City, which offers tuition-free classes in economics.

The Kornfeld bequest is the newest of many endowments already established at and administered by The Foundation, including several notable permanent legacies in the past decade. Last year, well-known comedy writer Mickey Ross bequeathed more than $11 million to create the Mickey and Irene Ross Endowment, which provides the neediest Southern California residents with assistance in the basics of life: food, shelter, medical care and education.

In 2004, The Foundation received the largest single permanent gift in its history – a $14 million bequest that served as the cornerstone of the Werner and Ellen Lange Endowment Fund, designed to support initiatives and seed new projects “that will have a profound and lasting impact on the Jewish community – locally and in Israel.”