Birthright Nails Down Adelson’s $20-Million Pledge
ANTE MAIMED: Stock losses raised fears about casino mogul Sheldon Adelson?s charitable giving.
Birthright Israel, one of the most prominent organizations promoting Jewish identity among young adults, has worked out a deal with its largest donor to confirm a $20 million pledge that had been in question for the coming year.
ANTE MAIMED: Stock losses raised fears about casino mogul Sheldon Adelson?s charitable giving.
Officials at Birthright Israel, which sends young Jews on free trips to Israel, say that the organization has made an arrangement with casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson to match his $20 million pledge for 2009 with $10 million in new gifts. Adelson had pledged the $20 million in the summer of 2008, but Birthright insiders had been so worried about whether the money would come through that they were planning on the assumption that it wouldn’t.
Adelson, tagged by Forbes as “the world’s richest Jew” in 2007, has seen his fortune decline precipitously since then. The stock of his casino company, Las Vegas Sands Corp., which is the bulk of his wealth, has dropped 95% in the past year, costing him more than $20 billion on paper.
Despite this, however, an agreement with Birthright confirming the pledge now seems to be in place.
“It’s definite,” said Robert Aronson, president of the Birthright Israel Foundation, which raises private donations for Birthright Israel. “It’s signed, sealed and delivered.”
But Birthright now faces a major fundraising challenge to secure the pledge: The organization must still raise $10 million in new gifts — a heavy lift in a climate where non-profits are struggling just to hold onto existing donors. Aronson, however, said he hopes to raise $60 million this year through the Birthright Foundation, up from $25 million last year.
“It’s a big jump,” he conceded.
Adelson could not be reached for comment.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
