jews d
in
the
Nancy Grosfeld is deeply
involved in Jewish community
leadership. An animal lover, she
is with one of their 14 pets.
continued from page 12
helped plan the second mission and
advised for the third trip.
“I was finding my way in the Jewish
community and was lucky enough to
be asked to go on it,”
he says. “It has been
a game changer for
our community.
It created a bench
of people who got
launched on a
Jewish journey.”
Lester has gone
on
to co-chair
Matthew Lester
Federation’s Israel
and Overseas
Campaign, co-chair its current cam-
paign and serve on its executive com-
mittee. He also is immediate past
president of Jewish Senior Life.
“The Grosfeld Mission takes a very
thoughtful, strategic approach. It
quickly became the program people
wanted to participate in,” he says.
More than 50 percent have taken lead-
ership roles in the Jewish community.
“I love it because these young peo-
ple connect to their Jewish roots and
develop a love for the state of Israel.
Jim likes that they develop a bond and
lifelong friendships,” Nancy says.
Federation CEO Scott Kaufman
says the Grosfeld Mission has been a
“wildly successful cultivator of leader-
ship in the community. It sort of lit the
light for people.”
Federation also organizes other
focused missions for specific groups,
such as the Becker-Marcus, Forman
and Blumenstein family-sponsored
missions.
The Grosfelds’ commitment to the
future is also the basis for support-
ing Federation’s Centennial Fund.
Kaufman describes it as a “concept
to secure the community’s future for
the next 100 years.” The goal is to pro-
vide stability and smooth the ups and
downs of annual campaigns through
planned giving that creates endow-
ments for future needs.
The Grosfelds were leaders in creat-
ing the Centennial Fund, Kaufman
says, and made a leadership gift. “They
are great philanthro-
pists beyond their
gifts, giving their
time generously,”
he adds. Nancy is
current chair of the
fund, with $196 mil-
lion raised toward a
Scott Kaufman
goal of $250 million.
“Bob Aronson
designed the pro-
gram with the Grosfelds,” he says. “We
are blessed to have them in our com-
munity. They are great citizens of the
region. They are sort of quiet leaders.
They walk the walk. They are commit-
ted. They learn. They care. They influ-
ence others.” •
GROSFELD MISSION ALUMNI LEAD THE JEWISH COMMUNITY:
• They hold 90 seats on community agency boards.
• Fifty serve on Federation committees.
• Fifteen have received Young Leadership Awards.
• Nine have served as Federation constituent agency presidents.
• Alumni comprise 10 percent of Federation’s Board of Governors.
Source: JFMD
14
August 10 • 2017
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