Our Endowment & Endowed Funds

A gift to the endowment at the Yiddish Book Center is an investment in the future. Endowed funds grow in value over time. Our endowment provides annual income to support programs and initiatives in accordance with terms you specify. Although some of the endowment is unrestricted, much of it is designated for specific purposes.

Our Board of Directors' Investment Committee includes experts in economics and finance. The Committee selects investments and closely monitors performance, with the goal of prudently growing principal while providing a dependable source of income for operations and programs. We take an indexed approach, which results in strong returns over time and keeps costs to a minimum. Our spending policy provides that 4 percent of the average quarterly market value of the endowment over the preceding sixteen quarters is available for spending in the subsequent fiscal year.

Unrestricted named endowed funds are used to launch new programs, support ongoing initiatives, or distribute income where most needed. You can establish an unrestricted endowed fund in your name or as a tribute to honor a family member or friend with a minimum gift of $10,000.

Named restricted funds are used to support specific aspects of the Center's work, such as Yiddish books, translation, oral history, education, or outreach. A named restricted endowed fund can be created with a minimum contribution of $25,000 in the form of cash, real estate, marketable securities, closely held stock, or certain other assets.

You can transfer assets to the Yiddish Book Center during your lifetime, or you can provide for the Center through a bequest. You can also designate the Yiddish Book Center as the charitable beneficiary of a will, IRA, 401(k) or 403(b) plan, charitable remainder trust, charitable lead trust, or life insurance policy.

The Yiddish Book Center is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. We guard the privacy of our donors and their personal and financial information. All communications, documents, and discussions are strictly confidential.

The Yerushe Fund: The Endowment of the Yiddish Book Center

We would like to recognize the following donors to the Yiddish Book Center who, by creating endowed funds, have ensured that future generations will benefit from the Center’s activities and programs.

Unrestricted Funds

You can establish an unrestricted named endowment fund with a minimum gift of $10,000. These endowed funds are used to launch new programs, support educational initiatives, or distribute income where it's most needed. You can add to your fund at any time.

  • Anonymous Fund
  • Joan and Robert Arnow Fund
  • Gloria L. and Dr. Robert Austin Family Fund
  • Samuel & Yetta Schwartz Sondock and Max & Ida Sarah Brown Endowment Fund, established by Marilyn S. Goldman in loving memory of her grandparents
  • Crown and Goodman Families Fund
  • Jeanette Dicker Fund, established by Ernest Dicker
  • Eugene and Elaine C. Driker Fund, established in honor of Lief D. Rosenblatt and Aaron Lansky
  • Herbert G. Feldman Fund, established by the Herbert G. Feldman Charitable Foundation
  • Harold and Ruth Friedman Endowment Fund
  • Glassman Family Fund in memory of Bernard Glassman
  • Priscilla Grabino Memorial Fund
  • Nissie & Ethel Grossman and Reuben & Lizzie Grossman Foundations Endowment Fund
  • Sharon Karmazin Fund
  • Daniel Mendelson and Jennifer Loew Mendelson Fund
  • Saul and Libby Moroff Fund
  • Nathan Pinsof Memorial Fund
  • Milton and Mildred Rosen Fund
  • Samuel and Miriam Rotrosen Fund
  • Morris and Eva Saperstein Fund, established by Harriet B. and Alvin M. Saperstein
  • Lillian and Samuel Schanberg, Freda and Charles Dyer, and Ira and Betty Dyer Fund
  • Sarah and Benjamin Torchinsky Fund

Restricted Funds

With a minimum gift of $25,000, you can establish a named fund in support of a specific aspect of the Center’s work, such as collections, translation, oral history, education, and outreach. You can add to your fund at any time.

  • Aron Alperin Fund for the Rescue and Preservation of Yiddish Language Books, in memory of Aron Alperin (1901–1988), Yiddish language journalist and author and editor of Varshever haynt (Warsaw), Parizer haynt (Paris), and Tog-Morgn zhurnal (New York). Established by his children and grandchildren: Lucy and Benjamin Corin, William and Lisa Corin, Scott Corin and Nina Blumenthal
  • Sholem Asch Fellowship Fund
  • Joan A. Backman Memorial Concert Fund, established in memory of their daughter by Irving and Charlotte Backman
  • Reverend Samuel A. Baker Memorial Fund for Scholarships, established by Michael H. Baker
  • Bayside Jewish Center Faculty Endowed Fund
  • Joseph and Marion Brechner Fund for Jewish Cultural Reporting, established by Marion Brechner
  • Bernard and Reva Broder Memorial Fund for Yiddish Music Projects and Programs
  • Lorraine "Libby" Buch Memorial Fund for Yiddish Music Projects & Programs
  • Hersch Yidl Bursztyn Fund for the Publication of Side-by-Side English Translations of Yiddish Literature
  • Kalman Carl and Anita Rosenzweig Cohen Fund, established by their son Elliot S. Cohen, MD
  • Charles Corfield Fund for College Students
  • Charles Corfield Fund for Pakn Treger
  • Ruthe B. Cowl Fund for Cultural Fellows
  • Bossie Dubowick Endowed Fund to support the furtherance and teaching of the Yiddish language at the Yiddish Book Center
  • Stanley R. Epstein Memorial Fund for Programs, established by Patricia Glass Schuman in memory of her late husband
  • I. Feeney and Dora Feins Memorial Fund for College Students
  • Ruth Felmus Fund for College Students
  • Sara and Nelson Fishman Endowment Fund for College Students
  • Drs. Marjorie Marks Fond and Richard Z. Fond Endowed Fund to support summer college students Yiddish educational programs at the Center
  • Samuel (Nesanel Yitschok) and Jennie (Wagman) Freeman Fund to support educational programs, including the Great Jewish Books program
  • Florence and Seymour Gerson Endowed Fund for Educational Programs at the Center
  • Myron and Penina Glazer Funds for Educational Programs
  • Herschel and Rivtche Goldfarb Fund for Yiddish Chair, established by Dan and Fran Dvorkin in memory of her parents
  • Ruth I., Charlotte B., and Samuel M. Gordon Fund
  • Earle and Carol Halsband Fund for Education Programs
  • Sarah and Helig Heller Fund for College Students, established by the estate of Sarah Heller
  • Richard S. Herman Endowed Graduate Fellow Fund
  • Reuben and Eva Herscher Memorial Fund for the Preservation of Yiddish Books, established by Eugene Herscher
  • John and Diana Herzog Fund for Book Preservation
  • Hirschhorn Fund for the Permanent Digitization of Yiddish Literature, established by the David and Barbara B. Hirschhorn Foundation
  • Hoffinger Fund for College Students, established by Bunny and Jack Hoffinger
  • Steven Holm Fund for Yiddish Instruction at the Center, established by his sister and brother-in-law, Gloria (Holm) Lieberman and Laurence Lieberman, to commemorate his memory
  • Kaplen Fund for Pakn Treger, established by the Kaplen Family Foundation
  • Joseph and Betty Keller Fund for College Students, established by the Keller-Shatanoff Foundation
  • Sam Kellerman Memorial Fund for College Students, established by family and friends
  • Benzion and Ester Kfar Fund for Education, established by Esther H. Rose
  • Sarah Rose Lazarus Fund for Family Concerts, established by Jeremy and Debbie Lazarus
  • Eugene, Enid, and Melanie Mark Fund established by Peter D. Mark to support educational programs, including the Great Jewish Books Program
  • Rona Moscow Memorial Fund for the Library, established by the Moscow Philanthropic Fund
  • I.L. Peretz If Not Higher Endowment Fund, established by Deborah Litwack in memory of her father John Litwack
  • Mark Pinson Fund for Pakn Treger
  • Ida and Aaron Rafalovsky Fund for the Rescue and Preservation of Yiddish Literature
  • Michael G. Reiff and Tatiana Simonova-Reiff Fund for Education Initiatives
  • Rosa E. Rosenberg Fund in memory of her parents
  • Melinda Rosenblatt Memorial Fund for Lectures, established by Lief D. Rosenblatt
  • Rabbi Emanuel M. Rubin Fund for College-Age Yiddish Educational Programs, established by Helen Leser Rubin to honor the memory of her beloved late husband, Rabbi Emanuel M. Rubin (z”l)
  • Ruth Dvorin Salpeter Memorial Fund for College Students 
  • Fred and Lola Sauerbrunn Fund for Yiddish Education for College-Age Students
  • Scher-Tapper Endowment Fund for Education Programs            
  • Harriett and Seymour Shapiro Fund for College Students
  • Paul and Frances Rottersman Sperber Fund for Yiddish Language Instruction, established by Rena and Alan Steinfeld in memory of her parents
  • Marilyn Rae Sporty Fund for Translation
  • Ruth Stein Memorial Fund for College Student Scholarships
  • David and Sylvia Steiner Fund for the Summer Program for College Students, established by the David S. and Sylvia Steiner Charitable Trust
  • Helen and Irving Sunshine Memorial Fund for Programs, established by Dr. Irving Sunshine 
  • Ethel and Martin Taft Fund for Translation
  • Eileen Tunick Fund for Education and Translation, in honor of her father, Aaron Tunick (z”l)
  • Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Fund for Education, established by the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation
  • Deborah and Peter Wexler Fund for Oral History
  • Arnee R. and Walter A. Winshall Fund for Innovation