05/14/2026
Campaign for Jewish Needs Success Touted at Annual Meeting
Jeffrey J. Wild, Jewish Federation of Cleveland board chair, reflects on the previous year at the Federation's annual meeting on May 12 at Landerhaven in Mayfield Heights. CJN Photo / Casey Couch
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News
by Casey Couch
The Jewish Federation of Cleveland shared that its 2026 Campaign for Jewish Needs raised a record $39,035,018 during the organization’s 122nd Annual Meeting May 12 at Landerhaven in Mayfield Heights.
According to Jeffrey Wild, Federation board chair, the campaign total surpassed the previous year’s total of $38,087,175 and was achieved under the leadership of Amir Jaffa, treasurer and general campaign chair of the 2025 and 2026 campaigns.
“This remarkable success not only showed the strong growth of the top tier of the campaign, but it also shows Amir’s ability to bring more people into our work, expanding our reach and strengthening our community,” Wild said at the meeting.
Lynne Cohen will serve as general campaign chair for the 2027 and 2028 campaigns.
Reflecting on 2025 and 2026, Wild used the meeting as an opportunity to share updates and initiatives that launched in the past year.
“As you all know, Jewish Cleveland is a remarkable community,” Wild said. “And this past year demonstrated why Cleveland is widely recognized as one of the strongest Jewish communities in the world.”
Referencing the 2022 population study released in fall 2025, Wild said 18% of adult Jewish Clevelanders have moved to Cleveland in the past 10 years.
“Reflect on that,” Wild said. “Almost a fifth of our adult community is new within the last decade. Sixty-three percent of these new Clevelanders are between the ages of 18 and 34 years old. This is a great opportunity for continued growth and strength.”
Within the past year, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, seeking to address future growth and strength, supported the launch of the Day School Transformation Initiative in collaboration with the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland and the five area day schools.
“This initiative will allow us to strengthen school endowments, support capital projects and ensure that future generations of students receive an outstanding dual curriculum that’s rooted both in Jewish values and academic excellence,” Wild said.
According to Wild, more than $55 million has been raised so far, with another $29 million in gifts in process. Those dollars will be matched by the Mandel Foundation, meaning the Federation is “well on their way” to meeting its goal of raising $180 million for the day schools.
“This initiative has quickly become a model for Jewish communities across the country,” Wild said. “As always, Cleveland leads and other communities follow.”
In response to rising antisemitic incidents and a gap in support for Jewish students outside day schools, the federation also launched a new position titled “director of K-12 campus affairs.”
“This new staff position is acutely focused on supporting local public and private non-Jewish schools, including administrators, teachers, students and parents, as well as Jewish teachers, with problems related to Jew hatred that arise throughout the year,” he said.
Wild also shared updates on Federation, which over the past year formed an adult aging task force to assess the needs of the aging population, resulting in the launch of new programming.
On Israel, Wild said that since the war with Iran began last summer, the Cleveland community has raised $17 million for Israel. Over the past year, the Federation also launched a new fund for reservists in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel, continued rebuilding efforts in southern Israel and provided renovated bomb shelters and shelters in elementary schools.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine was recognized during the meeting as the 2026 recipient of the Charles Eisenman Award for Exceptional Civic Contributions, the Federation’s highest honor presented annually at its Annual Meeting.
Following his acceptance of the award, DeWine participated in a fireside chat interview with Amy Kaplan, co-chair of the event with her husband, Ira. During the conversation, the two discussed issues affecting the Jewish community, including Holocaust remembrance, DeWine’s vision for Ohio’s future and efforts to attract new populations to the state.
Kevin Margolis, chair of the Federation’s nominating committee, recognized new leadership appointees for the coming year. Among them were Richard Horvitz, honored as a new life trustee, and Remy Wilson, honored as an emeritus trustee.
Trustees approved for a three-year term were: Beth Wain Brandon, Philip M. Cohen, Rabbi Yael Dadoun, Barry S. Feldman, Adam H. Gimbel, Allyson Goldstein, Barry J. Guttman, Yoni Klein, Susan D. Krantz, Rafi Mahilnitski, Peter Meisel, Cameron Orlean, Meir Pollack, Adam Rosen, Beth Rosenberg, Erica G. Starrfield, Moish Tohn, Adam L. Wieder, Dara G. Yanowitz and Don Zigdon. Approved for a two-year term were: Paula R. Schwartz, and for a one-year term were Harlin Adelman and Kathy Solganik. New institutional trustees are Lisa Cynamon Mayers for NCJW Cleveland, Michael Guggenheim for Kent State Hillel and Tamar Poupko Smith for the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland.
Margolis also paid tribute to three Jewish community leaders who died in the past year: S. Lee Kohrman, Donna Yanowitz and Rabbi Rosette Barron Haim. Additional speakers included Ira and Amy Kaplan, co-chairs of the event, who introduced Rabbi Melinda Mersack, director of JHub, to deliver the invocation.
