Lauder Family Giving Circle

Laura and Gary adhere to the Torah’s commandment that it is the responsibility of each generation to give back to the community in pursuit of making the world a better place. They understand that it is their responsibility to teach and engage their two children, Josh and Eliana, in the tradition of giving and in the mitzvah of tzedakah.

Laura’s motto is: “This is not about getting our kids involved in our foundation, but getting us all involved in philanthropy together.”

The typical model of engaging the younger generation in family philanthropy has been to invite family members to join their parents’ foundation boards in an apprentice-style capacity. Laura and Gary take a different approach to inter-generational philanthropy. In 2011, Laura conceived of the Lauder Family Giving Circle to bring together family members working side-by-side as equal partners in philanthropy.

There is a growing interest in giving circles where groups of individuals donate their money and time to a pooled fund, decide together where to give the money, and increase their awareness of and engagement with various issues. The Lauder Family Giving Circle is based on Josh and Eliana’s experience when they were teenagers volunteering on the Jewish Teen Foundation Board where they worked with other teens to make philanthropic decisions based on consensus-building discussions.

Each year, Josh and Eliana alternate in selecting a topic and then leading the Lauder Family Giving Circle. To encourage others to engage in family philanthropy, the Lauders sometimes invite friends and extended family members to participate in the Lauder Family Giving Circle board meeting, which is held each year on Thanksgiving. Together, they review multiple proposals and award grants through a comprehensive, thoughtful, and engaging board meeting process.

Since its inception, the Lauder Family Giving Circle has awarded grants totaling nearly $1,450,000 on topics ranging from early childhood education to criminal justice reform. The following is a list of grants awarded by year and topic area:

2023
ISRAEL EMERGENCY GRANTS

$240,000 to Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund for the Israel Emergency Fund of which $115,000 is for shared society and $125,000 for trauma support.
$50,000 to JCRC Bay Area for the Israel Emergency Campaign to combat antisemitism.
$50,000 to Friends of Givat Haviva for General Support.
$125,000 to the Strategic Investment Fund for General Support.
$10,000 to UJA Federation of New York for Amanina to build out their volunteer platform.
$25,000 to Jewish Women’s Association Hong Kong for the Stands with Israel Campaign to support Kibbutz Holit.
$500,000 TOTAL

2022
US CHINA RELATIONS

$100,000 to Asia Society for Asia21 US-China Young Leaders Program
$100,000 TOTAL

2021
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM – REDUCING RECIDIVISM

$20,000 to A New Way of Life Reentry Project for General Support
$30,000 to Anti-Recidivism Coalition for the Second Chance Union Training Program
$10,000 to Complete Picture for Capacity Building
$10,000 to Credible Messenger Mentoring Movement for General Support
$10,000 to Defy Ventures for General Support
$25,000 to Fines and Fees Justice Center for General Support
$25,000 to Mt. Tamalpais College for Technical Assistance to other Prisons
$25,000 to Root and Rebound for Systems Reform
$20,000 to Silicon Valley De-Bug for General Support
$30,000 to The First72+ for General Support
$205,000 TOTAL

2020
PHILOSOPHY FOR CHILDREN

$25,000 to the Center for Public Philosophy at University of California, Santa Cruz for Outreach Invitational Ethics Bowl
$20,000 to the Israeli Academic Forum for Philosophy with Children at University of Haifa for Teacher Training at Elementary Schools in Israel
$25,000 to the Kegley Institute of Ethics at California State University, Bakersfield for Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Partnership
$25,000 to the National High School Ethics Bowl at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill for General Support
$20,000 to Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization for General Support
$115,000 TOTAL

2019
VOTER REGISTRATION AND ENGAGEMENT LEADING UP TO THE 2020 ELECTIONS

$25,000 to the Fair Elections Center for the Campus Vote Project
$10,000 to Faith in Action for faith-based voter mobilization efforts
$25,000 to the League of Women Voters Education Fund for voter mobilization efforts
$20,000 to Nonprofit Vote to encourage voter participation among marginalized communities
$20,000 grant to Voto Latino to increase voter participation through the VoterPal digital platform
$100,000 TOTAL

2018
INTERSECTION OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION

$10,200 to The Good People for The Forgotten People Fund to provide laptop computers to low-income Ethiopian college and trade-school students in Israel
$25,000 to Hack Club to support their expansion plans to create after-school hack clubs for low-income students
$10,000 to IgniteSTEM to create content for a new online teacher network and to award grants to teachers to help them launch STEM initiatives at under-resourced schools
$37,300 to UPchieve for mobile app development and Bay Area expansion to provide tutoring support to low-income students
$17,500 to We Share Solar to enable students from low-resourced schools in Northern California to participate in their programs
$100,000 TOTAL

2017
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

$15,000 to Anti-Recidivism Coalition to establish a fund for Bay Area members to support their educational, employment and personal success
$5,000 to Essie Justice Group to help launch a new Essie Sisters Cohort in Santa Clara County
$10,000 to the Glide Foundation for the Rabbi at Glide – San Francisco Redemption Project
$10,000 to Project Rebound to support formerly incarcerated students at San Francisco State University
$10,000 grant to Silicon Valley De-Bug to support their Participatory Defense work
$10,000 grant to Young Women’s Freedom Center to convene criminal justice reform leaders and formerly incarcerated girls and women from San Francisco, Santa Clara, and Alameda Counties
$85,000 TOTAL

2016
INCREASING STRATEGIC IMPACT

$5,000 to Ever Forward Club for marketing collateral and website upgrades $5,000 to Experience Corps Bay Area for Selby Lane Elementary School in Redwood City School District
$5,000 to Girls Leadership to pilot a workshop for girls and their parents/caregivers in a low-income school/organization in San Mateo County
$5,000 to JobTrain for Youth Services Program $5,000 to TeenForce for STEM Training Program
$5,000 to Ten Gav to fund individuals’ needs
$20,000 to The Good People Fund for the following projects:
– $5,000 is for Gideon Ben-Ami’s Forgotten Hunger program
– $5,000 is for Humans and Animals in Mutual Assistance
– $5,000 is for Kaima Kids
– $5,000 is for Yotsrot Women’s Empowerment/Turning the Tables
$50,000 TOTAL

2015
MICRO-FINANCING/LENDING

$7,194 to Ten Gav ($2,000 to upgrade their website, $5,194 to fund individuals’ needs)
$30,000 to The Good People Fund for the following projects:
– $5,000 for Gideon Ben-Ami’s Forgotten Hunger program
– $5,000 for the Yotsrot Women’s Empowerment/Turning the Tables
– $5,000 is for the Gan Felicia nursery school
– $5,000 is for the SAHI Kids program
– $5,000 is for the Forgotten People Fund for Poverty
– $5,000 is for the Sundara Fund for Kids in Mumbai and Myanmar
$37,194 TOTAL

2014
SUPPORT AND PROMOTE EARLY CHILDHOOD LITERACY

$12,500 to Experience Corps Bay Area for general support
$12,500 to Jewish Coalition for Literacy for general support
$12,500 to Reach Out and Read for the San Francisco Bay Area Program
$12,500 to 826 Valencia for general support
$50,000 TOTAL

2013
JOB TRAINING TO HELP PEOPLE FIND JOBS AND ATTAIN SELF- SUFFICIENCY

$5,000 to HIP Housing for Self Sufficiency Program
$15,000 to Jewish Vocational Service for Employment Services in San Mateo County
$14,000 to Job Train for Youth Services Program $16,000 to Teen Force for general support
$50,000 TOTAL

2012
ALLEVIATING POVERTY IN SAN MATEO COUNTY

$10,000 to Inn Vision & Shelter Network to assist families in overcoming homelessness
$15,000 to Jewish Family and Children’s Services to help up single parent families
$10,000 to Jewish Vocational Service to offer job skills workshops
$15,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank to provide weekly bags of groceries to needy families
$50,000 TOTAL