A Philanthropic Pillar
JEWISH CONTINUITY
`He Was A Giant
Harry Kirsbaum
Special to the Jewish News
T
he Detroit Jewish community is
mourning the passing of a truly
legendary figure.
In 1992, William Davidson received
the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit's highest communal honor, the
Fred M. Butzel Award for Distinguished
Service. He chaired Federation's Annual
Campaign in 1994 and became the
Campaign's first Challenge Fund donor
in 1996.
But his real imprint was made quietly.
Robert Aronson, Federation CEO and
Davidson's philanthropic adviser for eight
years, called him "a great mentor and
teacher, and a visionary philanthropist
who understood the value of not only
giving, but the importance of charitable
investment.
"He believed that the value of giving
was in what it accomplished, not what it
did for his ego," Aronson said. "He was
very fond of saying that nobody ever solic-
ited him for anything — they were ideas
he came up with."
The William Davidson Institute at the
University of Michigan's Ross School
of Business and the William Davidson
Graduate School of Education at the
Jewish Theological Seminary in New York
were initially ideas he brought to each
)
Federation remembers a legend.
school, Aronson said.
"Federation's Hermelin-Davidson
Center for Congregational Excellence was
a concept that he worked on and devel-
oped with [the late] David Hermelin and
others to try to accomplish what he felt
was important in training Jewish educa-
tion professionals.
"[His wife] Karen and he also worked
together on their philanthropy, and they
decided where they wanted to invest to get
the greatest impact on people," Aronson
said.
Meetings with Davidson were "brief,"
Aronson said.
"We used to talk for about three min-
utes;' he said. "That's all we needed. In
three minutes, he could get across any
idea. He always started every conversation
with a hello and a smile — and when the
conversation ended he would give a little
nod, and I would know we were done. I
loved it. I loved him, and working with
him.
"Bill was truly a remarkably humble,
dedicated committed man with just a
great heart and a great vision on how
things should be done philanthropically.
He was a giant.
"To quote President Lincoln's Secretary
of War Edwin Stanton, `Now he belongs to
the ages," Aronson said. "And that's how
I feel about Bill. His legacy will go on for-
ever; his family is committed to his chari-
'Courage And Conviction'
Robert Sklar
Editor
M
Michael Steinhardt
A26
March 19 2009
ichael Steinhardt got to know
fellow philanthropic giant
Bill Davidson 15-20 years
ago. They met, appropriately enough,
at a New York gathering of some of the
country's leading Jewish philanthropists.
"We sensed we had a common bond in
terms of the way we looked at things, at
least Jewishly. So we started to do some
things together philanthropically. He was
a pleasure to work with," Steinhardt told
the JN on Monday. The New York mega-
philanthropist is chairman of Jewish
Robert Aronson
Nancy Grosfeld
table legacy, and that will go on."
And how will Federation memorialize
him?
"Knowing Bill, he probably wouldn't
want to be memorialized," Aronson
said. "He would want to be remembered
through his actions:'
Davidson left an enduring legacy to the
Jewish community in Detroit and Israel
in a quietly effective way, said Nancy
Grosfeld, Federation president.
"Although Bill avoided the limelight,
his generosity and philanthropy touched
thousands of lives and was an inspira-
tion to all of us;' she said. "His love for the
Jewish people and the State of Israel was
reflected in so many of his philanthropic
endeavors."
"I lost a great friend;' said commu-
nity philanthropist Graham Orley of
Bloomfield Hills. "It was really heartbreak-
mg.
Graham Orley
They met in sixth grade during Sunday
school at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Detroit and became lifelong friends.
They played doubles tennis together for
close to 35 years, Orley said. "He hated to
run, and hated to lose more."
Davidson's philanthropy began through
his mother, Orley said. "And Karen was
the best thing that ever happened to him.
They became a great philanthropic team
together.
"Because of his desire to promote
Jewish education and to promote educa-
tion in general, the young people who are
attending these schools, whether here or
in Israel, can be thankful for him having
created the opportunity to expand their
horizons." II
Harry Kirsbaum is associate director of mar-
keting and communications with the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
Davidson stood out, Steinhardt says.
Renaissance Media, parent company of
the Detroit Jewish News.
Steinhardt said of all the people he
met who were serious Jewish philanthro-
pists, "Bill Davidson stood out as a great
man. That's a reflection, no doubt, on
him and, perhaps, a little bit on the rest
of the Jewish philanthropic world."
Davidson's wife, Karen, and son-in-
law, Jonathan Aaron, were often at Mr.
D's side during high-level philanthropic
discussions, Steinhardt recalled.
Steinhardt, who has endured the
politics of philanthropy as keenly as
anyone, said Davidson had "the courage
to support that which he believed in and,
equally important, had the conviction to
withdraw support from, or just did not
support, that which disappointed him or
which he did not especially care about."
When evaluating a potential new
recipient of his philanthropy, Davidson
considered productivity, efficiency and
the ability to improve the Jewish world.
"And he did it in a way that was objective
without political influence Steinhardt
said. "I found it refreshing and a great
contrast to how so much is done in the
Jewish world."
"I repeat:' Steinhardt said. "He was a
great man."