JustASC

Unlike the Los Angeles Jewish federation, whose community foundation had $25.5 million, or 11% of its assets, parked with Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme,  the MetroWest federation here in New Jersey says it has “no exposure to Madoff investments.” (Their release is below.)

We’re still looking into the impact on Frank Lautenberg’s family foundation, which, significantly invested in Madoff’s hedge fund, gave UJC MetroWest $300,000 and more each year.

Here’s the UJC MW release:

Recent news that investor Bernard Madoff allegedly mishandled client investments has created an avalanche of victims throughout the world. His clients include some of the most charitable families and major organizations in the Jewish community.

United Jewish Communities (UJC) of MetroWest NJ and our Jewish Community Foundation (JCF) of MetroWest NJ have not been directly affected by Madoff’s activities. We have performed our due diligence and spoken with all of our investment managers. The result is that UJC and JCF have no direct exposure.

However, there are individuals and organizations inside and outside of our local community who are severely affected by this, including Foundations, universities, and other organizations with large Jewish investors. The enormity of this crisis is still unfolding, but what we already know is that several charitable organizations have been immediately put out of business, individual investors have lost their entire fortunes, and other organizations will experience enormous losses from which it will be difficult to recover.

The MetroWest community is greatly pained by this news and hopes that philanthropic organizations and individuals reeling from this financial debacle will be able to recover. Our major concern is the ability of charitable institutions to provide services to those who need them most. Our hearts go out to the families affected by these events.