What The Wexner Foundation does

The Wexner Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation established in 1985 by Leslie Wexner and headquartered in New Albany, Ohio. It operates as a portfolio of eight interconnected leadership development programs targeting two geographies: North American Jewish communities and Israeli public service. The North American portfolio includes the Wexner Heritage Program (a two-year intensive Jewish learning program for volunteer leaders), the Wexner Davidson Fellowship (emerging communal professionals, ages 26-36) and Wexner Field Fellowship (established professionals, ages 37-50), the Wexner Service Corps (Columbus, Ohio high schoolers), and the cross-program Wexner Summits platform. The Israeli portfolio comprises the Wexner Israel Fellowship (sending up to 10 mid-career Israeli public officials annually to Harvard Kennedy School), Wexner Senior Leaders, and Wexner Resilient Leaders. The foundation is funded primarily by an endowment and grants from partner foundations; it charges no fees to participants and generates no commercial revenue. Selected alumni and fellows include Aaron Dorfman, Rachel Timoner, Geoffrey Lewis, Lindy Miller, Ginna Green, Analucía Lopezrevoredo, and Janu Mendel, featured for ongoing communal impact.

Underlying technology is modest: an online learning management system and a private alumni portal (Wexchange) host video-based leadership content and educational webinars. Strategic partners include the Jim Joseph Foundation (co-funding the Field Fellowship), the William Davidson Foundation (co-funding the Davidson Fellowship), Harvard Kennedy School (Israel Fellowship degree program), and The Jewish Education Project. Partner foundation grants have included $4,846,000 from Jim Joseph Foundation (April 2012) and $3,511,526 from Jim Joseph Foundation (December 2017). With 11-50 employees, operations are run as a small professional staff alongside contracted faculty, alumni, and partner institutions rather than as a scaled technology platform.

Business model: endowment-funded 501(c)(3) philanthropy with no commercial revenue stream; pricing is non-applicable as programs are provided at no cost to selected participants. Go-to-market is competitive application and selection for cohort-based fellowships, with alumni engagement and philanthropic fundraising sustaining ongoing operations.

Name

The Wexner Foundation

Legal name

The Wexner Foundation

Website

https://wexnerfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Wexner Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation, established in 1985 and headquartered in New Albany, Ohio, that runs eight cohort-based Jewish leadership development programs serving North American communal professionals, volunteer leaders, Columbus-area teenagers, and Israeli public officials, funded by an endowment and partner foundation grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Leadership Development Programs

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Educational Services (611), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Jewish Theological Seminaries & Rabbinical Colleges (EDAHAKAH)

Keywords

• Leadership development programs
• Jewish communal fellowships
• Nonprofit executive training
• Israeli public sector education
• Cohort-based learning

Headquarters

HQ city

New Albany

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Wexner Foundation delivers cohort-based leadership development fellowships and learning programs for Jewish communal professionals, North American Jewish volunteer leaders, Israeli public officials, and Columbus-area teenagers. Its portfolio includes seven core leadership programs plus an online Leadership Library of video content and a private Wexchange alumni portal, funded by an endowment and partner foundation grants.

Product overview

The Wexner Foundation operates as a portfolio of eight interconnected leadership development programs designed for different audiences across North American Jewish communities and Israeli public service. The core offerings include the Wexner Heritage Program for volunteer leaders, the Wexner Davidson Fellowship and Wexner Field Fellowship for Jewish professionals at different career stages, the Wexner Service Corps for teenagers, and three programs targeting Israeli public officials: the Wexner Israel Fellowship, Wexner Senior Leaders, and Wexner Resilient Leaders. These programs are unified by the Wexner Summits platform, which brings alumni together across programs to collaborate on Jewish community challenges. The portfolio also includes a Leadership Library providing supplementary educational resources. The Foundation partners with institutions such as Harvard Kennedy School for academic components.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wexner Heritage Program: An intensive two-year Jewish learning program for up-and-coming North American Jewish volunteer leaders, deepening their understanding of Jewish history, values, and texts while enriching leadership skills.
• Wexner Davidson Fellowship
• Wexner Field Fellowship
• Wexner Israel Fellowship
• Wexner Senior Leaders
• Wexner Service Corps
• Wexner Resilient Leaders
• Wexner Summits

Products and services

• Wexner Heritage Program A two-year intensive Jewish learning program that deepens participants' understanding of Jewish history, values, and texts while enriching their leadership skills, designed for up-and-coming North American Jewish volunteer leaders.
• Wexner Davidson Fellowship A fellowship for emerging Jewish communal professionals ages 26-36 who seek to advance into leadership roles in the North American Jewish community, delivered with the William Davidson Foundation.
• Wexner Field Fellowship A fellowship for established Jewish communal professionals ages 37-50 who plan to continue their careers as leaders in the North American Jewish community, delivered in partnership with the Jim Joseph Foundation.
• Wexner Israel Fellowship A fellowship that selects up to 10 outstanding mid-career Israeli public officials annually to study for a Masters degree in Harvard Kennedy School's mid-career program, providing advanced leadership and public management training.
• Wexner Senior Leaders An executive-model leadership initiative for senior-level Israeli public officials that strengthens skills and designs strategies for leading transformative change, with new decision-making tools.
• Wexner Resilient Leaders A program forming a network of leaders from local government, civil society, and the central government in Israel to participate in reconstruction and rebuilding efforts and promote regional cooperation.
• Wexner Service Corps A year-long program open to high school juniors and seniors in Columbus, OH, featuring monthly volunteering and Jewish learning followed by a week-long service trip, with a second-year Senior Leadership Cohort (SLC) option.
• Wexner Summits A platform that brings together alumni of all five adult programs to work together confronting major challenges facing the Jewish world, with alumni coalescing around projects and emerging with new allies, inspiration, and skill sets.
• Leadership Library An online resource library featuring the latest recordings and teachings from Wexner Foundation staff, faculty, and network members, including video content on Jewish leadership, holidays, and contemporary issues.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Jim Joseph FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Wexner Foundation partners with the Jim Joseph Foundation to deliver the Wexner Field Fellowship program, selecting 15 Jewish professionals ages 37-50 for a three-year leadership training and professional development program.
• William Davidson FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Wexner Foundation partners with the William Davidson Foundation to deliver the Wexner Davidson Fellowship for emerging Jewish communal professionals ages 26-36, announced August 2025 as the second cohort.
• Harvard Kennedy School of GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Wexner Israel Fellowship sends up to 10 outstanding mid-career Israeli public officials annually to study for a Masters degree in Harvard Kennedy School's mid-career program, providing advanced leadership and public management training.
• The Jewish Education ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation collaborates with The Jewish Education Project, where Wexner Heritage alumni and faculty contribute to educational content and programming, including faculty like Rabba Yaffa Epstein.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Jewish Federations of North America: The umbrella organization for North American Jewish federations providing communal professional training and leadership development. Comparable as a larger incumbent in Jewish communal professional leadership with overlapping beneficiary communities.
• American Jewish Committee (AJC): A leading Jewish advocacy organization offering leadership development programs for emerging professionals. Comparable as a larger incumbent with overlapping Jewish-leadership-development mission and North American/Israeli scope.
• Hebrew Union College: A major Jewish seminary and higher education institution offering rabbinical and graduate programs. Comparable as a broader incumbent in Jewish professional leadership training, though focused on credentialed seminary education rather than cohort fellowships.

Direct peers

• Birthright Israel Foundation: A nonprofit providing educational trips to Israel for young Jewish adults. Comparable as a Jewish leadership/identity program with overlapping audience segments and foundation-supported programming.
• William Davidson Foundation: A private foundation that co-funds the Wexner Davidson Fellowship for emerging Jewish communal professionals. Directly comparable as a Jewish-focused grantmaking peer with overlapping beneficiary communities and program design.
• The Jewish Education Project: A Jewish educational nonprofit serving North American communities with content and programming. Already a partner organization, it is directly comparable as a Jewish-education peer whose faculty contribute to Wexner Heritage Program content.
• Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership: A Chicago-based institute offering Jewish learning and leadership programs for professionals and the community. Comparable as a Jewish leadership-education provider serving overlapping candidate audiences in North America.
• Jim Joseph Foundation: A Jewish-focused educational grantmaking foundation that co-funds the Wexner Field Fellowship. Directly comparable as a Jewish education grantmaking peer with overlapping programmatic investment in Jewish communal leadership development.
• Avi Chai Foundation: A private foundation supporting Jewish education in North America and Israel. Comparable as a Jewish-focused grantmaking peer funding educational programming for overlapping beneficiary communities.
• Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life: A Jewish campus-based leadership organization serving college students with programming, fellowships, and professional development. Comparable as a Jewish leadership-development nonprofit with overlapping audience of young leaders and an alumni-network model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Wexnertweets
• Facebookfacebook.com/WexnerFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wexner-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Wexner Foundation