Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles

What Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles does

The Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles is an independent 501(c)(3) community foundation established in 1954 and headquartered at 6505 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1200, Los Angeles, California. It manages approximately $1.46 billion in assets on behalf of 1,400 client families and more than 300 endowment funds, serving as the central philanthropic vehicle for high-net-worth individuals and families in the Los Angeles Jewish community. Its core product is the Donor Advised Fund, supported by endowments, charitable estate planning, and the ability to accept complex assets including real estate, private business interests, appreciated securities, and cryptocurrency. The Foundation operates a Center for Designed Philanthropy that delivers consultative advisory services to donors, alongside a multi-channel grantmaking platform that distributed over $1 billion in grants across the past decade to more than 2,000 nonprofits.

The Foundation runs several structured grant programs: Cutting Edge Grants 2.0 (innovation funding up to $300,000 multi-year, with $21 million awarded since 2006), Next Stage Grants (capacity building for local Jewish nonprofits), Israel Grants (international giving with on-the-ground consultant support), General Community Grants (social issues including human trafficking, domestic violence, and homelessness), Reimagine Grants (COVID-19 response), and Community Impact Funds. Distribution is concentrated in Los Angeles County with a dedicated Israel footprint. The go-to-market is consultative and advisor-driven, leveraging professional advisor networks (through the Professional Advisor Speaker Series), thought leadership content (Legacy Magazine, Giving Voice, Impact Reports), and direct relationship management by an in-house team of philanthropic advisors and attorneys.

Revenue is generated through administration of charitable assets and investment management, with pricing not publicly disclosed. The leadership team is led by Rabbi Aaron Lerner (President & CEO since March 2023), succeeding Marvin I. Schotland who led the Foundation for 33 years. Supporting executives include Naomi Strongin (SVP, Center for Designed Philanthropy), Natella Royzman (SVP, Strategic Philanthropy & Legacy), Ellen R.Z. Rosen (General Counsel), and Steve Gamer (VP, Advancement). Governance includes a Board of Trustees currently chaired by Mark N. Schwartz (effective February 2025).

Name

Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles

Legal name

Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles

Website

https://jewishfoundationla.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles is a 501(c)(3) community foundation managing approximately $1.46 billion in charitable assets on behalf of 1,400 donor families, providing donor advised funds, philanthropic advising, endowments, and structured grantmaking across the Los Angeles Jewish community and Israel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation and Charitable Giving Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking) (BPAGAKAD), Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH)

Keywords

• Donor advised funds
• Philanthropic advising
• Community foundation
• Endowment management
• Charitable estate planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donor Advised Fund Management: The Foundation manages charitable assets entrusted by donors, providing donor advised fund services, endowment management, and planned giving solutions. Revenue is generated through management of philanthropic assets and facilitation of charitable giving.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles manages charitable assets entrusted by donors through donor advised funds, endowments, and planned giving vehicles. It pairs these financial vehicles with philanthropic advising and a portfolio of competitive grant programs that distribute funds to Jewish and general community nonprofits in Los Angeles and Israel.

Product overview

The Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles operates as a unified platform combining donor services, grantmaking programs, and philanthropic education. The core product is the Donor Advised Fund, which serves as the primary vehicle for charitable giving. This is complemented by multiple grant programs including Cutting Edge Grants (innovation funding), Next Stage Grants (capacity building), Israel Grants (international giving), General Community Grants (social causes), and Reimagine Grants (COVID-19 response). Supporting services include philanthropic advising, estate planning, and acceptance of complex assets, stock, and cryptocurrency donations. The Foundation also publishes Legacy Magazine and Giving Voice to communicate with donors and the community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• $1.46 billion in assets under management
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Jewish Federation of Greater Los AngelescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2022Partnership for emergency relief fund distribution. JCF granted $150,000 to Federation's Ukraine Relief Fund to support humanitarian aid, mobile medical units, transport, and security at Jewish institutions in Ukraine. 100% of proceeds directed to relief efforts.
• Offi Zisser (Israel Consultant)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOn-the-ground Israel consultant based in Caesarea, bringing local perspective to The Foundation's extensive giving in Israel. Provides counsel on strategy, grantmaking, and oversight. Enables deeper ties with Israeli organizations and serves as resource for donors on Israel giving.
• Jewish Agency for IsraelmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Ukraine relief efforts, providing toll-free hotline for Ukrainian Jews and assistance with aliyah. Part of emergency relief coordination with Federation and JDC.
• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Ukraine relief efforts, providing vital resources for vulnerable Jewish Ukrainian population including food, medicine, winter relief, and emergency assistance.
• Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPittsburgh tragedy emergency grant recipient providing services to refugees in need regardless of national, ethnic or religious background.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles: The LA Jewish Federation is a partner-organization of comparable scale operating in the same regional Jewish philanthropic ecosystem with overlapping donor relationships and joint programs (e.g., Ukraine relief, Israel giving); while it operates as a federation rather than a community foundation, it is materially comparable in mission, donor base, and asset scale.
• California Community Foundation: California's largest community foundation, headquartered in Los Angeles with comparable scale (multi-billion-dollar AUM) and a parallel service mix of donor advised funds, endowments, grantmaking, and philanthropic advising serving LA-based HNW donors.
• National Philanthropic Trust: A leading independent DAF sponsor and grantmaker research provider with comparable DAF servicing capabilities and a similar hybrid model combining custodial DAF services with philanthropic-advisory content, targeted at HNW and family-foundation clients.

Broad incumbents

• Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund: The largest DAF sponsor in the U.S. with ~$50B in AUM; competes directly for HNW donor-advised fund dollars via a low-friction digital platform that serves as the principal national alternative to community foundations like JCF.
• Schwab Charitable Fund: The second-largest national DAF sponsor, with $20B+ in AUM and a similar operational model centered on custodial DAFs. Directly competes for HNW donor relationships that JCF targets.
• Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program: A national DAF sponsor with comparable donor advised fund offering, focused on HNW and mass-affluent investors via Vanguard's distribution channel; competes with JCF for the same pool of donor-advised fund assets.

Regional players

• The Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation / Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego: A peer Jewish community foundation serving a different Southern California region with a similar DAF-and-grantmaking business model; directly comparable in mission and product mix, but operates in a separate geographic market.
• Combined Jewish Philanthropies: The Boston-based Jewish federation serving a different region but with parallel community-foundation/federation blended services for Jewish HNW donors, including grantmaking, endowments, and donor advised funds.

Others

• Bessemer Trust: An HNW wealth and private banking firm with dedicated philanthropic-advisory and family-office services for ultra-wealthy families; comparable in client segment (HNW/UHNW families seeking multi-generational giving counsel) and a key competitor for JCF donor relationships.

Emerging players

• Heyman Philanthropic Services: A niche philanthropic advisory firm serving HNW families with philanthropic strategy and family-foundation management; an emerging competitor in the same donor-advisory niche as JCF's Center for Designed Philanthropy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC33cxe6M7RA
• Facebookfacebook.com/jcflosangeles
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jewish-community-foundation-of-los-angeles
• Instagraminstagram.com/jcflosangeles

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles