Jewish Community Foundation Announces... Teens Receive Life Lessons at the Jewish Community...

LOS ANGELES -- First-Hand Training About Grant-Making Offers Young Adults Perspective on Philanthropy

Teenagers Emily Zukin, Scott Cutrow and Maddy Nimoy had a five-figure problem to solve: how to best spend $10,000. The money, while not their own, was indeed very real, set aside by the

Zukin, Cutrow and Nimoy were among eight girls and six boys, nominated by Foundation donors, who went through a two-month education program and decision-making process to award The Foundation monies to worthy nonprofit organizations. The process consisted of three separate group meetings, visits to nonprofit organizations and independent research.

"In the next 20 years, the United States will experience the greatest transfer of wealth in our nation's history," said Marvin Schotland, president and CEO of The Foundation. "According to the experts, trillions of dollars will be passed to the next generation of America's most well-off families. As a community foundation with a key role in advising our donors, we're interested in developing awareness of philanthropy and tikkun olam, the Jewish principle of repairing the world, among their children and grandchildren."

"Through the Community Youth Foundation, we hope to instill valuable lessons of giving in these youngsters," said Dr. Susan Grinel, director of The Foundation's Family Foundation Center, which conducted the program. "We believe they will carry the philanthropic values with them throughout their lives and will continue to realize the importance of charitable gift making."

The experience seemed to impress Zukin, age 17. "I don't have anything to compare it to, but I thought the experience was a ten on a scale of one to ten," she said. "I learned a lot about helping other people and charity. I learned that it's important to research the places you're thinking of giving charity to, so that you can figure out the best way to donate your money. I also had fun and made friends."

Cutrow, 15, had similar feelings. "I really liked being a part of the Youth Foundation. It was very enjoyable and I learned a lot about how The Foundation distributes money. I was happy to go on site visits where we got to see people helping out and others being helped," he said.

After participating in various preparatory exercises, and learning about specific nonprofits, over the course of a month the teens visited 13 agencies serving a wide range of issues: youth education programs, basic needs services and environmental causes. After much discussion, debate and weighing the relative merits of supporting each cause, the group decided to distribute the money to three organizations. They felt that this strategy would make more of an impact than spreading the dollars in smaller amounts to numerous organizations. They decided to divide the $10,000 grant among Vista del Mar, People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) and Los Angeles Free Clinic.

"Being involved with the Youth Foundation was an amazing experience, a chance to go to places where people are less fortunate than we," said 14-year-old Nimoy. She was impressed by her visit to PATH because, "They take people who have no homes, are stuck in the middle of nowhere and want to have a life, and they teach them skills and ways of living. We met a mother who had been abused and her two daughters -- one was my age. They had taken a train from the East to here, landed in downtown, and someone sent them to PATH. Now they have an apartment and the mother was about to get a job," she said.

"This group of young adults showed us the promise of a future generation of Jewish leaders," said Grinel. She explained that the Family Foundation Center is a community resource that helps funders network with other donors and professionals in their field of interest and assess a range of charitable giving options. "We want to continue nurturing their interest in seeing the community grow and thrive," she said.

Established in 1954 and currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Jewish Community Foundation is the largest manager of charitable assets and provider of planned giving solutions for Southern California Jewish philanthropists who are making a difference in the Jewish and general communities locally, nationally and in Israel. In 2003, The Foundation and its donors distributed over $42 million in grants to more than 1,300 organizations whose programs span the human lifecycle. The Foundation currently manages assets of approximately $475 million.