Adelson’s Agenda and Deep Pockets Transform Jewish Giving

Billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson’s wealth and approach to giving, focusing on large gifts that can transform organizations, are changing the landscape of Jewish philanthropy, The Jewish Daily Forward writes.

Mr. Adelson and his wife, Miriam, have ramped up their giving for pro-Israel advocacy and Jewish health and education groups in Israel and the United States, targeting support to nonprofits and causes close to their hearts rather than backing broad-based communal organizations.

In so doing, they have carved out a distinctive role among prominent Jewish donors, said Mark Charendoff, president of the Maimonides Foundation and former president of the Jewish Funders Network. “The Adelsons tend to go narrow and deep,” he said. “They tend to choose a couple of things and go very, very big.”