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A Maimonides for the Age of AI

The situation we face today will require us to go beyond a legal response into theological, anthropological, and philosophical territory,...

Being Decisive in the Face of Uncertainty

JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny's presidential address at the JFN 2022 International Conference, delivered in Palm Beach, Fla., on...

Universal Jewish Literacy

Published on January 26, 2022 in Sapir Journal Articles John F. Kennedy’s original “moonshot” idea—to land a man on the moon before the...

Z3 Project Presents: Andrés Spokoiny

Resilience Isn’t Enough. We Need 'Renaissilience'

JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny's presidential address at the JFN 2021 International Conference, delivered online on Wednesday,...

The Covid Content Revolution

When my son, a high school senior, decided to take a science course that would look good on his college applications, he initially...

Covid Was Not a Crash Diet: What Funders Need to Do in the Next Phase

(A Message for the National Day of Philanthropy) Anybody who, like me, has ever tried to lose weight – and failed – has experienced some...

Seven Questions We Need to Ask in 5781

“Since the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem”, says the Talmud, “prophecy has been taken from prophets and given to fools and...

Billionaires: It's Time to Give Until It Hurts

Recently, the Washington Post reviewed the charitable donations of the 50 wealthiest Americans during COVID. What they found was...

Are We Ready for the Spiritual Transformation this Plague Will Unleash?

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed our Jewish communal infrastructure in grave danger, as Armin Rosen documented here earlier this week. At...

Does the Jewish Community Need a Central COVID Fund?

Here's A Better Strategy for Addressing the Crisis In the current crisis, we are hearing calls in the Jewish media and in leadership...

Coronavirus Is a Test for Funders, and Failing Isn't an Option

Scroll down or click here to watch this speech. “These are the times that try men’s souls,” said Thomas Paine. And these times are trying...

Before the Next Recession, Philanthropy Needs to Redefine Efficiency

In a crisis, short-term efficiency can be a shock amplifier. Long-term efficiency comes from building resilient institutions. This...

Looking Past the Flames: Address to JFN 2019

The word focus comes from the Latin for “fire”. The “focus” was the fireplace in a Roman home.* Fire draws our attention. It’s impossible...

A Tree of Life, and Light for Joy: Philanthropy After Terror

All weekend as I watched the news, I wondered again what I’ve wondered before: why isn’t pain a zero sum game? Why can’t we spread the...

Diaspora Philanthropy To Israel Is No Longer A One Way Street

I follow Anshel Pfeffer’s column in Haaretz with assiduity. I usually find his mordant analyses profound and insightful. But I can’t help...

Philanthropic Arrogance (and how to avoid it), Part II

In order to succeed as philanthropists, we need to better understand and accept the views of those who are in positions of less relative...

El Silencio es Salud: Andrés Spokoiny's Address to the 2017 JFN Conference

Andrés Spokoiny, President & CEO of Jewish Funders Network, addressed the 2017 JFN conference on March 20, 2017. When I was growing up,...

Is “The Twilight of the Elites” a Sunset for Jewish Philanthropists, Too?

We live in an era that journalist Chris Hayes calls “The Twilight of the Elites.” As a culture we have discovered that our society – in...

The Aspen Tree & Funder Collaboration

The aspen tree, from which that beautiful Colorado town takes its name, is a remarkable plant. An aspen forest is, in fact, one single...

Toward ‘Radical Transparency’ In Philanthropy

William O. Douglas, the longest-serving U.S. Supreme Court justice, said that “sunlight is the best disinfectant.” But as a proverbial...

Inside the mind of Andres Spokoiny

The Wexner Foundation at 30—Leading on Leadership

John F. Kennedy once said that “leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” JFK probably didn’t know, but his statement was...