The Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation was established in 1983 and became a separate nonprofit corporation in 2004. Located on the Jewish Community Center campus in Omaha, Nebraska, The Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors made up of Jewish community lay leaders.
The Foundation is an IRS-classified publicly supported charity with the flexibility to accept and administer a broad range of charitable assets and giving strategies, including bequests, beneficiary designations, charitable remainder trusts, charitable gift annuities, real estate, and Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs).
Growing Philanthropy, Building Community
The Foundation's charitable assets have grown significantly since its founding. In 1985, total assets were $7.5 million, providing important support for the Jewish Federation of Omaha, its agencies, and other charitable organizations.
Under the leadership of successive executive directors, volunteer boards, donors, endowers and community partners, The Foundation has continued to grow and evolve. Today, The Foundation manages more than 700 endowments and donor-advised funds representing more than $155 million in charitable assets.
Each year, The Foundation distributes millions of dollars from these funds to support Omaha's Jewish organizations, community programs, scholarships, and charitable causes, as well as other organizations and causes selected or recommended by our endowers and donors.
Through endowments, donor-advised funds, planned gifts, and other philanthropic strategies, The Foundation provides individuals and families with opportunities to make a lasting difference while strengthening the future of Jewish life in Omaha.
Investment Objective
The Foundation's primary investment objective is to achieve long-term growth of its charitable assets while proving a sustaining source of distributions to organizations and causes supported by our donors and endowers. Recognizing the need to take some degree of investment risk, The Foundation's portfolio is currently invested principally in selected actively and passively managed Vanguard funds and in the professionally managed pooled investment portfolio of the Metropolitan Chicago Jewish Federation.
