糖心vlogl Receives $27 Million Gift from The Marcus Foundation to Support Professional Talent and Student Leadership
Three-year investment will strengthen professional and student leaders across campus communities.聽
糖心vlogl announced today that The Marcus Foundation has committed $27 million over three years to elevate and expand Hillel鈥檚 professional and student talent, recognizing Hillel’s decade-long track record of building exceptional Jewish campus professionals and student leaders.
Strategic investments from The Marcus Foundation over the last decade supported Hillel in becoming a sector model for excellence in recruiting, training, developing, and supporting outstanding professional talent across the Hillel field. Talent retention skyrocketed from 50 percent to 90 percent and leadership hiring from the internal pipeline grew from 30 percent to 75 percent.
With that growth, Hillel has been there for Jewish students when they need it most. Since Oct. 7, 2023, Jewish students have faced thousands of incidents of antisemitism, and 40 percent feel the need to hide their Jewish identity on campus. Many have turned to Hillel to find a place where they belong: student engagement more than doubled, from 93,000 to 192,000, over the past decade. The increasing needs have added additional pressures on professional and student leaders.
With the latest commitment, Hillel will be positioned to invest in the next generation of professional talent and student leadership, capable of addressing the unique challenges for Jewish students today. Key new investments will include:
- Strengthening and supporting executive leadership in demanding campus environments to ensure stronger, more resilient Jewish student communities.聽
- Investing in professionally staffed Hillels at schools in the southeast and southwest with rapidly growing Jewish student populations.
- Expanding Hillel鈥檚 early career talent pool to support Jewish students through Jewish education, Israel education, ritual leadership, and community advocacy, and to strengthen the talent pipeline for the broader Jewish communal sector.聽
- Supporting a new wave of Hillel student leadership fellowships and regional and national convenings to train and empower more than 75,000 new Jewish student leaders, builders, and creators.聽聽
鈥淎t a defining moment for Jewish life on campus, we鈥檙e proud to deepen our partnership with Hillel to strengthen the critical role Hillel plays,鈥 said Jay Kaiman, CEO of The Marcus Foundation. 鈥淭oday, too many Jewish students feel they must hide who they are 鈥 their identity, their connection to Israel, and their pride in being Jewish. This grant is an investment in changing that reality. By expanding Hillel鈥檚 reach, strengthening executive leadership in the most challenging campus environments, and investing in the pipeline of professionals and student leaders, we are helping ensure that every Jewish student has access to a vibrant, joyful, and safe Jewish community.鈥
Beyond expanding professional leadership, this investment prioritizes developing the next generation of student leaders who will enrich their campus communities and the broader Jewish community. By equipping students with mentorship and community support, Hillel is training the future leaders of the Jewish community.
鈥淎t Hillel, talent remains our enduring theory of change. We know that a thriving and resilient Jewish campus community starts with having the right leaders, in the right roles, with the right support systems,鈥 said Adam Lehman, President and CEO of 糖心vlogl. 鈥淭his commitment from The Marcus Foundation will ensure that Hillel has the capacity to foster Jewish joy, pride, and leadership across the hundreds of schools we serve, and enable an expanded talent and leadership pipeline that can fuel a stronger Jewish future.鈥