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More than 100 years ago, a handful of Jewish settlers in the Bay Area
gathered to establish their own organization to aid the sick and needy,
assist in the resettlement of Jewish immigrants and bury the departed.
In 1910, the Federation of Jewish Charities was formed to conduct a unified
fundraising effort and to distribute the proceeds among programs serving
the community.
The Federation helped Jews and non-Jews alike through
Jewish-sponsored service agencies providing shelter, clothing, food,
medicine, and job training.
The Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco,
the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties continues as the central fundraising
and planning organization, assisting diverse beneficiary agencies in
bringing social services, educational opportunities, and cultural and
recreational events to the Bay Area. To help ensure the continuity
and vitality of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish community, the Jewish
Community Endowment fund was established.
The Endowment Fund began as a small community fund to
receive the bequests of donors, many of whom were assisted by the Federation’s
beneficiary agencies. Today, the Endowment Fund has more than $2 billion
in total managed assets. These funds have become a critical source of
financial support for projects throughout the Bay Area Jewish and general
community. The Endowment Fund provides support for emergency needs and
seed-funds new projects posing creative, thoughtful solutions to communal
problems locally, nationally, in Israel and around the world.
Individual
donors and families can easily partner with JCEF through the many planned
giving options it offers. Together with JCEF, these philanthropically minded
individuals can join in the effort to address today’s most pressing
needs while preparing for tomorrow’s
challenges.
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