History

The Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation was founded in 1971.  Far-sighted community members Bernard Shinder, Gilbert Greenberg and the Vaad Ha’Ir (now known as the Jewish Federation of Ottawa) Executive Director Hy Hochberg saw the need for a financial resource to maintain the community’s fiscal structure and safeguard its future.  This new organization would also be a means to perpetuate the name of a person or a family and link it to the community forever.

First known as the Ottawa Jewish Community Endowment and Bequest Foundation, its name was changed in 1982 to the Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation (OJCF).  

The original applicants for the charter and subsequently, the first Directors, were: Alex Betcherman, Hy Joseph Harris, David Loeb, Samuel Taller, Hy Bessin, Norman Zagerman, Gilbert Greenberg, Abraham Palmer, Bernard Shinder and Hy Soloway.  

The first President was Gilbert Greenberg, and for over twenty years, Casey Swedlove z”l served as volunteer Executive Director of the Foundation – raising funds for the future of the community.

Without the foresight of the individuals mentioned above, the dedication of our volunteers and the generosity of the people of this community and abroad, the OJCF would not be what it is today.