JNF

LEADERSHIP
100 Days of Success
JNF’s new national president raises $30 million
in first major milestone of his tenure
By MAAYAN HOFFMAN
Dr. Sol Lizerbram, the new
national president of Jewish
National Fund (JNF-USA),
has started off on the right
foot, raising $30 million in his first 100
days in office, JNF told The Jerusalem
Report.
Lizerbram, inaugurated in October,
presides over Jewish National Fund’s
billion-dollar, 10-year fund-raising
plan, now closing its fourth year and
approaching half its goal. He has gotten
off to a running start toward his
goal of raising a half billion dollars over
the next four years.
In an interview with The Report, Lizerbram
called his personal accomplishment
“really exciting,” but he said he
was especially proud of JNF’s performance
as a whole.
“The rewarding part has been
learning how Jewish National Fund
is improving the lives of every Israeli
every day, and that is a great feeling,”
Lizerbram said. “When you say my 100
days, it is my 100 days as president. But
this is not all me – not at all. The work is
done through lay leadership under the
direction of our professional staff. It is
a collaboration of love and great teamwork.
Through it all is my wife, Lauren,
who is there every step of the way.”
When asked what his greatest accomplishment
has been so far, Lizerbram
said it was working with lay leaders
to initiate new projects and establish
new ways of energizing people around
the US to become part of the Jewish
National Fund family. To that end, Lizerbram
oversaw JNF’s annual national
conference in South Florida in November,
which set an attendance record
with more than 1,200 participants.
In addition to the conference, more
Dr. Sol Lizerbram and his wife, Lauren, speak with JNF Chief Israel Officer
Eric Michaelson at a JNF funded playground in Sderot.
than 3,200 people have collectively
attended 161 events in 42 cities across
the US in the past few months alone.
“The biggest challenge has been trying
to keep up with all the different
events that JNF is having around the
country,” he said. “I try to go to as
many as I can, but there are so many
now that it is hard.”
Lizerbram singled out Jewish National
Fund’s women’s campaign, which
raised nearly $10 million in his first
100 days and had a special training session
at the national conference. More
than 150 women in JNF’s Sapphire
and Chai Societies (minimum annual
donations of $5,000 and $1,800 respectively)
attended a luncheon at the conference,
featuring former Miss Israel
Titi Ayanaw, who is an Ethiopian-born
model.
He said he was also proud of JNFuture,
the organization’s young leadership
division for ages 22 to 40, which
has raised more than $520,000 so far
this campaign year and has more than
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