Jewish Federation of Cincinnati Marks 130 Years With $16.1 Million in Giving
CINCINNATI — The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati held its 130th Annual Meeting on May 20, gathering roughly 300 community members for an evening that blended institutional history and fundraising results.
Board Chair Sherri Symson opened the program with a video narrated by Danielle Minson tracing the organization’s origins to three civic leaders who founded it in Cincinnati’sWest End in 1896. “Wow, 130 years in just five minutes,” Symson remarked after the video concluded. The evening’s framing leaned heavily on continuity: the Federation, Symson noted, had outlasted every individual who built it, which is the measure of any enduring institution.
On the financial front, Bobby Fisher, Vice President of Development, reported a total 2026 giving of $16.1 million, including $8.28 million from the annual campaign. Fisher,who was also named Board Chair-Elect at the end of the evening, said the funds support social service needs locally, nationally, in Israel, and in Ukraine.
Notable gifts included a seven-figure commitment from Beth and Louis Guttman for Rockwern Academy and Camp Livingston scholarships, expanding access to immersive Jewish education. Les and Renee Sandler have funded rebuilding efforts across Israel since October 7th. Their latest gift supports the Israel Baseball Initiative and a new national team facility in Bet Shemesh. The Love Thy Neighbor Fund,a donor-advised fund built to meet basic human needs beyond the Jewish community, launched its first initiative with a matching grant to Last Mile Food Rescue. Donors also raised one million dollars to bring Auschwitz: Not Long Ago. Not Far Away. to the CincinnatiMuseum Center.
Awards went to Anne Goldstein, Senior Director of Sports & Recreation and Special Projects at the Mayerson JCC, who received the Harris K. and Alice F. Weston Junior Avodah Award and was recognized for her work on Reds Night, the March of the Living, and the Maccabi Games. Linda Kean, COO of Jewish Family Services, received the Senior Avodah Award for her 25 years of steadfast work helping to lead and expand the agency. Jim Heldman was honored with the Nancy and Robert V. Goldstein Volunteer of the Year Award for his numerous roles within various Jewish and non-Jewish organizations, including Rockdale Temple, Hebrew Union College, JVS careers, and Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati, to name just a few. He has also enthusiastically served on several Federation committees and boards.
On the leadership development front, Symson highlighted an eight-month program for board chairs across Federation-affiliated agencies, led by Rabbi Liz Hirsch, CEO of Women of Reform Judaism. The initiative, designed to deepen collaboration among lay leaders, brought together board chairs who in many cases had never previously met.
CEO Danielle Minson also unveiled a refocused Cincinnati 2030 community strategic plan, organized around three priorities: ensuring people can get the help theyneed and know where to find it, showing up at the moments that shape people’s lives, and making room for all of us—the way we see ourselves as Jews, the way we relate to Israel, and the way we stay in community across difference. “The priorities are set. Nowwe do the work,” Minson said.
The evening’s most resonant moment may have been the crowd itself. With desserts served in the hallway and young families well-represented in the room, the attendance on a weeknight suggested a degree of communal commitment that, in a season of competing demands, organizers were not taking for granted. “Imagine what it would look like for every Jewish person in Cincinnati to feel proud about being Jewish,” Minson posed to the room. On Wednesday night, at least, the room was a start.
