January 19, 2006

(South Peninsula, CA) – South Peninsula community and business leader John Freidenrich has received the United Jewish Communities’ 2005 Endowment Achievement Award. The award gives national recognition to the leadership, vision and dedication of local community members instrumental in the growth of their Endowment programs. Freidenrich has been a dedicated leader and ambassador for the Federation, its Endowment Fund and the Bay Area Jewish community for many years. A member of the Endowment Committee, John’s vision and commitment has benefited JCEF policies, fund-raising and allocations. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Campus for Jewish Life, the soon-to-be-built home of the Jewish Community Center, Jewish Home for Senior Adult Living and other Jewish agencies on the South Peninsula. Freidenrich has also graciously served as a Federation director of multiple Endowment supporting foundations and was a member of the Federation’s Board of Directors from 1991-1998.

Phyllis Cook, Jewish Community Endowment Fund executive director, comments, “John is a good listener and a sound thinker who contributes greatly to the decision making process. He steps up time and again as a leader and a giver in the Jewish community.”

Freidenrich was a founder and long-time partner of the Palo Alto law firm Ware & Freidenrich (now called DLA Piper Rudnick) which has been an integral leader in the development and growth of Silicon Valley and its wealth. He is also the founder and general partner of the venture capital firm Bay Partners which has invested in and nurtured over 200 companies since 1976. Freidenrich has played a key role in the development and success of a number of high-tech firms and currently sits on the boards and committees of several firms. Currently he sits on the advisory board of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and on the board of the Center for National Policy in Washington, DC. A graduate and major supporter of Stanford University, Freidenrich serves as the chairman of Stanford’s Board of Trustees, president of Stanford University Hospital and of Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. He has been on Stanford’s Jewish Studies Program advisory board and is a former chairman of National Association of Small Business Investment Companies.

The Jewish Community Federation is the central organization for fundraising, planning, outreach and leadership development for Jewish communities in San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties. In FY 2004-05, the Federation’s annual campaign allocated $16.9 million to some 60 of agencies providing social services, educational and cultural programs in the Bay Area, in the U.S., Israel and elsewhere in the world. In fiscal year 2005, the Federation’s Endowment Fund, with assets exceeding $1,056,000,000, provided more than $215 million for a variety of grants, seed projects and emergency needs. For information, call 415.777.0411 or visit www.sfjcf.org.