Jewish Federation of Cleveland

For more than 115 years, the Jewish Federation of Cleveland has provided funding and operational support for local, national, and international partner organizations that provide social services, education, and the advancement of Jewish culture and values. The Mandel Foundation has been a long-time contributor to the Federation, providing ongoing support since the 1960s. In 1982, the Mandel Leadership Excellence Center was established to ensure that Federation and partner agency staff are highly skilled and capable of achieving organizational goals. Later, in 2010, the Mandel Foundation approved a $16 million grant to fund land purchase and renovations for a “green” expansion into the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel building.

The Mandel Foundation remains a steadfast supporter of the Federation in its commitment to strengthening the Cleveland Jewish community, providing COVID-19 support, scholarships to remove financial barriers to higher education, and professional development opportunities for camp counselors. Annual funding for the Community Security Initiative supports security awareness campaigns, facility security, community-wide training, and law enforcement partnerships to enhance intelligence sharing.

In 2024, the Foundation designated a matching grant of $90 million to support the Jewish Day School Transformation Project. These funds will benefit five Federation beneficiary Jewish day schools – Fuchs Mizrachi School, Gross Schechter Day School, Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, Joseph and Florence Mandel Jewish Day School, and Yeshiva Derech Hatorah – through capital improvements and endowment funding to ensure the long-term sustainability of Jewish education in Cleveland and the development of future generations of Jewish community leaders.