24 | JUNE 24 • 2021

OUR COMMUNITY

T

he Jewish Federation
reported results from
its 2021 Annual
Campaign, completed May
31. The Annual Campaign
is Federation’s central
fundraising vehicle, and it
provides for the majority of
resources Federation dis-
tributes to its partner agen-
cies across the local and
international Jewish
community.
The 2021 Annual
Campaign raised a
total of $34.2 million,
meeting the goal estab-
lished at its outset. The
Andi and Larry Wolfe
Challenge Fund raised
an additional $3.8 mil-
lion, for both general
and dedicated funding to
the community.
There were 10,450 indi-
vidual donors to the 2021
Annual Campaign, exceed-
ing Federation’s goal of
10,000 donors. About $6.5
million was raised from
community-level donations,
including many at $18 and
$36, demonstrating the
impact of donations of all
amounts.
Thanks to the success of
the campaign, Federation
was able to provide
$38,236,000 to its local and
overseas partner agencies.
The 2021 Campaign, and
the distributions Jewish
Federation will make for the
year ahead, will be the most
in its storied history.
The 2021 Annual

Campaign was led by
Co-Chairs Carolyn
Bellinson and Josh Opperer.
The Women’s Philanthropy
Campaign Chair was
Sherrie Singer and the
NEXTGen Detroit co-chairs
were Danielle DePriest, Judy
Landau, Keith Schonberger
and Jennifer Maxbauer.
“In many ways, this

was a historic campaign,”
noted Campaign Co-Chair
Carolyn Bellinson. “We
began shortly after the start
of the COVID 19 pandemic,
and it was hard to predict
how the community would
be able to respond during
such a challenging time.
“We knew that we needed
an ambitious plan to keep
our schools, agencies and
community organizations
healthy and in a position
to serve those that relied
on them. Fortunately, our
community rose to the
occasion.”
Campaign Co-Chair
Josh Opperer added, “We
sometimes talk in terms
of annual campaign suc-
cess, but what we really
are talking about is com-

munity prosperity. This
incredible achievement
means more support for
our seniors, more assistance
for our Jewish students and
campers, more services for
families in need and many
others.
“It means we can better
take care of today and still
build for tomorrow. We are
extremely grateful to our
many generous donors
and support foundations
for their commitment.”

ALL DONORS HELP
Federation’s Senior
Director of Philanthropic
Operations Lisa Cutler
said, “We want to
acknowledge the thou-
sands of donors at every
level across our community.
We always remind people
that every dollar is mean-
ingful and makes a differ-
ence in our community. We
were only able to reach this
important fundraising goal
thanks to our broad base of
supporters. This is truly a
community that cares.”
And Steve Ingber, CEO
of the Jewish Federation,
said, “In addition to our
dedicated volunteer leaders,
I want to also thank and
acknowledge the Federation
staff. Our entire organi-
zation, and especially our
incredible fundraising team,
put in a tremendous effort
to ensure that we had a
successful campaign for our
community.”

Federation’s Annual Campaign raises $34.2 million;
plus an additional $3.8 million is donated.

Fundraising Success

JN STAFF

Recommended
Reading

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Hebrew, mishpachah means fam-
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Kids take great comfort in seeing
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citizens of the world when they see
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To celebrate all the different
ways a family can be a family, PJ
Library, the not-for-profit organiza-
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free books a month to families in
the United States (and more than
680,000 books in 32 countries),
has set forth some terrific recom-
mendations for picture books that
are all about mishpachah and the
many beautiful, diverse and varied
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The carefully curated list of
more than two-dozen books
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authors like Lesléa Newman,
Patricia Polacco, and Todd
Parr — as well as books that PJ
Library staff members have on
their own shelves. The catego-
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“Books With LGBTQIA+
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” “Books
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You can find the recommenda-
tions at the PJ Library pjlibrary.
org/beyond-books/pjblog.