Paying it Forward for Future Generations

On December 2, 1987, the names of 20 individuals were presented to the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton’s Board as the proposed Board of Trustees for the newly formed Jewish Foundation. Over 30 years later, the Jewish Foundation is stronger than ever, thanks to the efforts and hard work of our dedicated lay leaders. Led by Foundation Chair Joel Frydman and Investment Chair Bob Heuman, the Jewish Foundation has become a front runner among other Foundations its size.

Bob Heuman has been volunteering with the Jewish Foundation since 2000. His reason for volunteering is very personal. Bob’s parents escaped the Holocaust, and their experience instilled in him a deep commitment to the Jewish people and Jewish institutions.

Bob spent many years working in the financial industry at Morgan Stanley. It was the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton’s past CEO Peter Wells who approached Bob about getting involved. “Peter came to my house, and we talked,” says Bob. The rest, as they say, is history.

Through Bob’s wise investment guidance, our Foundation has flourished. One of the most rewarding moments for Bob occurred during the financial crisis of 2008. Many foundations throughout the country were failing. Their losses were severe; many were never able to fully rebound. Our Foundation weathered the storm, and was able to not only minimize any damage from the crisis but come out the other side stronger than ever. Bob stood firm, insisting through the crisis that we stick to the investment policy.

Bob would encourage those who are thinking of volunteering to get involved. “I have found it very rewarding,” says Bob.

Foundation Chair Joel Frydman has been a long-time volunteer in the Dayton Jewish community. As a high school student in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, Joel became involved in Young Judea. Since then, Joel has done everything from helping raise money through Federation to support Israel, to supporting the resettlement of Russian Jews, to serving on a variety of boards and committees in both the Jewish and secular community. Joel’s biggest commitment includes a 30-year stint on the Beth Abraham Synagogue Board.

…in some small way, my efforts help people less fortunate than me and support those institutions that make Dayton the great community that it is, makes this worthwhile.

~ Joel Frydman
Foundation Chair

…in some small way, my efforts help people less fortunate than me and support those institutions that make Dayton the great community that it is, makes this worthwhile.

~ Joel Frydman
Foundation Chair

…in some small way, my efforts help people less fortunate than me and support those institutions that make Dayton the great community that it is, makes this worthwhile.

~ Joel Frydman
Foundation Chair

Joel’s parents both came to America from Europe, and experienced anti-Semitism at its worst. “As a first generation American Jew, it has always been important to me to do whatever small things I could to insure that something like the Holocaust would never happen again to the Jewish people, or to any people for that matter,” Joel shares. “Volunteering for Jewish organizations seemed like the best way to meet that need and ‘pay it forward’ for future generations.”

About 12 years ago, Bernie Rabinowitz (who was Chair of the Jewish Foundation at that time), approached Joel and asked him to serve on the Investment Committee. As Joel says, “Everyone in this community knows it’s just about impossible to say no to Bernie.” In 2010, Joel became Chair of the Foundation Board.

The Jewish Foundation of Greater Dayton’s balance is currently around $38,500,000. Of that, approximately $17,300,000 are philanthropic funds and $21,200,000 are endowment funds. About 5% of endowments are distributed annually for specific activities and programs in the Jewish community.

“Shepherding that meaningful sum of money, provided by both our community’s most generous philanthropists and many others who find philanthropic fund giving to be a very satisfactory way to achieve their charitable gift giving needs, has been a very rewarding personal activity for me,” shares Joel.

“I think the Foundation is still unintentionally the best-kept secret in our community,” says Joel. “We have achieved remarkable results over the years, consistently ranking in the top 10% of similar sized foundations nationally. I give high praise to those Dayton area Jewish philanthropists who first conceived of the idea of starting a Foundation and followed through not only with their time, but with their treasure. This community owes them a large debt of gratitude. Many of our most important institutions would not be what they are today without the funds provided annually from the Foundation.”

One of Joel’s goals as Chair has been to make sure our community knows what an incredible Foundation we have, and to become knowledgeable about the gift giving vehicles we offer.

Joel would tell those who are considering volunteering to give it a try. “Personally, I have always received much more than I have given when it comes to my volunteer efforts,” explains Joel. “Just having the opportunity to work with so many incredible people in our community – volunteers, as well as paid staff, is fulfilling. But even more so, that in some small way, my efforts help people less fortunate than me and support those institutions that make Dayton the great community that it is, makes this worthwhile.”.

Endowments

By establishing an endowment fund, you can create a perpetual gift to fund the programs you love. Our Foundation uses only the interestgenerated from an endowment fund, so you can feel confident about leaving a permanent gift.

A restricted fund allows you to support a specific agency, program or event in perpetuity. Some examples include supporting Annual Campaign, a JFS program or event or a JCC program or event.