A “seven-figure investment” from the Loeb family will fund the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle’s flagship leadership institute, renamed the Francine R. Loeb Leadership Institute, for years to come, the federation told eJewishPhilanthropy. 

The Seattle Jewish federation’s CEO and president, Solly Kane, described the grant as a gift that meets the moment, allowing the community to look forward to its future at a time of increased antisemitism and a multifront war in Israel. “By building leaders, by bringing our community together, we get to create the kind of Jewish community that we aspire for,” Kane told eJP.

Launched as the Courageous Leadership Institute in 2022, the institute provides new and emerging community leaders with a full year of training. The program includes networking opportunities, professional coaching, education and vision building while cohort members are concurrently placed as ex officio board members at local Jewish institutions.

Through its cohorts, the Francine R. Loeb Leadership Institute also works to build strong bonds and lasting communication between future community leaders, said Kane. “When we have leaders and organizations across the community who are connected to each other, who have done deep learning together, who have built relationships…we’re all better off for it,” he said. 

Though new, the program has already seen successes. According to Kane, after the conclusion of the first cohort, 75% of participants were invited to stay on as permanent board members. 

The Loeb Family’s grant was made in honor of the legacy of Francine “Frankie” Loeb, the Seattle Federation’s first woman board chair in 1981. According to Steve Loeb, Frankie Loeb’s son and a director and treasurer of the Loeb Charitable Foundation, Frankie was a dedicated volunteer, even prior to her time at the federation. 

“Frankie’s impact is woven into the fabric of our community, from her leadership in resettling Jewish refugees through Operation Exodus to her vision in hosting the 1996 Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly in Seattle,” a press release detailed. 

The Loeb family, longtime supporters of the federation, was drawn to the former Courageous Leadership Institute because of its potential to develop long-lasting and critical infrastructure for Seattle’s Jewish community, a fairly young community relative to others across North America, Loeb told eJP. 

“My mother was a big-tent Jewish leader, and this gift should help the federation embody that big tent, the biggest tent we can be,” he said.

The Francine R. Loeb Courageous Leadership award, announced alongside the institute’s rededication, will annually honor a community member who exemplifies that legacy.