When the late Leon Glassman and his wife, Rose Marie, established the Leon Glassman Fund for Jewish Continuity through Education with the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Vancouver a decade ago, the businessman and philanthropist hoped that the Jewish community would both participate in and benefit from fund’s growth.
Glassman started the fund in 2016 with a $1 million gift and soon added another million-dollar contribution. Since his death on Oct. 31, 2017, his 94th birthday, Rose Marie Glassman has continued to donate substantially, as have others. Today, the fund holds more than $6.5 million.
The foundation – now called the Jewish Community Foundation of British Columbia – manages more than 400 funds. The ones that can grant toward education fall into two main types, Inês Cindra, associate director of the foundation, told the Independent. “With Donor Advised Funds, the fundholder recommends which schools, universities or programs receive grants each year. Designated Funds, like the Glassman fund, are set up to support a specific institution or purpose on an ongoing basis, so the recipient and the general use are established from the start.
“Funds differ in size and in whether they support a single institution or education more broadly,” she said.
“Across all of our education-related funds combined, we have distributed approximately $5 million over the past 10 years,” said Cindra. “Last fiscal year, the foundation’s Donor Advised and Designated Funds, including the Glassman fund, distributed $622,315 in educational grants.
“Worth noting in context,” she added. “The Leon Glassman Fund for Jewish Continuity through Education accounts for $2.8 million of that 10-year total. It is our largest education-related fund, and its share of what this community has been able to give to Jewish education is remarkable. One family’s decision has shaped more than half of our education giving over the past decade. That is the difference an endowment of this scale makes, and it speaks to the Glassmans’ vision as much as to their generosity.”
Set up to support tuition assistance at Jewish day schools, Vancouver Talmud Torah, Richmond Jewish Day School and King David High School have all had recipients of the Glassman fund. When they were in operation, Vancouver Hebrew Academy, the Pacific Torah Institute and Shalhevet Girls High School also had recipients.
“The whole idea was, Leon and I felt that any Jewish child was entitled to a Jewish education, regardless of means,” Rose Marie Glassman told the JI. “This is why we set the whole thing up…. Each child should know their heritage and as much about it as they can. It wasn’t a matter of whether you were Orthodox, Reform or anything else, it was just a matter that, whoever you are, you’re entitled to an education.”
“A Jewish education is a birthright, not a privilege,” agreed Emily Greenberg, VTT chief executive officer and head of school. “I have seen firsthand what it means to families when they are welcomed into the fold and witnessed how our school becomes a central source of strength and stability during challenging times. Thanks to the Glassman Fund, Vancouver Talmud Torah has been able to remove financial barriers and build an inclusive, vibrant community and landing pad. By investing in planting deep roots in our children today, we give them a lifelong anchor – nurturing a strong Jewish future for all of us by building resilient Jewish centres here in Vancouver, across Canada and around the globe.”
“To ensure a vibrant Jewish future, we must make Jewish education accessible today,” said Dr. Seth Goldsweig, KDHS head of school. “The tuition assistance provided through the Leon Glassman Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation ensures that cost is never a barrier to a child discovering who they are and where they come from. Here at King David High School, the impact of this generosity is felt directly in our classrooms, where students build the knowledge, resilience and pride needed to thrive as the next generation of Jewish leaders.”
“Cost is one of the greatest barriers standing between a family and a Jewish education,” said Cindra. “Parents who want that education for their children often find it out of reach, and the decision they face is a difficult one. What the Glassman family did was recognize that barrier and set out to remove it, not for one year or one family, but permanently.
“That is what makes their gift so remarkable. Mr. Leon Glassman z”l and Mrs. Rose Marie Glassman understood that a scholarship changes one child’s life, but an endowment changes the lives of children not yet born. Over the past decade alone, their fund has sent $2.8 million to Jewish day schools across Greater Vancouver, and because it is structured to grow, it will keep opening classroom doors long after all of us are gone. Every year, students walk into school because of a decision this family made.”
This impact is illustrated by a comment from a King David parent that Goldsweig shared with the Independent: “As a single mother, the tuition support has been a true blessing. It has given me the ability to provide my children with a strong Jewish education – something that is deeply important to me – without having to choose between their schooling and our other basic needs. This support has not only eased the financial burden, but has also given me the peace of mind that my children are growing up connected to their heritage, values and community.”
Funds can be set up with the Jewish Community Foundation at any time, and the organization works with donors to create multi-generational plans.
“A donor, a family or an organization establishes an endowment fund with an initial gift and a fund agreement that sets out the fund’s type and purpose,” said Cindra of the process. “There is no minimum gift required to open a fund. Funds are structured as Donor Advised, Designated, Organizational, or Unrestricted, and the agreement determines how grants are recommended and where they go.
“Every contribution to a fund receives a charitable tax receipt at the time of the gift, while the grants themselves can flow out later and over many years,” she said. “This gives donors flexibility. They can make a gift in a year when it makes sense for them financially, then take their time deciding how and when it reaches the community.
“The foundation pools and invests the capital, professionally managed by Russell Investments under the oversight of our investment committee. Each year, the foundation distributes a percentage of each fund’s value based on a three-year rolling average … [which] smooths out market fluctuations, so a single difficult year in the markets does not sharply reduce what a school or agency receives. The balance of the return stays invested, which allows the fund to grow and to keep granting in perpetuity.
“Depending on how the fund is set up, other donors can contribute at any time,” said Cindra. “This is common with named funds established in memory of a family member, where friends and relatives add to the fund over the years and the annual distribution grows with it.”
And this is the case with the Glassman fund – anyone can contribute to it.
“We are deeply grateful to the Glassmans, and we consider it a privilege to steward this fund on their family’s behalf,” said Cindra. “It is philanthropic leadership in its truest form, and it reflects the values this community holds dear: that education is sacred, that children are our future, and that what we build should outlast us.
“We hope others will be moved by their example. A gift of any size, structured this way, becomes permanent. That is the invitation the Glassmans have extended to all of us.”
For more information and to donate, visit jewishcommunityfoundation.ca.