In 2015 we continued to expand our cultivation and fundraising efforts, which resulted in more dollars raised (over $5 million in 2015, up from $4.4 million the previous year). We connected with more donors, and realized exciting opportunities to come together as a philanthropic community.
Our Finding Neverland benefit brought together 1,400 supporters for a terrific theatrical afternoon in support of Hebrew charter school students. Autumnfest, our fall benefit, celebrated the season with more than 300 guests at the beautiful Steinhardt family home in Bedford, N.Y. Guests included celebrity Michael Douglas and his son Dylan, Hebrew Public board members, and so many of you! These two events together brought in $780,000 to support our mission.
Finding Neverland Choir
Local school fundraising efforts also expanded this year. From Harlem Hebrew on the East Coast, to Kavod Elementary on the West Coast, schools held Giving Tuesday parent campaigns and breakfasts, and raised thousands of dollars to support their schools.
Our foray into partnering with educational foundations is growing as we build new relationships with funders who bring new ideas and accountability measures to our work.
Finally, we are delighted to highlight special gifts secured this year that are helping us launch new projects. For example, thanks to generous support, last year our contributors made the following (among many other things) possible:
A national Israel Trip Scholarship Fund to bring our graduating middle schoolers to Israel.
STEAM program at Sela to providing top-notch technology to the students.
Reading tablets and i-Pads to fill our classrooms with the latest technology.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Sara Berman, Chair
Diane Troderman, Vice Chair
Reverend Karim Camara
Wendy Fisher
Caroline Greenwald
Jason Muss
Adam Semler
Adam Smolyar
Dorothy Tananbaum
Meredith Verona
Rabbi David Gedzelman, Secretary (ex officio)
STAFF
Jon Rosenberg, President & CEO
Morris Ardoin, Director, Marketing & Communication
Mark Fink, Senior Manager for Internal Operations
Niki Incorvia, Special Projects and Research Coordinator
Valerie Khaytina, Director, Strategic Philanthropy
Carl Letamendi, Data Scientist
Shlomit Lipton, Director, Hebrew Educational Services
Aaron Listhaus, Executive Director, National Program
Elyse Piker, Director, School Operations, New York Region
Elly Rosenthal, Director, Finance & Operations
Shane Goldstein Smith, Executive Director, New York Region
Hindie Weissman, Director, Educational Services