The Jeffrey Farber Family Foundation concentrates its philanthropy on Jewish communal life, making large, unrestricted gifts to core Jewish organizations. Its giving supports both local Jewish community infrastructure (a major gift to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit) and national Jewish education/vocational programming (ORT America).
Highly concentrated: very few, large unrestricted grants to established Jewish organizations rather than many small or program-specific awards.
Notable grantees: Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, ORT America
The Jeffrey Farber Family Foundation’s 2024 giving is anchored by two large unrestricted gifts: $250,000 to Jewish Federation of Metr and $194,250 to Ort America. Those grants point to a pattern of core support for Jewish communal life and Jewish education, with funding delivered as flexible charitable gifts rather than project-specific awards. The foundation’s recent portfolio also includes smaller unrestricted grants to a mix of Michigan nonprofits and a few out-of-state organizations, suggesting a grantmaking style that combines a strong Jewish communal emphasis with selective broader charitable support. Within that pattern, the foundation appears to favor established organizations and general operating support. The largest grant went to a Jewish federation in Bloomfield Hills, while a second major award went to ORT America, another Jewish nonprofit in the same city. Smaller gifts extend to organizations in Detroit, East Lansing, Commerce Center, Chicago, and Warrington, but the core of the foundation’s recent activity is concentrated in Jewish institutions and unrestricted giving.
Jewish communal infrastructure is the clearest theme in the foundation’s recent work. In 2024, it gave $250,000 to Jewish Federation of Metr for an unrestricted charitable gift, reinforcing support for a central community institution. Jewish education and vocational training are also part of the picture. The foundation awarded $194,250 to Ort America as an unrestricted charitable gift, aligning with the organization’s vocational and technical education mission. Beyond those larger awards, the foundation made smaller unrestricted gifts to a set of community-serving nonprofits. It gave $10,000 to Empowerment Plan in Detroit, $5,000 to Gleaners Community Food B in Detroit, and $10,000 to Shirley Ryan Ability Lab in Chicago, showing that its giving is not limited to a single institution or city.
Typical grants are modest, with a p25 of $5,000, a median of $7,500, and a p75 of $10,000. The pattern is strongly top-heavy: two grants in 2024 account for most of the annual total, while the rest cluster at $2,500 to $10,000. The recent list shows a single-year snapshot rather than repeated awards to the same recipients across multiple years, so the clearest visible pattern is concentrated annual support with a mix of large and smaller unrestricted gifts. The foundation does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments.
$497K
$0
-$711K
$497K
Most grants fall between $5K and $10K, with a median of $8K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$8K
75th Percentile
$10K
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Giving is local in reach and concentrated in Michigan. Eight of the ten recent grants went to recipients in the state, matching the 80% figure for grants given to recipients in the HQ state. Bloomfield Hills appears repeatedly as a recipient city, and Detroit also shows up multiple times among the smaller awards. Outside Michigan, the foundation made grants to Chicago, Illinois, and Warrington, Pennsylvania, but the overall footprint remains centered in Michigan.
The foundation supports Jewish communal infrastructure, Jewish vocational and technical education, and selected community-serving nonprofits. In the recent grants list, that includes major unrestricted support for a Jewish federation and ORT America, plus smaller gifts to organizations such as Empowerment Plan, Gleaners Community Food B, and Shirley Ryan Ability Lab.
The foundation’s typical grant size is $5,000 at the 25th percentile, $7,500 at the median, and $10,000 at the 75th percentile. The 2024 list also shows two much larger grants of $250,000 and $194,250, indicating a mix of major anchor gifts and smaller gifts.
Yes. The recent grants are labeled as unrestricted charitable gifts, and the existing summary describes the foundation as making unrestricted, general operating support to established Jewish nonprofits. That pattern is visible in both of the largest 2024 awards and in the smaller grants as well.
The top state by grant count is Michigan, where 80% of grants went to recipients in the HQ state. The recent grants also cluster in Bloomfield Hills and Detroit, with additional grants in East Lansing and Commerce Center.
Yes, but selectively. In the recent grants list, recipients outside Michigan include Shirley Ryan Ability Lab in Chicago, Illinois, and Israel Guide Dog Center in Warrington, Pennsylvania. All recent grants shown were to U.S.-based recipients.
2024
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2024.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JEWISH FEDERATION OF METR | BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI | $250,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED CHARITABLE GIFT |
| ORT AMERICA | BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI | $194,250 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED CHARITABLE GIFT |
| EMPOWERMENT PLAN | DETROIT, MI | $10,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED CHARITABLE GIFT |
| SHIRLEY RYAN ABILITY LAB | CHICAGO, IL | $10,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED CHARITABLE GIFT |
| BIRMINGHAM BLOOMFIELD COM | BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI | $10,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED CHARITABLE GIFT |
| GLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD B | DETROIT, MI | $5,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED CHARITABLE GIFT |
| MCF | DETROIT, MI | $5,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED CHARITABLE GIFT |
| HIGHER HOPES | COMMERCE CENTER, MI | $5,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED CHARITABLE GIFT |
| NOTTINGHAM NATURE NOOK | EAST LANSING, MI | $5,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED CHARITABLE GIFT |
| ISRAEL GUIDE DOG CENTER | WARRINGTON, PA | $2,500 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED CHARITABLE GIFT |
| ORT AMERICA | BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI | $250,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED CHARITABLE GIFT |
BIRMINGHAM BLOOMFIELD COM
$10,000UNRESTRICTED CHARITABLE GIFT
MCF
$5,000UNRESTRICTED CHARITABLE GIFT
HIGHER HOPES
$5,000UNRESTRICTED CHARITABLE GIFT
NOTTINGHAM NATURE NOOK
$5,000UNRESTRICTED CHARITABLE GIFT