The Aaron and Marie Blackman Foundation makes large, concentrated investments in Bay Area Jewish communal infrastructure, demonstrated by a single multi-million-dollar unrestricted gift to the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin & Sonoma. Their giving appears focused on sustaining umbrella Jewish community organizations that support synagogues, social services, cultural programming, and Jewish education across the region.
Highly concentrated: a single very large, unrestricted grant to a flagship regional Jewish federation rather than many small or diversified awards; suggests preference for core/general operating support to a primary grantee.
The Aaron and Marie Blackman Foundation Inc C/o Stuart Weinstein’s 2023 giving is dominated by a single unrestricted $5,977,332 gift to the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma. That grant sets the tone for a funder that channels substantial flexible support into Bay Area Jewish communal infrastructure rather than into a long list of restricted projects. The foundation’s recent grants also show support for Jewish education, synagogues, social welfare, and organizations tied to Israel, with many awards labeled unrestricted. Among the larger 2023 grants, it gave $244,000 to American Friends of Bar Ilan University and $80,000 to Israel Emergency Alliance. It also supported umbrella and educational institutions such as the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, Hebrew Union College-jewish Institute of Religion, and several Jewish day schools. Smaller grants went to community-facing groups including Loaves & Fishes of Contra Costa and San Francisco Jewish Community Publications, reinforcing a pattern of backing Jewish communal life alongside local nonprofit services.
Jewish communal infrastructure is the clearest through line in the foundation’s recent grants. The largest award was an unrestricted $5,977,332 gift to the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma, a regional umbrella organization. Education is another visible area. The foundation gave $244,000 to American Friends of Bar Ilan University, $10,000 to Hebrew Union College-jewish Institute of Religion, and $15,000 each to Brandeis Hillel Day School of Marin, Oakland Hebrew Day School, and Ronald C Wornick Jewish Day School. It also supported Israel-linked and social welfare organizations. Grants included $80,000 to Israel Emergency Alliance, $30,000 to American Friends of Reuth Medical & Life Care, $25,000 to Amit Children Inc, and $10,000 to American Friends of Retorno. These gifts point to interest in both communal services and institutions serving children, health, and recovery.
The foundation’s 2023 grant sizes cluster around modest, flexible awards: p25 was $8,000, median grant size was $12,000, and p75 was $23,000. That distribution sits alongside one very large outlier, the $5,977,332 unrestricted gift to the regional Jewish federation. The grants are overwhelmingly unrestricted, indicating a preference for general support over project-specific funding. The 2023 list does not show repeated recipients across multiple years in the data provided, so the visible pattern is a single-year snapshot rather than a documented multi-year renewal pattern. The foundation is not a DAF, does not fund individuals, and does not make program-related investments.
$6.6M
$0
$67K
$6.6M
Most grants fall between $8K and $23K, with a median of $12K.
25th Percentile
$8K
Median
$12K
75th Percentile
$23K
About 37% of grants go to recipients in NY.
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Notable grantees: Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin & Sonoma
Grants are regional, with California receiving the largest share of awards by count and 37% of grants going to recipients in the foundation’s HQ state. San Francisco appears repeatedly, including the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma and San Francisco Jewish Community Publications. Other California recipients include Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, San Rafael, Oakland, Foster City, and Martinez. Outside California, the foundation’s grants also reach New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, but every recent grant listed is to a U.S. recipient.
The recent grants show support for Jewish communal infrastructure, Jewish education, and Israel-linked organizations. Examples include a $5,977,332 unrestricted gift to the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma, $244,000 to American Friends of Bar Ilan University, and $80,000 to Israel Emergency Alliance.
The 2023 grants listed are overwhelmingly unrestricted. Every recent grant shown is labeled “UNRESTRICTED GIFT,” including the largest award to the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma and smaller gifts such as those to Oakland Hebrew Day School and Loaves & Fishes of Contra Costa.
Typical awards are in the low five figures. The foundation’s grant-size distribution shows a p25 of $8,000, a median of $12,000, and a p75 of $23,000, even though the year also includes one much larger unrestricted gift of $5,977,332.
California is the top state by grant count, and 37% of grants go to recipients in the HQ state of California. Recent California recipients include organizations in San Francisco, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, San Rafael, Oakland, Foster City, and Martinez.
2023
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2023.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JEWISH COMMUNITY FEDERATION OF SAN FRANCISCO THE PENINSULA MARIN & SONOMA | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $5,977,332 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS OF BAR ILAN UNIVERSITY | BEVERLY HILLS, CA | $244,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| ISRAEL EMERGENCY ALLIANCE | LOS ANGELES, CA | $80,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA | LOS ANGELES, CA | $55,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS OF JERUSALEM COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY | CEDARHURST, NY | $31,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS OF REUTH MEDICAL & LIFE CARE | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| AMIT CHILDREN INC | NEW YORK, NY | $25,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS OF ELI | MERION STATION, PA | $21,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| ALEH ISRAEL FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $16,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| RONALD C WORNICK JEWISH DAY SCHOOL | FOSTER CITY, CA | $15,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| BRANDEIS HILLEL DAY SCHOOL OF MARIN | SAN RAFAEL, CA | $15,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| OAKLAND HEBREW DAY SCHOOL | OAKLAND, CA | $15,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT - YESHIVAT HESDER NAHAR DEIAH | NEW YORK, NY | $13,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT - YESHIVAT BNEI AKIVA MAALOT YAAKOV | NEW YORK, NY | $12,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT - YESHIVAT HESDER KARNEI SHOMRON | NEW YORK, NY | $12,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS OF YESHIVAT BIRKAT MOSHE MAALEH ADUMIM | FLUSHING, NY | $12,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| HEBREW UNION COLLEGE-JEWISH INSTITUTE OF RELIGION | LOS ANGELES, CA | $10,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS OF RETORNO | BROOKLYN, NY | $10,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| INSITUTE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION IN JAFFA INC | FLUSHING, NY | $10,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT - ACHUZAT SARA | NEW YORK, NY | $8,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| BAYITH LEPLETOT INC - GIRLS TOWN JERUSALEM | BROOKLYN, NY | $8,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT - JERSUSALEM HILLS | NEW YORK, NY | $8,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT - TSAD KADIMA | NEW YORK, NY | $5,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT - MUTZOT | NEW YORK, NY | $5,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| SOUTHERN REGION NCSY | BOCA RATON, FL | $3,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| SAN FRANCISCO JEWISH COMMUNITY PUBLICATIONS | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $1,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| LOAVES & FISHES OF CONTRA COSTA | MARTINEZ, CA | $1,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
UNRESTRICTED GIFT
UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA
$55,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
UNRESTRICTED GIFT
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF REUTH MEDICAL & LIFE CARE
$30,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF ELI
$21,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
ALEH ISRAEL FOUNDATION
$16,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF YESHIVAT BIRKAT MOSHE MAALEH ADUMIM
$12,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
HEBREW UNION COLLEGE-JEWISH INSTITUTE OF RELIGION
$10,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF RETORNO
$10,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
INSITUTE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION IN JAFFA INC
$10,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
BAYITH LEPLETOT INC - GIRLS TOWN JERUSALEM
$8,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
SOUTHERN REGION NCSY
$3,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT