05/16/2025
JFSA's College Financial Aid Program
“I am currently chief resident in plastic & reconstructive surgery at Cleveland Clinic and will finish my six years of training in June. I plan to practice in Cleveland with a focus on cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. With the length of training and schooling, it is a huge investment to become a physician, and JFSA has definitely helped me get there.” - Morgan Fish
Jewish Cleveland has a strong tradition of supporting education through providing scholarships to those in need. In fact, one of the oldest known legacy gifts to the Jewish Federation of Cleveland was a bequest from the estate of Mrs. H. Black, who left an endowment gift to “aid deserving students in their higher education.” This bequest, among many others, provided core support for lower- and middle-income Jews to enroll in higher education. Starting in 1905, the Jewish Educational Loan Committee began distributing these grants to eligible students.
One donation to the scholarship program was a surprise bequest received in 1988 from Mortimer Max Weisberg. Mr. Weisberg owned and ran Weisberg and Co., a manufacturer and wholesaler of meat products, for 60 years. Upon his passing in 1986, Mortimer left instructions for both an unrestricted bequest to the Jewish Federation of Cleveland as well as leaving the remainder of a charitable trust for the purpose of supporting “needy and worthy students in undergraduate and graduate studies.” At the same time, Maurice Friedman was working with the Federation to create the Sadie and Maurice Friedman Endowment Fund for Jewish Welfare to endow $8.5 million for various causes, one of which was college scholarships. Together, these gifts helped significantly expand the College Financial Aid Program – all of which contributed to the robust program that exists today.
Today, all scholarships supporting Jewish students are consolidated and managed under the auspices of the Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland (JFSA). The College Financial Aid Program (CFAP), as it is now known, provides need-based grants, interest-free loans, and scholarships to full-time Jewish students in Greater Cleveland. Providing college education fosters successful employment as a cornerstone of individual empowerment and family stability.
CFAP provides funds specifically to Jewish students after funds from all other sources, both public and private, have been obtained and also assists students in accessing those funds. Each year, JFSA’s staff reviews all applications to determine eligibility and ensures that all requirements are met. In partnership with a volunteer-led committee, all eligible scholarship applications are reviewed and award recipients are selected.
“College affordability is a national crisis,” said Cindy Bruml, chair of the CFAP. “At its heart, JFSA’s College Financial Aid Program’s mission is to reduce the burden of college debt and increase access to higher education. The program consists primarily of grants and scholarships through the generosity of endowments held at the Federation and from individual family donors, and most recently the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation and the David and Inez Myers Foundation. I feel privileged to be part of a dedicated committee of volunteers that reads through hundreds of applications annually to assist with this vital program.”
The committee also functions to ensure a rigorous, fair process for selecting the candidates that receive named scholarship awards. This essential program has touched the lives of countless Jews in Cleveland. Through the generosity of endowed funds, our community will continue to provide this support for students in need for another 120 years.
This program has a profound impact on generations of Jewish Clevelanders.
A recent recipient, Isa Wiegand, shared that this program has “allowed me to be able to attend my dream school and pursue my dream career. I am now a first-year medical student at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cleveland campus. I am honored for the chance to train to become a doctor and hopefully help many people in my upcoming years. Working with JFSA and the College Financial Aid Program taught me that it is OK to depend on your community. My hope is that I will be able to give back to my community in the future, as this community has given so much to me.”
Core Program Eligibility Guidelines
- High school senior, college undergraduate, or graduate student who identifies as Jewish
- Full-time student
- Attending an accredited 4-year college (no online programs)
- Resident of Cuyahoga, Summit, Portage, Geauga, Medina, Lorain or Lake counties
- Has applied to or exhausted other sources and still needs additional finances to complete education
- 2.5 GPA minimum
