ASSOCIATED, Weinberg Foundation Announce Next Phase of The Day School Initiative

THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg recently announced a five-year extension of the Day School Initiative. The Weinberg Foundation has committed another $5 million over five years, which THE ASSOCIATED has agreed to match with $3 million, to support scholarship needs at 10 Jewish Day Schools in Baltimore that together enroll more than 4,400 students in grades K-12. This is in addition to the $2.1 million that THE ASSOCIATED allocates to day schools each year from its Annual Campaign, a total of $10.5 million over the next five years.

The first phase, announced in 2006 and distributed over six years, included a $16 million matching grant by the Foundation and THE ASSOCIATED. At its conclusion, the Weinberg Foundation and THE ASSOCIATED will have provided a total of approximately $24 million in support of Jewish Day Schools in Baltimore through this initiative. 

This latest decision, according to Yehuda Neuberger, Co-chair of THE ASSOCIATED’s Day School Task Force, demonstrates a substantial commitment to Baltimore Jewish Day Schools and makes a strong statement about the important role day schools play in strengthening Jewish identity and our Jewish future. The match comes following the release of the data from the Greater Baltimore Jewish Community Study, which showed a need to invest in strong Jewish identity building programs.

“We recognize the sacrifice Jewish parents make each day to help ensure that their children get the strongest Jewish education they can provide for them. We thank these parents for giving their children the tools, knowledge, and passion to lead our community in the future and we are proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them as investors in their children,” says Marc B. Terrill, President of THE ASSOCIATED. “The newest match is another example of the unique unity from which the Jewish community in Baltimore benefits. We all understand the importance of Jewish education and collectively work to strengthen our schools and educational institutions. We thank the Weinberg Foundation and look forward to finding more ways to partner in the years ahead.”

“We believe this is one of the largest direct scholarship programs for Jewish education ever in North America,” said Barry Schloss, Weinberg Foundation Trustee and Treasurer.  “We have enjoyed a wonderful partnership with THE ASSOCIATED as well as each of the Jewish Day Schools receiving scholarship support for their students.”

The match extension agreement represents a decrease in supplemental funding to the schools and decreases year-to-year. The Weinberg Foundation noted that this gift marks the conclusion of Foundation support, in the near term, for Jewish day schools.

However, according to ASSOCIATED leaders, the match is being announced in conjunction with several additional initiatives aimed at assisting schools to raise more dollars on their own, to run at maximum efficiency, and to ensure that donors and parents get the best value for the dollars they are providing the day schools.

THE ASSOCIATED last month announced the launch of the Russel Family Generations Baltimore Project and the completion of the Yeshiva University Institute for University-School Partnership Study. The Russel Family Generations Baltimore Project, a program of the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education Endowment and Legacy Institute with THE ASSOCIATED and the AVI CHAI Foundation, will help ensure future support for day school budgets by soliciting endowment and legacy gifts. 

THE ASSOCIATED has also been helping to facilitate a financial benchmarking project for the schools with an end goal of  expense reduction and income enhancement. Each school is developing its own three-year financial plan under the direction of the consulting organization, the YU Institute for University School Partnership.

Here is what people were saying at the annoucement ceremony this morning:

Bruce Sholk, ASSOCIATED  Chair of the Board:
Four years ago, the Weinberg Foundation made an extraordinary committment by creating the day school scholarship fund. It did so to position the schools for a strong future, to boost enrollment of the more liberal schools and to ensure financial stability of our Orthodox day schools. No one could have forseen the collapse of the economy, but the funding became crucial. ... With this new match, while the Weinberg Foundation is furthering its committment, the ASSOCIATED has also taken on to increase its core allocation to day schools. By fiscal year 2017, the ASSOCIATED allocation to day schools will have increased by over 40 percent since the match five years ago.

Ari Krupp, Talmudical Academy Chair of the Board:
Day schools exist in a world of unlimited needs. Many of our parents rely on the schools to educate, feed and in some cases even assist with the mental health of their children. ... I want to thank THE ASSOCIATED and the Weinberg Foundation. The relationship our schools have with these organizations shows how partnership can be successful. We are grateful and excited.

Paul Schneider, Krieger Schechter Principal
The number of families receiving need-based scholarships over the last five years has risen from 25 percent to 40 percent. We are grateful... We look forward to continuing this partnership.

Marc Terril, ASSOCIATED President
Five years ago, I said that THE ASSOCIATED/Weinberg Day School Initiative was one of the proudest moments of my career. I still feel that way. No other community comes together the way Baltimore does in championing things that matter. Individually we can do a lot of good. Together, as a community, we can make miracles happen.