Who We Are

OUR MISSION

 

Minnesota Jewish Community Foundation promotes a culture of Jewish philanthropy, leverages financial and professional resources to meet local and global Jewish needs, and facilitates community planning to ensure a thriving and secure future at home, in Israel, and around the world.

 

Established in 1974, MN JCF is a non-profit LLC with the Minneapolis Jewish Federation as the single member.

As one of the largest repositories and conduits for Jewish charitable giving in the Upper Midwest, MN JCF exists to actively serve those interested in philanthropy through a Jewish lens by building permanent charitable capital, encouraging a culture of local and global philanthropy, and providing for the vitality of programs that are important to its donors, as well as providing opportunities and resources to Jewish organizations allowing them to focus more completely on their respective missions and the raising of permanent charitable capital. It also exists to support our Jewish community and to ensure financial resources are there in the future to sustain and help it grow. We are not in this to make a profit, unlike for-profit investment firms. The administrative fees MN JCF earns support our work in providing community foundation services to our fund holders and for our Jewish agency clients, allowing them to reduce their management time and administrative costs so they can focus on their core mission.

Today, MN JCF has over $150 million total assets under management and over 1,000 funds. 20% of the assets are assets of the 17 local Jewish organizations that have entrusted MN JCF to oversee investments of their endowment funds. MN JCF provides:

  • A variety of planned giving options to allow donors to give now and/or to give later, and as frequently as they wish

  • Support for planning the future needs of the Jewish community in the form of endowments, designated funds, and other planned giving

  • Funding that supports responses to emergencies here and around the world

  • Administration of Jewish agencies’ endowments to provide a perpetual financial stream well into the future, sustaining our Jewish community Foundation assets also provide the community with reserve capital that is wisely invested until special needs, opportunities, or emergencies arise – occasions for which funds may not be available from the Federation’s Community Campaign.

 
 

It is the responsibility of every human being to aspire to do something worthwhile, to make this world a better place than the one he or she found.

Albert Einstein

 
 
 

Board of Governors

MN JCF adheres to the highest standards of governance with a strong commitment to financial security, full transparency, and accountability

Kenneth Raskin*, President and Co-Chair Network of Philanthropic Advisors

Chad Blumenfield, Chair, Non-Profit Wholesale Committee

Sandy Donaldson

Robert Kelen

Gil Mann

John MacDonald*, Treasurer

Steve Monto, Chair, Investment Committee

Gaby Parish

Jodi Upin*, Secretary and Chair, Marketing Committee

* Executive Committee

(James Cohen,* (ex officio) Minneapolis Jewish Federation Chief Executive Officer)

Meet Our Team

  • Alene G. Sussman

    MN JCF Executive Director &
    Sr. Director of MJF Charitable Gift Planning
    agsussman@mnjcf.org

  • Steven A. Baker

    Chief Philanthropy Officer
    sbaker@jewishminneapolis.org

  • Jenifer Robins

    Program Officer
    jrobins@mnjcf.org

  • Deb Yugo

    Grants Administrator
    dyugo@jewishminneapolis.org

  • Francesca Landon

    Marketing and Communications Specialist
    flandon@jewishminneapolis.org

  • James Cohen

    MN JCF Chief Executive Officer
    jcohen@jewishminneapolis.org