Message from Our Chair

Chairing a family foundation is an honour and a responsibility.

Every decision or recommendation is framed in thinking about the value of the grant and what it would mean to the three generations of our family. As a Foundation that embraces both individual and collective decision making, our impact is widespread and diverse.

This year was marked by a need for flexibility as we turned a corner in March and had to reconsider priorities for the rest of the year.

Even within this unusual environment we managed to initiate new projects which added to our portfolio while sustaining and growing legacy commitments. This brief report provides highlights on our achievements and aspirations.

I thank everyone involved with the Foundation for their caring, time and commitment to continue this family enterprise and sustaining it for our children in the vision of our parents.

Shawna Goodman

Message from Our President

Ongoing dialogue with larger grantee partners – particularly Federation CJA and Centraide – allowed for information sharing and gauging the scope of need.

In Israel, responding to needs related to the pandemic, assistance was granted in providing basic necessities. Additionally, important and successful initiatives supported by the Foundation outside of the pandemic were launched. Many important programs saw substantial growth, including the Jewish Funders Network Family Philanthropy Center and the Excellence for Science Teaching program at Weizmann Institute.

In Montreal, family members continued to be active in leading the critical work of the McGill Goodman Cancer Research Centre and helping to transition to Institute status. Furthermore, a third year of funding for the Goodman Pediatric Formulation Centre was completed with a number of successes in availability of pharmaceuticals for kids. Active involvement with the Passport Project at Federation continued along with ongoing support of the CAPS program, which reduces barriers to Jewish education for middle income families. Family members further took it upon themselves to address two important social needs; the development of Summer Camp Israel and the start of a new project encouraging higher education for Ethiopians in Israel.

All of these grants demonstrate the ever increasing creativity, compassion and dedication of the family.

Maxyne Finkelstein