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Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County
The Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County was established in 1962 to consolidate communal fundraising and social services. President and CEO Michael Hoffman...
Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County
The Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County was established in 1962 to consolidate communal fundraising and social services. President and CEO Michael Hoffman oversees the entity alongside Board Chair Barry S. Berg, a former Managing Director at First Republic Investment Management. The Federation sits within the national network of Jewish Federations of North America, drawing its wealth from a multi-generational donor base rooted in the Palm Beaches. Investment strategy centers on buyout allocations. The Federation directs a portion of its endowment into private equity, drawing on the expertise of its Investment Committee. That committee includes Ira Gluskin, co-founder of the Toronto-based wealth manager Gluskin Sheff + Associates, and William A. Meyer, Chairman of Meyer Jabara Hotels. Asset-class coverage extends to the real assets held directly on the Federation's balance sheet: the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building in West Palm Beach, the Hood Road Campus in Palm Beach Gardens, and the Boynton Beach Campus. The Federation's investment architecture links directly to its operational scale. The William A. Meyer Jewish Community Foundation, an adjacent philanthropic vehicle, holds a dedicated investment portfolio. Bruce E. Toll, co-founder of Toll Brothers, appears as a major donor and board connection. In 2024, the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches named the Federation Nonprofit of the Year, underscoring an institutional footprint that blends civic presence with endowment management. The Federation's structural differentiator lies in its dual-track mandate: it is simultaneously a community foundation deploying programmatic grants and an asset owner managing a buyout-oriented portfolio. This hybrid posture mirrors Canadian pension models more than it does a typical U.S. community foundation, as the Investment Committee's composition draws directly from the institutional asset management world rather than from a purely donor-advised structure.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1962
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
West Palm Beach
Corporate office
1 Harvard Circle, Suite 100, West Palm Beach, FL 33409, United States
Additional offices
Hood Road Campus, 4801 Hood Rd, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418, United States · Boynton Beach Campus, 8500 Jog Rd, Boynton Beach, FL 33437, United States
Principals
Michael Hoffman
President and CEO
Barry S. Berg
Board Chair
Ira Gluskin
Investment Committee Member
William A. Meyer
Vice Chairman, Jewish Community Foundation; Investment Committee Member
Juliana Gendelman
Vice Chair of the Board
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County?
The Investment Committee, which includes Ira Gluskin, co-founder of Gluskin Sheff + Associates, and William A. Meyer, Chairman of Meyer Jabara Hotels, stewards the endowment. Michael Hoffman, President and CEO since 2015, provides executive oversight, while Board Chair Barry S. Berg brings additional experience from First Republic Investment Management.
Is the Federation structured as a grantmaking foundation or does it operate with an institutional investment approach?
It operates as both. The Federation funnels its estimated $131 million endowment into buyout strategies, a posture closer to an institutional asset owner than a donor-advised fund sponsor. Alongside its investment activity, it executes programmatic grants through the William A. Meyer Jewish Community Foundation.
How does the endowment relate to the Federation's real estate holdings?
The Federation carries several properties directly, including its Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building headquarters and additional campuses in Palm Beach Gardens and Boynton Beach. These real assets sit on the balance sheet alongside allocation-driven buyout exposures.
Does the Federation participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
Current public disclosures confirm a buyout-oriented strategy but do not detail whether execution flows through fund commitments, direct co-investments, or both. The presence of institutional allocators such as Ira Gluskin on the Investment Committee suggests access to manager relationships typical of fund commitments.
What is the relationship between the Federation and the William A. Meyer Jewish Community Foundation?
The William A. Meyer Jewish Community Foundation functions as the Federation's central philanthropic vehicle, holding a dedicated investment portfolio. William A. Meyer, its vice chairman, also sits on the Federation's Investment Committee, linking the two entities at both the governance and asset levels.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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