Largest Jewish donor advised fund in country joins UJA-Federation of NY to keep centers of Jewish life safe

Jewish Communal Fund, one of the largest donor advised funds in the country, announced today that its endowment, the Special Gifts Fund, has made an emergency grant of $141,500 to UJA-Federation of New York to help secure more than 150 local synagogues, day schools, JCCs and other centers of Jewish life in the wake of the tragedy in Pittsburgh.

The funding will enable these Jewish organizations to conduct the security assessments that are necessary to apply for Department of Homeland Security grants. This grant will potentially leverage hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal security grants, and represents a fruitful collaboration between UJA-Federation of New York, Jewish Communal Fund, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY), in a program seed funded by the Paul E. Singer Foundation, which has already earmarked $1 million to enhance security at Jewish institutions in New York.

“Jewish Communal Fund is proud to join forces with our partners at UJA-Federation and follow the lead of the Paul E. Singer Foundation to ensure that our community is safe and secure,” says Zoya Raynes, President of Jewish Communal Fund and a board member of JCRC-NY.  “These security assessments are critical to helping our synagogues, day schools and other communal institutions access government dollars to address the very real security challenges we face.”

A leader in the world of Jewish philanthropy, JCF continues to be the largest and most active Jewish donor advised fund in the country with over $1.8 billion in charitable assets under management. In FY 2018, JCF distributed a record $435 million in grants to charities in all sectors—representing 26 percent of assets, well above the industry average.

A donor advised fund at JCF enables Fundholders to organize their charitable giving with ease and tax-efficiency. JCF’s educational events and webinars help Fundholders increase their philanthropic impact. In addition, JCF’s robust investment platform enables Fundholders to grow their charitable dollars tax-free, and thereby give more money to their favorite charitable causes.