Jennifer Koenig
Jennifer Koenig’s Federation History Runs Deep
For the last 24 years, Jennifer Koenig has dedicated herself to an organization that has played a significant role in her family for four generations – the Jewish Federation.
“My family is an example of the lifesaving, life-changing work of the Federation system,” says Koenig, chief development officer for the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County in Boca Raton, where she has worked for 21 years.
Her grandfather was cared for in a Jewish orphanage until his adoption. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee helped her husband’s grandparents escape the Holocaust and find refuge. Now, Koenig watches her 13-year-old twins thrive “in this remarkable community so full of Jewish culture, identity, education and spirit” at Donna Klein Jewish Academy and in many activities, “growing up on the Federation’s 100-acre campus.”
Over her decades at work, Koenig also has personally witnessed how the Federation continually transforms the lives of people in need from down the street to across the globe.
“Every day, I see what a difference we make through our annual campaign. It motivates me at my very core,” she says.
Koenig is not only responsible for annual fundraising. She helped navigate the organization through an economic recession successfully and, most recently, helped the nonprofit fulfill its critical mission with an astonishing pivot after COVID-19 hit.
Under her leadership, the Federation also has adapted to demographic shifts, engaging a vibrant multigenerational community.
“The Federation is so much more than a fundraising organization,” she says, attributing its success to “our phenomenal partnerships with lay leaders, staff and beneficiary agencies, and the compassion and generosity of our donors.”
Amid the many pandemic challenges, thanks to a Human Services Relief Matching Gift, donors can now help 50 percent more neighbors in need with housing, food, and medical and mental health care. That’s because every new or increased gift to the Federation’s 2021 Annual Campaign that is designated to local safety-net services and/or special needs will be matched by 50 percent until Dec. 31, 2020.
Photo By Jeffrey Tholl Photography
Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County is located at 9901 Donna Klein Blvd., Boca Raton. For more information, call 561-852-3100 or visit jewishboca.org.
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