Philanthropy is a Family Affair

Oftentimes, the legacy of philanthropy is passed down through the generations. Joan Davis and her son, Jordan Sills, are prime examples – and they are now working on the fourth generation.

Joan, who grew up in San Francisco, was taught by her parents the importance of tikkun olam. Over the years, she has been very active in the Jewish community, including serving on the board of the Jewish Home, where she and her husband, Charlie Davis, have honored Joan’s parents with a generous gift to endow the Edward and Marion Goodman Building.

Joan has shared those values with her sons, Jordan and Jason. When Jordan was young, he was assigned chores on the weekends. When his parents gave him his allowance, he put a portion in a tzedakah box – and he chose where his donations were allocated. Today, he and his wife, Abra, are passing down those same values – and the tzedakah box – to their children, Erev and Ber.

“I’ve learned that philanthropy is a family affair,” says Jordan. “To this day, when my mother wants to make a gift, she calls my brother and me to discuss where it can have the most impact.”

This is why the Centennial Campaign was a natural fit for the Davis-Sills family. Their generous legacy gift will help ensure that future generations of Bay Area Jews are cared for, supported, and educated in Jewish values – including the importance of philanthropy.

Jordan says that he and his mom chose to give to the Campaign because of the depth and breadth of the Federation’s work.

“It comes down to impact,” he says. “The Federation has a team of professionals who have dedicated their careers to figuring out what the needs are in the community.”

The Davis-Sills family has certainly done its part and much more. Along with their philanthropic involvement with the Jewish Home, Joan and Charlie have been longtime supporters of Hillel. They are current supporters of JDC, and Joan has served on the national women’s campaign board of Jewish Federations of North America. Jordan is the former president of the Federation’s Young Adult Division (YAD), and the 2011 recipient of the Dinkelspiel Award for Young Leadership. He met Abra while fundraising for YAD.

For her part, Abra grew up in Illinois with a familial connection to the work of the Jewish community. “The Federation enables me to be able to help while treating people like human beings, with consideration for their personal dignity and pride,” she notes. “Philanthropy through the Federation is a natural extension of the love I feel for all things Jewish, and I want that love to continue long after I am gone.”

“I think that what I have learned—and have worked to pass down to my kids – is the importance of giving back,” notes Joan. People who need support depend on the Jewish, community because, as she adds, “if Jews don’t take care of each other, who will?”

For more than a century, the Federation has helped shape the contours of Jewish life in the Bay Area and overseas by responding to the many challenges and opportunities that arise. The Centennial Campaign seeks to raise $250,000,000 in order to protect the investments that we have made in our lifetimes, and to ensure that the organizations and programs that we have so proudly built will continue to thrive into the future.

For more information, please contact Debbie Berkowitz, Centennial Campaign Director, at 415.512.6291 or DebbieB@sfjcf.org.