Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University

Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University

CFTAU was established in 1972 to channel Canadian philanthropic capital to Tel Aviv University. Dr. Michael Tenenbaum serves as National President alongside Stephen Adler, a senior fundraising advisor, while David Altshuller chairs the Ontario and Western Canada region and Barbara Seal holds the title of National President Emerita. The foundation does not manage an endowment for external reporting purposes; it raises and deploys funds directly to the university. The organization's deployment model is direct grantmaking to named academic and research initiatives. Major partnerships include Sylvan Adams's support for the Sylvan Adams Sports Science Institute and The Asper Foundation's funding of the Asper Clean Water Fund. The foundation's assets consist of a small investment portfolio and cash equivalents held to facilitate multi-year commitments. The geographic focus is principally Canada, with all capital flowing to Tel Aviv University in Israel. CFTAU reports a modest balance sheet of approximately $5.8 million in assets (Altss estimate), reflecting its role as a fundraising conduit rather than an accumulating endowment. Its operational structure relies on a network of regional chairs and volunteer leadership, with no disclosed professional team size. There is no record of a separate philanthropic foundation — CFTAU itself is the charitable vehicle. Structurally, CFTAU functions as a single-beneficiary fundraising affiliate. Unlike multi-program foundations that build diversified portfolios, CFTAU's entire capital flow targets one institution. This creates a streamlined governance model where donor intent maps directly to specific academic outputs, bypassing the layers of investment committees typical of larger foundations.