JCF invests up to $1,000,000 in Israel

“Consciously choosing to invest in Israel is an important reflection of the Foundation’s values and those of our donors, especially in a time when endowments and non-Jewish foundations worldwide are being pressured to do the opposite.” That is how JCF’s President and CEO, Richard Kasper, explained the Foundation’s new policy to actively seek investment opportunities in the Israeli economy.

Of course, the Jewish Community Foundation routinely makes charitable grants supporting Israeli social services and healthcare through its annual grantmaking. But as part of its 5-year strategic plan, the Foundation has made it a priority to specifically target a portion of its investment portfolio in Israeli assets. We’re working with our independent investment advisor, Canterbury Consulting, to make sure we satisfy this priority in a way that is compatible with our existing investment guidelines.

LEARN MORE about our Israeli investments in the Phoenix Business Journal.

Comparison to a report of the National Jewish Federation Investment Program (NJFIP) shows that, for the three years ending at the first quarter of 2015, the Jewish Community Foundation’s investments outperformed all the participating communities by 1.4% to 3.4% on an annualized, after-fee basis. The NJFIP is an offering of the Jewish Federations of Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland and Miami to permit other communities to participate in their investment portfolios. At the five year mark, the Foundation’s performance was bested only by Baltimore, and only by 0.1%. The other four NJFIP communities trailed the Foundation’s performance by 1.0% to 3.4%.