05/26/2026
Saltzman Youth Panel Grants $45,000 for Community Needs
43 Jewish high school juniors and seniors from public and private high schools across Cleveland have come together to recommend grants totaling $45,000 to 15 organizations for crucial programs in the Jewish and general community through the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s 2025-2026 Maurice Saltzman Youth Panel.
Saltzman Youth Panel was established in 1998 through a generous gift from Shirley Saltzman z”l and her family in memory of the late Maurice Saltzman z”l. The program is designed to help educate the next generation of Jewish community leadership, a passion of Maurice Saltzman’s, who was a past board chair of the Federation. Each year, a new Saltzman Youth Panel allocates up to $45,000 to worthy organizations – 85% of which are awarded to programs serving the Jewish community and 15% awarded to non-profit programs serving the general community. Through this experience, the participants learn about the philanthropic process and responding to community needs.
Panelists Leila Cohen and Ellie White presented the panel’s recommendations to the Federation’s Board of Trustees on May 20, 2026. Recommendations from the panel were unanimously approved by the board.
Among the grants were: $4,000 to Bellefaire JCB to help families and youth in crisis access essential needs such as shelter, wellness supplies, and transportation; $4,000 to the Jewish Agency for Israel to support group trauma therapy for Israeli victims of terror; and $2,000 to Family Promise of Greater Cleveland to provide postpartum supplies for unhoused mothers in Greater Cleveland.
Prior to the Board of Trustees meeting, panelists and their families gathered for a reception to celebrate their accomplishments. Federation President Erika B. Rudin-Luria congratulated the group on their successful collaboration and philanthropic spirit. Panelists commented on how much they learned about community needs, evaluation of grant proposals, and the struggle to prioritize needs when resources are limited.
Panelists, selected through a competitive application process, met several times throughout the school year. They created a Request for Proposals, reviewed grant applications, learned about consensus decision making and, in the end, had a tremendous impact on programs and organizations which improve the lives of others. To learn more about the Saltzman Youth Panel, visit https://www.jewishcleveland.org/involved/teens/.
