IN
THE
JEWS D
ON THE COVER
fund could not impact gifts to
Federation’
s annual 2021 cam-
paign to ensure there would be
no funding shortfalls for agen-
cies’
ongoing needs.
Another leg on the stool is
allocations. “Our allocations
assist agencies and their mission
to take care of the most vulner-
able and to provide for welfare,
education or identity within our
community,
” Lester said.
The third leg of that stool is
something Lester calls “steward-
ship”: “helping members of the
Jewish community to enhance
their identity, enhance their
participation, come into the
tent, not feel as though the tent
was reserved for the big-bucks
donors only.
”
One of his main goals as
Federation president is to
enhance the “return on philan-
thropy.
”
“I want Federation and our
agencies to be the primary insti-
tution by which people can have
a positive impact on the Jewish
world,
” he said.
Another short-term prior-
ity for Lester is building the
bench of talent and leadership
at Federation. “We’
ve got a lot
of talent at Federation,
” he said.
“I want them to, in some ways,
create their replacements. Over
the next five-plus years, people
who hold important positions
are going to retire. I don’
t want
there to be a void.
”
FOUNDATION’S
‘ROLLERCOASTER’
The United Jewish Foundation
is the steward of the Detroit
Jewish community’
s money
and assets, totaling more than
$450 million, including real
estate assets and community
endowment funds. It is also the
steward of Federation’
s general
fund, the rainy-day fund for the
community.
The Foundation is respon-
sible for investing that money
safely and making sure the pro-
ceeds from those investments
are sent to the proper agencies.
“We’
ve been on an invest-
ment rollercoaster,
” Bernard
said. “In March, the market was
hitting new highs, then by April
and May, new lows. And now
it’
s climbing back up again. So
we’
ve had the challenge of mak-
ing sure we allocate our assets
appropriately in different kinds
of investment funds.
”
Bernard said he follows the
words of Winston Churchill,
who said, “Never waste a good
crisis.
”
“We’
re taking the COVID cri-
sis as an opportunity to relook
at all our investment strategies
and investment partners, to
ensure our endowment funds
are secure and going to the right
places, and they are,
” he said.
“Now we’
re working with all
the agencies and Federation to
make sure all our real estate is
still relevant, in good condition
and still serving its purpose. It
was a great opportunity for us
to do a gut check.
”
According to Bernard, the
community’
s real estate has
never been in better condition.
“We’
ve done a lot of capital
improvements,
” he said.
Bernard has also spent time
ensuring funds are secure.
Earlier this year, hackers stole
$7.5 million in funds from
Washington, D.C.
’
s Jewish
Federation. That incident
weighs on his mind as he thinks
about Foundation safeguards.
“There has been an increase
in cybertheft during COVID,
and we were constantly updat-
ing our cybersecurity, our insur-
ances, our protocols,
” Bernard
said. “We brought in an expert
and were fortunate to learn we
didn’
t require any changes.
”
SHARED PRIORITIES
Lester and Bernard speak daily
as co-chairs of the COVID task-
force. “It’
s second nature for us
to include each other on each
decision. We have come up with
combined strategic goals for our
presidencies,
” Bernard said.
Both the Federation and
the Foundation continue to
work with various agencies on
opportunities to collaborate or
consolidate. “Everything’
s on
the table,
” Bernard said.
“We’
ve made a list of linger-
ing issues in this community
that need to be solved,
” Bernard
added. “We’
re going to tackle
problems that need to be tack-
led. We hope by the end of our
combined presidency to check
off many issues that involve
hard decisions.
”
Another shared priority is
“widening the tent,
” Lester said,
“empowering our contemporar-
ies, as well as young people, to
support Federation with their
own type of energy and way of
expressing their Judaism.
“There are countless exam-
ples of people who influence
the direction of Federation and
our Jewish community in won-
derful, positive ways through
passion and volunteerism as
much as through dollars,
” Lester
added. “ I can tell you, unequiv-
ocally, that those people who
roll up their sleeves and come to
work with a love of the Jewish
people and a love of the Jewish
community and a passion for
our Federation will find them-
selves in positions of influence
and power and steering the ship
as much as anybody.
”
Lester summed it up like this:
“We want people to find joy in
being Jewish and, in turn, live
an enhanced Jewish life.
“The way to do that is
through meaningful participa-
tion in our agencies and those
organizations underneath the
Federation umbrella that do
incredible work on behalf of the
Jewish people and on behalf of
all mankind.
”
continued from page 15
16 | OCTOBER 22 • 2020