Posted on February 21, 2012

Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest New Jersey to Receive $20 Million From Local Couple

The Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest New Jersey has been named the beneficiary of a $20 million life insurance policy established by longtime donors Leon Cooperman and his wife, Toby, New Jersey Jewish News reports.

Awarded through the Cooperman Family Foundation and believed to be the largest single contribution ever to JCF MetroWest, the gift will be split between the Cooperman Family Fund for a Jewish Future, which was launched in 2010 with $5 million from the couple and endows Birthright Israel, an international program that provides young Jews with free trips to Israel, and a discretionary fund.

Cooperman, CEO of the Omega Advisors hedge fund in New York, and his wife are signatories of the Giving Pledge campaign launched by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates in 2010 to encourage the nation's wealthiest individuals and families to give at least half of their wealth to charity. "I give to organizations that I perceive to be important," Cooperman told NJJN. "We are very active in our Judaism and trying to make sure that we continue to exist as a religion and a group. We are such a small minority, and intermarriage makes us smaller and smaller."