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That led to the exploratory committee, 
which was headed by Danielle Gordon, a 
local mental health therapist who works 
with those who have pregnancy and post-
partum issues. Through parlor meetings, 
fundraising and crowdfund-
ing, JFF advocates in Detroit 
raised the $150,000 necessary 
to bring JFF to town. 
As a therapist, Gordon says 
she works with moms all the 
time facing shame and stigma 
for infertility. 
“It’s really important to have resources 
in our community, in our Detroit com-
munity and in our Detroit Jewish com-
munity to help with that,” she says. “So 
not only is this a huge financial relief that 
also works with Hebrew Free Loan and 
pulls in other community organizations 
like Federation and JBaby, but also just 
knowing that there is support for people 
going through this, that these people 
aren’t alone, I think is so important.”
The national organization is in its ninth 
year. Started in 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia, 
Frank says JFF’s mission is personal. Her 
three kids were born from various fertility 
treatments, she says, adding that she was 
living in Israel when she did IVF with her 
first two. 
Though she went through the roller 
coaster of emotions that goes along with 

the infertility journey, she says, the IVF 
itself in Israel was free. Returning to the 
United States, she says, she was struck by 
the price tag on IVF and fertility treat-
ments. Hence her organization was born. 
“We’ve evolved over the years with amaz-
ing partners to help us grow,” Frank says.
The community is ready for a resource 
like JFF, says Rabbi Jennifer Kaluzny of 
Temple Israel, who was part of the effort 
to bring JFF to Detroit and on the advi-
sory committee. She counsels couples 
about genetic disease, because Ashkenazi 
Jews carry them in higher numbers, and 
says having such a resource 
available can help open doors 
for couples; it’s a cause close 
to home, she adds, as she 
and her husband were car-
riers for the same mutation 
of the same genetic disease 
and used IVF to build their 
family. 
Bolstering comfort and familiarity 
around options for family planning and 
helping them be in reach are all positives, 
she says. “I hope it will help people have 
healthy children and grandchildren,” she 
says. “To have a place to go to start when 
you have no clue where to start, and have 
it be in a Jewish context I think is a really 
beautiful thing.” 
Brian*, who is a transgender man based 

in southeast Michigan with his husband, 
Aaron*, says they found out about JFF 
at the start of the summer through their 
fertility clinic. They were embarking on 
their second attempt at embryo banking 
and were trying to figure out how to pay 
for it. 
“I think we were really fortunate to be 
in a place where we could pay for our first 
round of treatment without a grant, and 
we were really lucky to have the support 
from our families to do that,” he says. 
“Then we realized we were going to need 
another round of treatment, which had 
not been on the cards.” 
Being an LGBT couple, they were at 
first nervous about applying for JFF’s 
fertility grant, then relieved to see from 
the organization’s website that they were 
more than welcome to apply. “We found 
the experience very amicable and friendly 
and proactive,” he says. It all moved for-
ward quickly, from applying to hearing 
back, he adds. 
JFF helps take the sting out of the cost 
and provides medication discounts and 
a community of support. “I don’t know 
if we would have looked elsewhere — it’s 
not widely publicized what grants are 
available,” Brian says. 
“We felt like it was the right fit for us, 
and I don’t know what we would have 
done if we hadn’t received a grant.” 

Some of the babies and first-time mothers who built their families with the help of the Jewish Fertility Foundation.

Danielle 
Gordon

Rabbi 
Jennifer 
Kaluzny

Jewish Fertility Foundation assists 
Metro Detroiters through their infertility journeys.

COURTESY OF JEWISH FERTILITY FOUNDATION

COURTESY OF JEWISH FERTILITY FOUNDATION

