20 | OCTOBER 24 • 2019 Jews in the D W hen Scott Kaufman became president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit 10 years ago, he faced a discouraging environment. The recession had been especially harsh to Michigan, resulting in many closed busi- ness, foreclosed homes and population loss as some residents, including mem- bers of the Jewish community, sought job opportunities in other regions. A colleague at another city’ s federation told Kaufman his assignment was “sun setting” Detroit’ s aging and shrinking Jewish community. While Kaufman viewed his initial role partly as keeping up community morale, he kept his eye on the future as well. “ An emergency fund was in place from donors. We were helping people to nav- igate the system and keep them in their homes,” Kaufman recalls. “I had two ideas at the beginning — how to stop the out-migration of young adults. I made the attraction and reten- tion of young people a top priority. We had to rebuild the future because in 2009 young people were saying, ‘ I know every- one. There is nothing for me to do here.’ ” NEXTGen, Federation’ s new program for young Jewish adults, began in 2012 and Kaufman compares its growth to Detroit’ s revitalization. “It was about engagement. We con- verted some participants to donors and leaders. They saw the need to donate and their first donation was to a Detroit proj- ect, which was unusual,” he says. Kaufman was also interested in building endowments. “We needed to help older funders think of their legacy, so we created the Centennial Fund. The fund has $240 million in assets, some of it in directed funds, from 120 donors. “The two ideas — NEXTGen and the Centennial Fund — kind of mesh,” he says. He quickly points out, “I didn’ t do them alone. This is a team sport.” He says he sees himself as a community builder who has helped develop more positive energy, providing the opportunity to raise more money. During his tenure, Federation’ s total endowments and other assets increased from $450 million to $700 million — the highest in its history. Per capita giving was within the top three of all Jewish communities and the overall donor base increased. Community building meant changing Federation’ s “command and control” management model to “convener and collaborator.” There are challenges with change, and it was important not to go too fast, he explains. COLLABORATION AND VISION He has also focused on getting Jewish social service agencies to work better together and to put “mission before brand. ” “We needed to be customer-centric ver- sus organization centric, ” Kaufman says. JHelp — the newly coordinated access point for all kinds of agency assistance to individuals — is an example. “There’ s no magic, but it made it easier. ” Perry Ohren, CEO of Jewish Family Service, says Kaufman “was very helpful and visionary in getting the various orga- nizations to see how they could do better, to look forward in a sustainable way. He is very passionate about human services in the Jewish community. ” Both professional colleagues and lay leaders compliment his ability to develop and lead a great team. “There are things that wouldn’ t have happened without him, ” says Federation President Beverly Liss, citing growth in NEXTGen and the Centennial Fund. “He has built a team of professional and lay leaders and looks at them as partners. That’ s how he motivated them. ” Kari Alterman, senior program officer for Jewish Life at the William Davidson Foundation, says Kaufman was “able to get everybody on the same bus and drive it. ” She met him while staffing a 1998 singles mission that included Kaufman. “Scott stood out as someone who has a Forward- Thinking Leader Outgoing Federation CEO Scott Kaufman leaves a stronger, more connected community. SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER Scott Kaufman in his office at Federation surrounded by things that inspire him. JOHN HARDWICK