News & Impact

Doug Winthrop has served on JFCS’ Board of Directors since 2007 and was recently elected as President for 2021 – 2022. A magna cum laude graduate of both Harvard College and the University of Minnesota Law School, where he was an editor of its law review, Doug clerked for former United States Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens before moving his litigation practice to San Francisco to join Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk and Rabkin, which later combined with Arnold & Porter LLP. We recently sat down with Doug to talk about his time with JFCS and what motivates him… Read More

In an unprecedented public-private partnership, the JFCS Holocaust Center will partner with the State of California to respond to rising acts of antisemitism and hate. By combining private donations with public money, the JFCS Holocaust Center will lead an important initiative to expand Holocaust and genocide education across our state. Over recent months, JFCS has been working closely with key policymakers and community partners to advocate for critical action to combat hate in California. This month, a historic budget deal was signed—thanks to the leadership of the Jewish Legislative Caucus, led by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel and State Senator Scott Wiener;… Read More

“I’m excited to be an ambassador to younger professionals,” says Robert (Robby) Kaufman, one of the newly elected and youngest members of the JFCS Board of Directors. “There are so many opportunities to participate as volunteers and so many ways to access help.” Robby, the vice president of investor relations at FTV Capital in San Francisco, became involved with JFCS when researching his family’s history. Inspired by a summer 2017 trip to Poland, Robby began to piece together the experiences of his maternal grandparents, both Holocaust survivors, who had passed away. His research led him to the JFCS Holocaust Center… Read More

Eight years ago, Betsy Zeger’s mother, Maxene, had just gotten out of the hospital when Betsy’s father died unexpectedly. Betsy found herself completely stretched thin, trying to care for Maxene while grieving the loss of her father. Fortunately, a dear friend noticed Betsy’s struggle and connected her with JFCS’ Seniors At Home division. Betsy says calling JFCS was a turning point. “My mother’s quality of life greatly improved, as did mine, knowing that she was in such safe and capable hands,” Betsy recalls. “Her needs have varied over the years, but the one thing that’s consistent is the way Seniors… Read More

By Susan Carroll, Director of Family Support Services at JFCS  COVID-19 significantly impacted us all—whether we experienced a reduction in our capacity to earn a living, were separated or isolated from loved ones, or, whether we agreed or not, we experienced our activities of daily living as dictated by powers beyond ourselves. Sadly, these are common occurrences for persons experiencing domestic violence (DV)—feeling powerless over what you can do, who you can see, where you can go, or how long you can spend there. Imagine if you can, the impact that COVID-19 restrictions have had on your stress levels, mental… Read More

We often receive questions about two types of investment vehicles that sound similar and operate very differently: charitable gift annuities (CGAs) and charitable remainder trusts (CRTs). In this article, Ken Dike, Esq., of Clifford Swan Investment Counselors, helps to break down the differences and answer common questions. By Ken Dike, Esq., CPA, CLPF, Executive Director of Planned Giving Services at Clifford Swan Investment Counselors What is a charitable gift annuity (CGA)? What are the benefits? A charitable gift annuity (CGA) is an arrangement whereby assets are given to a charity in return for the charity’s promise to make lifetime payments… Read More