Jean Shafiroff and Georgina Bloomberg. Image by Karen Leon

Jean Shafiroff and Georgina Bloomberg. Image by Karen Leon

Radiant in a designer gown, philanthropist-become-author Jean Shafiroff welcomed the crush of guests at her Park Avenue home for the March 21 launch of her opus “Successful Philanthropy: How To Make A Life By What you Give.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

She introduced Georgina Bloomberg – professional equestrian and youngest daughter of New York’s mayor Michael Bloomberg – who in her preface to Shafiroff’s book explains how she was inspired to found what now has become “The Rider’s Closet” an organization that provides clothing and equipment free of charge for a therapeutic riding program for people who could otherwise not afford it.

“I want to tell you briefly why I wrote the book,” Shafiroff told the crush of guests amongst whom were Mortimer Zuckerman, Rita Cosby, Alex Donner and Fox News correspondent Rick Leventhal.

“Its message is that we all have so many gifts and we have so much to offer the world. I believe that [being a] philanthropist is not just about writing a check, but it’s about giving of yourself—your time and your knowledge…Anyone and everyone can be a philanthropist.”

With chapters that range from “The Roots of American Philanthropy: Giving before the 20th Century,” “Why Should I Give” and “Building a Life Around Giving” what I found most significant was the chapter “How To Treat Volunteers, Paid Employees, Those Serviced by a Charity”.

Shafiroff – who has worked both in public finance and private partnerships on Wall Street – holds an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University, a BS in physical therapy from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and was a physical therapist at New York’s St. Luke’s hospital – amplified: “We live in a world where there’s enormous poverty, enormous hardship, all of us … have an obligation to do something.”

Married to Martin Shafiroff, an investment advisor, Jean Shafiroff – whose own charities’ roster includes New York Women’s Foundation and the Southampton Animal Shelter – has been honored for her “hands-on philanthropy” by– among others– the New York City Mission Society and The Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services.

Her closing remarks: “It’s a cycle, because what you bring…will come back and what you give you get. You get rewarded and you know that you are helping make this a better world.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

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 polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount