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Mandel Foundation

1000 Lakeside Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44114

(216) 875-6539

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Photo credit: Joseph and Florence Mandel Jewish Day School, Mariana Edelman Photography

The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Supporting Foundation is pleased to announce a $90 million grant to the Jewish Federation of Cleveland that will serve as matching funds for a comprehensive $180 million Jewish Day School Transformation initiative being launched in Cleveland.

The Day School Transformation initiative comprises a $100 million endowment fund for five Cleveland Jewish day schools – Fuchs Mizrachi School, Gross Schechter Day School, Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, Joseph & Florence Mandel Jewish Day School, and Yeshiva Derech Hatorah – and a capital improvements fund of $80 million.

According to Jeffrey J. Wild, chair of the Federation’s Day School Transformation Initiative and chair of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland – Federation’s educational planning arm – this grant from the Mandel Foundation sends a strong message to the community about the importance of Jewish education.

“Through this grant, the Mandel Foundation has made it clear that the time for our community to step up for its future leaders is now,” said Wild. “In fact, we have already received several significant gifts from donors who were inspired by the Mandel grant. Based on these early conversations with donors, we are confident this effort to transform the educational landscape in Cleveland for Jewish students will be a resounding success.”

Jehuda Reinharz, president and CEO of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, noted that research continues to show the critical role day schools play in strengthening Jewish identity and resiliency in the next generation. “Today’s day school graduates are tomorrow’s Jewish community leaders,” Reinharz explained. “This is especially true in Jewish Cleveland, where more than 80 percent of Jewish adults who attended day school are among the most engaged and active in Jewish life here. We are thrilled to be able to play a meaningful role in the future of Jewish Day School education in Cleveland by providing these matching dollars to the community’s fundraising efforts.”

“This Day School Transformation initiative will ensure Jewish Cleveland students get the very best dual curriculum of Judaic and general studies possible for generations to come,” said Stephen H. Hoffman, chair of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation. “By creating the first-ever day school endowment fund in Cleveland – as well as securing funds needed to address essential capital improvements – Jewish Cleveland will be ideally positioned to recruit and retain the brightest teachers, who will engage day school students with expanded and rigorous curriculums, as well as such specialized programs as those in STEM and the fine arts.”


The Jewish Federation of Cleveland is the only organization in Cleveland that focuses on the health and vitality of the entire Jewish community. Since 1903, the Federation has created the critical scale necessary to drive meaningful social change and provide relief in times of crisis in ways no one person or organization could do alone. As Jewish Cleveland’s hub for innovative solutions and collaborative services, the Federation is able to change and improve lives in Cleveland, Israel, and around the world. 

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