www.DJNFoundation.org
Keeping Jewish History Alive

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29200 Northwestern Hwy.
Suite 110
Southfield, MI 48034

248-354-6060

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jonathan Aaron
Kari Alterman
Pamela Applebaum
Mark Bernstein
Kevin Browett
Daniel Cherrin
Lena Epstein
Ben Falik
Jonathan Frank
Arthur Horwitz
Matthew Lester
Donald Lifton
Martin Maddin
Robin Schwartz
Sarai Brachman Shoup

HONORARY CHAIRS:
Eugene Applebaum
Mandell L. Berman
The Hon. Avern Cohn
Michael Steinhardt
A. Alfred Taubman

HONORARY BOARD:
Peter Alter
Robert Aronson
Harlene Appelman
Penny Blumenstein
Sol Drachler
Eugene Driker
Wayne Feinstein
Irwin Field
Dr. Conrad Giles
Dr. Lynda Giles
Nancy Grosfeld
Doreen Hermelin
Larry Jackier
Aaron Lansky
Florine Mark
Professor Deborah Dash
Moore
Robert Naftaly
David Page*
Norman Pappas
Dulcie Rosenfeld
Mark Schlussel
Alan E. Schwartz
Jane Sherman
Joel Tauber
Mary Lou Simons Zieve

To make a donation to the
DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
FOUNDATION
go to the website

www.djnfoundation.org

* Of Blessed Memory

REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY, 2014

Highlights

•

Obtained $2 million endowment gift from the
William Davidson Foundation. In recognition,
digital archive now known as the William
Davidson Digital Archive of Detroit Jewish History;

•

•

•

•

Welcomed more than 12,000 visitors accessing
over 30,000 pages of Detroit Jewish News content
following launch of archive Nov. 18, 2013;

Created future technology committee, comprising
some of the Detroit metropolitan area's brightest
young minds, to guide the Board of Directors in its
determination to expand the site's interactive and
personal digital assistant (PDA) capabilities;

•

Initiated campaign to preserve and digitize the
entire contents of the Detroit Jewish Chronicle
(1914-1951);

Secured long-time Walter P. Reuther Library/
Wayne State University archive director Michael
Smith as its staff archivist;

•

Received cumulative financial support from almost
1,000 people, foundations and organizations
spanning the Detroit Jewish community.

Researched, designed and presented 20
customized books (in print and digital formats)
about former and current Jewish Detroiters and
their families;

PRESIDENT'S LETTER

I t's been quite a year for the Detroit Jewish News Foundation!

Since launching the Detroit Jewish News digital archive on
Nov. 18, 2013, more than 12,000 visitors have accessed over
30,000 pages of content. From pre-teens researching family trees in
preparation for their bar/bat mitzvahs to historians seeking Jewish
angles to the upcoming 50th anniversary of the 1967 Detroit civil
disturbances, the archive's 270,000-plus pages tell the story of our
community and the thousands of individuals and families who continue
to shape it.
The digital archive's breadth, depth, speed and search capabilities
have been described as "amazing," "awesome," "staggering,"
"fantastic," "incredible," "astounding," "remarkable," "addictive" and
"incredibly cool." Throw in a few holy cows, OMGs, a "blew me away"
and an "I'm in heaven right now!!!!" and, well, you get the picture.
And thanks to a $2 million
gift by the William Davidson
Foundation, core expenses
associated with protecting,
maintaining and enhancing
the archive are covered. The
WILLIAM DAVIDSON Foundation
archive has been named The
William Davidson Digital
Archive of Jewish Detroit
History in appreciation for the gift.
So how do we make a good thing even better? Here's one way to do

it

We are currently securing the one-time funding needed to preserve
and digitize the estimated 90,000-page archive of the largely forgotten
Detroit Jewish Chronicle. Founded in 1914, the Detroit Jewish
Chronicle published weekly until it ceased operations in mid-1951. We
anticipate completing the Chronicle's digitization by mid-2015 and
fully integrating it into the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish
Detroit History shortly thereafter. Imagine more than 100 consecutive
years of easily searchable personal, family and community history at
your fingertips!
What else can you expect from us in 2015?

With guidance from its
technical advisory board,
figronitle. .Veorts to Merge
the Detroit Jewish News
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Foundation will identify
Unified
Jewish
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ways to improve the overall
user experience, including
expanding the sites' interactive
and personal digital assistant
(PDA) capabilities. It will also
look to leverage technology to
develop beneficial relationships
with other organizations
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— locally and globally —
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committed to educating and
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informing their constituencies
about Detroit's Jewish
community.
Critical to our long-term
impact and success is the
development of a strategic plan that guides our transition from
organizational infancy to adolescence. So much has been accomplished
since the Foundation board held its inaugural meeting in 2012!
The success of the Detroit Jewish News Foundation is attributable
to the generous support of hundreds of individuals, families and
foundations. There is a reason Detroit is one of America's great Jewish
communities ... it recognizes that we are standing on the shoulders of
the ones who came before us. We deeply appreciate your continuing
confidence, trust and investment.

CHRONICLE

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Sincerely,

Arthur Horwitz, President

JN

January 15 • 2015

15