Securing Our Future

The D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation Centennial Fund
Honors the Spirit of Giving Back

D.

Dan Kahn z”l was a successful businessman
who deeply understood the importance of
community. Born in Youngstown, Ohio in 1922, he saw
his once-prosperous family struggle through the
depths of the Great Depression. Following WWII,
he settled in Detroit where he met his beloved wife
Betty z”l. Her close-knit haimish family took him in
and introduced him, for the first time, to Jewish life
and community. Dan and Betty shared 56 years
together, with Dan working to grow his company and
Betty raising their children. When Dan and Betty had
enough for themselves, they became philanthropists,
always guided by Dan’s passionate desire to give back
to those that had touched his life along the way.
Central to this was his commitment to the Detroit
Jewish community, as Dan never forgot the warmth
and meaning it had provided since his earliest days
with Betty and her family. Their other love was the
State of Israel and the role it played not only in world

Jewry, but in our local community’s activities, identity
and mission. Dan and Betty became generous community
benefactors, funding the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Building
at the JCC among many other philanthropic projects.

The D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation has created this
Centennial Fund to honor and sustain Dan and Betty’s
remarkable legacy of leadership and support for the
community. This gift will establish a Perpetual Annual
Campaign Endowment (PACE) Fund, which will provide
for the Annual Campaign in meeting the community’s
ongoing needs as they change and evolve, “Our father
believed in paying back the community that embraced
him and enriched his life,” notes daughter Andi Wolfe.
“He understood its importance and was deeply
committed to providing a meaningful Jewish place for
future generations.” Through the Centennial Fund, Dan
and Betty’s vision and generosity will continue to support
and strengthen our community long into the future.

jn

June 15 • 2017

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