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The Byron and Dorothy Gerson Centennial Innovation Fund
Honors the Legacy of Two Community Champions
Dorothy “Dottie” (z”l) and Byron “Bud” (z”l) Gerson
are remembered as two of Jewish Detroit’s greatest
leaders and benefactors. Their passion and generosity
for our community was matched only by their
commitment to family, and to each other. Awarded the
Jewish Federation’s 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award,
Dottie and Bud supported a wide variety of organizations
and agencies, including Federation, JVS, the Jewish
Community Center, Hadassah, Congregation Shaarey
Zedek and Temple Beth El and many others. They also
were great champions of art and culture, supporting a
wide range of institutions such as the Detroit Institute
of Arts, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Jewish
Ensemble Theatre. Married for 66 years, Bud died in
2012 and Dottie in 2021. Today, their legacy lives on in
both the causes and organizations they supported as
well as in the many lives they touched with their
generosity and compassion.
In honor of this extraordinary couple, the William
Davidson Foundation has established the Byron and
Dorothy Gerson Centennial Innovation Fund. This
unique fund will provide ongoing resources to fuel new
and innovative programs at the Jewish Federation and
other community organizations. “The Gerson Innovation
Fund will allow us to explore, develop and test new
ideas to advance our community-building efforts,” says
Steven Ingber, CEO of the Jewish Federation. “The
entrepreneurial spirit of this Fund, together with its
focus on strengthening our Jewish community, are a
wonderful tribute to the life and impact of Dottie and
Bud. In fact, I can think of no better way to honor the
memory of these two individuals who dedicated so
much of their lives to building a vibrant home for Jewish
Detroiters.”