Several CMF members come together to collaborate in an affinity network for Detroit Jewish funders to build and strengthen local relationships and better understand local issues.

The Detroit Jewish Funders Network is a collaborative of nearly 25 members including foundation professionals, philanthropic advisors representing family philanthropists and trustee family members. 

The network was founded 10 years ago by Doug Bitonti Stewart, executive director of the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation and Margo Pernick, executive director of The Jewish Fund and CMF trustee. 

After attending a Jewish Funders Network conference, an international body of foundations that direct some of their funding toward the Jewish community, Bitonti Stewart and Pernick discussed the opportunity of hosting a network in Detroit. 

“It occurred to us we needed a local version of JFN for Detroit,” Bitonti Stewart shared in a blog posted by the Jewish Funders Network. “The region has such a strong community of funders; family foundations, independent foundations, and individual donors. Since philanthropists who see their giving through a Jewish lens don’t all have the same approaches or even the same goals, it seemed difficult to understand the full picture of all the players in Detroit’s Jewish philanthropy scene.”

The collaborative now meets on a quarterly basis, focusing on three objectives: shared learning, shared alignment and shared action. 

“We rotate some kind of educational activity for shared learning, it could be a speaker or a conversation that someone has chosen to facilitate on issues that relate to how or what we fund or current social issues,” Pernick said. 

The network is based on Jewish values and inclusive of funders of all faiths who are leading Jewish family foundations which also fund outside of the Jewish community.

“Part of the shared learning is looking at the needs of the Jewish community and identifying leaders who can add value to our understanding of Jewish philanthropy,” Pernick said. 

According to Pernick, the group examines the specific needs of the Jewish community as well as learning what is happening in communities nationally and globally. 

The shared action objective is an opportunity for members of the group to discuss potential collaborations with other members. 

The alignment objective is a way for members of the network to come together to address anything else they’re facing in their work. 

“One of the things that’s really nice is that we all have a lot in common. We’re all local and at least a portion of what we do is similar amongst all of us,” Pernick said.

Of all the objectives, Pernick said that the shared learning opportunities are the most valuable. 

“It’s creating opportunities for shared learning where learning may be enough in some circumstances and in others leading to action. Action could happen in three months or nine months, it could happen when another partner approaches you later in a different venue,” Pernick said. “We sometimes feel compelled to put it all in one package and respond to that entire package when that’s just not how we all work best.”

According to Pernick, the National Jewish Funders Network was inspired by the success of the Detroit Network and now a Midwest regional collaborative is in the works. 

Want more?

Learn more about the Detroit Jewish Funders Network.

Learn more about the Jewish Funders Network.