It gives me great pleasure to be writing you today in my new role as President of the Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest NJ (JCF).  Over the years, I have had the honor of serving our Jewish community in myriad ways and I am gratified and excited to be taking on this new leadership role with JCF.

These are exciting times in philanthropy. As you may know, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have challenged their fellow billionaires to commit at least one-half of their fortunes to charity.  40 members of the Forbes 400 have followed their example and committed to doing so. The “Giving Pledge”, as the challenge is being called, asks wealthy families to have important conversations about their wealth and how it can be used for good. You can find more information about their stories at www.thegivingpledge.org.

 Having important conversations about wealth and how it will be used for good is at the heart of JCF’s work.  Of course, not everyone has wealth like the Gates and Buffet families, but that should not stop all of us from considering what we do have and how we can use our resources to create legacies that will forever shape our Jewish community.

This year, we intend to increase awareness of this issue and the many others our Foundation pursues on behalf of our community.  I look forward to sharing with you more about our work in the months ahead.

For now, I thank you for your support of our Jewish community and offer my best wishes for a sweet and peaceful new year.  Shana Tova!

Regards,


Ken Heyman, President
Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest NJ