Your Daily Phil: Inside Schusterman’s decision to shutter ROI
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In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on the Harold Grinspoon Foundation’s JCamp 180 conference in Springfield, Mass., the Schusterman Family Philanthropies decision to end its ROI program after 20 years and the hiring of Sheila Katz as the new chief Jewish life officer at Jewish Federations of North America. We also cover a young rural Argentine activist’s journey to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. We feature an opinion piece by Rabbi Rebecca W. Sirbu about getting Jewish funders involved in Jewish learning about philanthropy, and one by Avital Karpman and Sharon Avni about the heightened role Hebrew-language classrooms have played on U.S. college campuses since Oct. 7, 2023. Also in this issue: Rabbi Donniel Hartman, Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and David Frazer.
What We’re Watching
The JCamp 180 conference continues today in Springfield, Mass. More on this below.
Israel’s Immigration and Absorption Ministry is hosting a conference tomorrow in Tel Aviv on the importance of aliyah for the development of the Israeli economy.
In New York, Hillel International CEO Adam Lehman will sit in conversation with 92NY’s Rabbi David Ingber to discuss Judaism and Jewish life on college campuses.
Vice President JD Vance is in Israel today, where he joins White House Senior Advisor Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who arrived earlier this week, for talks on the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH EJP’S NIRA DAYANIM
It’s the peak time to enjoy the fall foliage in Western Massachusetts, but for the roughly 400 Jewish camping professionals attending the Harold Grinspoon Foundation’s JCamp 180 conference in Springfield this week, all thoughts are on the summer.
The theme for this year’s gathering, which kicked off yesterday, is “Kadima,” the Hebrew word for “onward.” According to Sarah Eisinger, JCamp 180’s director, the phrase takes on multiple meanings this year, as the community marks the apparent end of the Israel-Hamas war and as the Jewish camping world shifts its focus to long-term organizational development goals following several years of crisis.
“This summer was just a really incredible summer of Jewish joy and safety and stability for the Americans and the Israelis alike. So we’re going to be celebrating that. We’re going to be acknowledging and celebrating the release of the living hostages. We’re going to be praying for and acknowledging the hostages whose remains we’re still waiting for,” Eisinger told eJewishPhilanthropy. “But then we’re going to turn and talk about the investments that we’re continuing to make in camp. We know one of the most important things we can be doing in our communities to invest in our camps, and we’re going to talk about that for the next couple days.”
As the Jewish camping world looks to the future, the conference’s session topics will focus on resilience — both regarding Israel and the growing climate-related challenges faced by summer camps. The latter issue is particularly relevant after 27 campers were killed in flash floods at Camp Mystic, a Christian camp in the Texas Hill Country, in July. The conference will also cover “innovation, people and the funding to cover that resilience and innovation,” Eisinger told eJP.
As Jewish camps face rising operating expenses, said Eisinger, the camping world is challenged to find new funding models. “It used to be that, you know, tuition would cover the costs of camp, but that’s not really happening anymore. What we are doing is seeing that camps must fundraise in order to meet those operating expenses,” she said.
END OF AN ERA
Schusterman Family Philanthropies shutters ROI program to focus on grants
For nearly 20 years, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies has invested in young Jewish “change-makers” — namely activists, social entrepreneurs and other early-career Jewish professionals — who gathered for yearly summits to swap ideas about the needs of the Jewish community. Through the conferences and the microgrants to fund the participants’ projects, the foundation hoped for a substantial “return on investment,” or ROI, giving the initiative its name. Today, the ROI program can boast of substantial dividends as those participants now serve as leaders in nearly every Jewish organization, big and small, and in other areas of business and public service. Despite its nearly two decades of successes, on Monday, Schusterman Family Philanthropies announced that its ROI program would shutter on July 1, 2026, after one final summit next spring, the foundation told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher.
Doubling down: The path to ROI’s closure began last March when the foundation began focusing its resources primarily toward grantmaking in the U.S. and Israel, first by cutting its “Reality” trips to Israel for emerging leaders and leadership fellowship and scaling back its ROI program, focusing the program’s resources on Israeli initiatives and combating antisemitism and anti-Zionism. “Twenty years is as good a time as any to celebrate what we’ve accomplished, the amazing community, the amazing people we’ve invested in, and they are all really ready to drive it themselves,” Lisa Eisen, co-president of Schusterman Family Philanthropies, told eJP. “Given the challenges our people are facing and Israel’s facing, given the opportunities in this moment, we want to invest in the organizations in the fields where we feel like we can add the most value through our dollars.”
ANDES TO AMERICA
A 21-year-old from rural Argentina travels 5,000 miles to learn — and teach — tolerance
Until this month, 21-year-old Agustina Cruz had never left Argentina. Before this year, she had never even been to Buenos Aires, which is more than 900 miles southeast of her hometown of Palpalá, a small city of 60,000 people located in Jujuy, a region known for soaring rock formations. That all changed earlier this year when the university student became the inaugural recipient of the White Rose Award, a prize administered by the U.S. Embassy in Argentina and the Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum. Cruz won the award for advocating for the Romani, a community so marginalized in Argentina that people accused her of “getting into the mouth of the devil” — a Spanish expression — simply for publicly supporting a Roma family in the face of taunting from her classmates. But her planned trip this month to Washington, where she was slated to visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and tour the city, almost fell apart due to ignorance and hate, reports Gabby Deutch for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.
Unexpected hurdle: One of Cruz’s university professors had initially told her that she would get an excused absence for missing class. But once that professor found out that Cruz would be on a trip to learn about the Holocaust, the professor said Cruz could not miss class, because the trip was sponsored by a Jewish organization. “She shouldn’t be discriminated against for doing the right thing herself,” said Marc Stanley, who served as U.S. ambassador to Argentina from 2022 until January of this year. He worked with the Holocaust Museum of Buenos Aires on the award, and accompanied Cruz to Washington earlier this month after she decided to make the trip and risk a failing grade in her course. “In my community, there’s lots of ignorance. They do not respect the Roma community,” Cruz told JI via a translator at the end of an eventful day at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, which included a two-hour private tour and a meeting with a Holocaust survivor.
Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITY
Have Jewish philanthropists joined ‘The Surge’ in studying Jewish wisdom?
“This past year, many philanthropists have tried to support and grow ‘The Surge’ in Jewish engagement in the post-Oct. 7 landscape,” writes Rabbi Rebecca W. Sirbu, executive vice president of the Jewish Funders Network, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “But has the surge in interest in Jewish learning impacted the philanthropic class? There is no data to tell us whether funders themselves have increased their own Jewish study or base of knowledge; but if funders are looking to increase Jewish participation and knowledge on the part of their grantees, it stands to reason that they would seek out those very things for themselves.”
A new resource: “To aid philanthropists in their study, the Jewish Funders Network is releasing Jewish Wisdom for Philanthropy, the latest entry in our Guides for Intelligent Giving Series, which will be accompanied by a webinar series, “A Jewish Toolkit for Philanthropy.” … The guide seeks to encourage Jewish philanthropists to have a serious relationship with Jewish texts — to gain an understanding of Jewish philanthropy’s context, and how these texts wrestle with conflicting values. The guide walks readers through core questions such as why you should give — for yourself, or for others? — how to address hard choices in giving — like which populations or causes should you support — and how should one give — anonymously, or not?”
MEETING THE MOMENT
A sanctuary on campus: Hebrew classrooms at American universities after Oct. 7, 2023
“When people talk about what’s happened on American campuses since the Oct. 7 attacks, Hebrew classrooms rarely come up. But they should,” write Avital Karpman, director of the Hebrew program at University of Maryland, and Sharon Avni, a professor of academic literacy and linguistics at Borough of Manhattan Community College, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Point of contact: “In interviews with 13 Hebrew instructors across private and state universities in red and blue states conducted during the fall of 2024, we heard stories of vulnerability, resilience and profound commitment. Amplifying these instructors’ stories carves out a space for thinking about the university Hebrew classroom as an important site of Jewish and Israel education on American college campuses. … Hebrew programs may be small, but they matter. They are often the first and sometimes only space where Jewish students engage deeply with Israel as a culture, language and living society. For this reason, university Hebrew instructors are both witnesses and participants in a historic moment of Israel education.”
Worthy Reads
What Could Go Right: In The Times of Israel, Rabbi Donniel Hartman imagines the Jewish People moving forward from the past wrenching two years. “In ancient Israel, as the First Temple era was collapsing, there arose a cadre of leaders, the prophets of doom, who validated our worst nightmares. But at the same time, these same prophets also served as voices of consolation, and most importantly, of hope and redemption. They provided a vision of our national life as it could be, as it might be one day, a vision that sustained and nurtured our people for more than 2,000 years. … While we are suspicious of self-anointed prophets, we need their spirit. We need leaders — political, cultural, intellectual and educational — who will begin to talk not about what is feasible, but about what is worthy of the Jewish people and Israeli society; not about what will go wrong, but about what can go right. President Trump modelled this type of leadership in his speech in the Knesset. It’s time for us to follow.” [TOI]
Portrait of a Jewish Leader: In Hadassah Magazine, Gary Rosenblatt profiles Rabbi Angela Buchdahl of Central Synagogue in Manhattan. “[Rabbi Buchdahl] describes herself as ‘an unlikely rabbi,’ given that she is the daughter of a Buddhist Korean mother and Jewish American father. Born in Seoul, she was raised from the age of 5 in her father’s hometown of Tacoma, Wash., where few Jews lived. … Fully accepted in her community’s small Reform congregation, she grew up unaware that her religious identity — as the child of a non-Jewish mother — was not recognized by a significant segment of the Jewish world. Even Reform Jews have taken ‘one look at my face and questioned how I could possibly be a real Jew,’ Buchdahl notes, adding that ‘the only response I’ve ever found is to continue to do what I do.” [HadassahMagazine]
Bonded by Legacy: In The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Lisa Schol reports that there is increased interest in legacy giving in response to the sense of uncertainty about the world future generations will inherit. “Yet experts stress that it’s crucial to remember that those who pledge planned gifts can change their minds later and to focus on making sure they feel valued and engaged as years go by. To hold on to these supporters, many nonprofits create legacy societies, which usually offer recognition and perks for members, such as access to special events and publications. The Chronicle asked Malloy-Curtis and three other experts for advice on how to build a legacy society that keeps these valuable donors close and attracts new pledges. Here are key recommendations, including a few common pitfalls to look out for when engaging members.” [ChronicleofPhilanthropy]
Word on the Street
Israeli officials identified the body of Sgt. Maj. Tal Haimi, who was killed during the Oct. 7 attacks while leading the first-response security team of his Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak and whose remains were repatriated from Gaza on Monday…
The New York Times interviews James Snyder, the director of New York’s Jewish Museum, ahead of its reopening on Friday after a two-year renovation process…
All but two of the nine universities that were presented by the Trump administration with a “compact” to be prioritized for federal grants in exchange for admissions, programming and staffing concessions declined to endorse the plan; the University of Texas and Vanderbilt University did not reject the proposal outright but appeared to approach it with some hesitation…
Tablet looks at the ongoing legal battle over a Baghdad property that had belonged to an Iraqi Jewish family forced to flee during the Farhud that has been used by France as its embassy for more than 50 years…
J. The Jewish News of California interviews local community leaders about the meaning of tzedakah…
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency spotlights a Hebrew school at the Greenpoint Shul aiming to serve North Brooklyn’s Jewish community…
The building of a former Jewish community center in Susquehanna Township, Pa., is under auction…
David Frazer, an active member of the Jewish community who held leadership roles at the Jewish Federation of Phoenix, the Flinn Foundation, the National Council of Christians and Jews, the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley and the Jewish National Fund and more over the course of his life, died at 96…
Progressive activist Rabbi Arthur Waskow, who created the “Freedom Seder” and was a pioneer in the Jewish Renewal movement, died at 92…
Major Gifts
Houston-based philanthropists Nancy and Rich Kinder announced their plans to donate 95% of their wealth — amounting to some $10 billion — to local charities…
Transitions
Rachel Siegel has been named director of the Centennial Campaign at the Jewish Agency for Israel…
Pic of the Day
Forty-eight Jewish, Muslim and Druze children who have lost at least one parent during active IDF service meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog yesterday at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. The visit was part of a bar and bat mitzvah program (and coming of age commemoration for the non-Jewish participants) organized by the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization.In addition to meeting the president, the children also visited their respective holy sites in Jerusalem, with the Jewish boys visiting the Western Wall and receiving tefillin and the Jewish girls receiving candlesticks, and attended a party at the city’s Museum of Tolerance.
Birthdays
Folk and folk-rock musician, he serves as the treasurer of The William Davidson Foundation, Rabbi Ethan Daniel Davidson turns 56…
Emmy Award-winning reality courtroom personality, “Judge Judy,” Judith Sheindlin turns 83… News anchor who worked for 36 years in Philadelphia, and author of three books on the Beatles, Larry Kane (born Lawrence Kanowitz) turns 83… Professor emeritus of Hebrew literature and philosophy at Harvard University, Shaye J. D. Cohen turns 77… Vice-chair of the Architectural and Design Review Commission of Beverly Hills, Terri Smooke… Prime minister of Israel, celebrating both his Hebrew and civil birthdays today, Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu turns 76… Novelist, screenwriter, journalist and film producer, Amy Laura Ephron turns 73… Cardiologist and medical director at the Center for Women’s Health at the NYU Langone Medical Center, Nieca Goldberg, MD turns 68… Legislative analyst at InstaTrac, a leading Massachusetts legislative tracking and information service, Brian Rosman… Managing principal and chief investment officer at Penso Advisors, Ari Bergmann Ph.D. turns 64… Chairman and CEO of Pfizer, he was born and raised in a Sephardic family in Thessaloniki, Greece, Albert Bourla turns 64… Austin, Texas-based commercial insurance consultant, Mitchell B. Davis… President and CEO of the North American Values Institute, formerly known as the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values, David L. Bernstein turns 59… Emmy Award-winning television producer, she is best known for her work on “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock,” Marci Klein turns 58… Executive vice president and editorial director at U.S. News & World Report, Dafna Linzer turns 55… Classical composer, conductor and pianist, she is a graduate of Julliard, Lera Auerbach turns 52… Associate professor at The George Washington University, Alison Barkoff… Mayor of Phoenix, Ariz., Kate Widland Gallego turns 44… Israeli musician, model and actress, Ninet Tayeb turns 42… Occupational therapist, Yael Hindy Applebaum… Vice president of external affairs at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, Joshua Sayles… Dori Tenenbaum… Consultant for nonprofits after stints at the Orthodox Union and then Aish Global, Dan Hazony… Manager of marketing and communications at the Union for Reform Judaism, Eliana Rudee… Actress, model and writer, Hari Nef turns 33… Internal medicine resident at Maimonides Hospital in NYC, Stuart “Shimmy” Jesin…
