Kline Galland Center Foundation

Kline Galland Center Foundation

The Kline Galland Center Foundation was established in 1999 to endow the continuum of senior care services operated by Kline Galland, a Seattle non-profit whose roots trace to Caroline Kline Galland's 1907 bequest to create a home for the aged. Today the operating entity provides independent and assisted living, skilled nursing, and hospice care from multiple campuses in Seattle, and the foundation exists solely to secure that mission's financial future. CEO Jeffrey Cohen leads the broader organization, while founder and president Joshua H. Gortler chairs the foundation's investment and fundraising efforts alongside board chair Stan Mark. Despite its endowment scale, the foundation maintains an unconventional portfolio for a long-term care non-profit. Publicly disclosed limited-partnership commitments include Commonfund Capital Natural Resources VIII, signaling an allocation to natural resources, timber, and energy transition assets. The foundation's investment strategy also spans buyout, distressed debt, fund of funds, special situations, and turnaround mandates — a mix more common among family offices than single-mission endowments. The foundation holds a publicly traded securities portfolio alongside its direct real estate, which includes the Caroline Kline Galland Home and Mary Schwartz Summit senior living campuses. Co-investor and donor relationships with entities such as the Samis Foundation and the Karen and Gary Schwartz Foundation further anchor the organization within Seattle's Jewish institutional community. The foundation's operational scale is modest: its headquarters remain in Seattle, and key professionals include CFO Tracey Groscost and CPO Nate Nusbaum. Gortler was named Mentor of the Year by LeadingAge, reinforcing the organization's profile beyond its asset base. In tandem with its investment arm, the organization maintains several related philanthropic vehicles, including the Caroline Kline Galland Test Trust and the Polack Family Supporting Foundation, and partners closely with the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle for grantmaking and endowment stewardship. What sets Kline Galland Center Foundation apart structurally is its combination of an aggressive, multi-asset endowment strategy with a single-focus operating mission. Unlike diversified healthcare systems that centralize investment management, the foundation deploys a fund-of-funds and alternatives-heavy approach for a relatively small pool of capital, while the real estate it owns — the campuses themselves — serves both investment and mission purposes simultaneously.