News

April 28, 2025

A National Honor for a Local Leader

Rebecca Engel Presented with Prestigious Gail Littman Leadership Award

JEFSC today announced that Rebecca Engel, JEFSC Director of Legacy Giving and Impact, was honored at the 2025 North American Life & Legacy® Conference in Springfield, MA, with the Gail Littman Leadership Award.


In front of 200 peers, leaders, and colleagues, Rebecca was named as the 10th recipient of this award, joining an esteemed cohort of past honorees from communities including Oregon, Charlotte, Omaha, East Bay, Seattle, Sarasota-Manatee, Greater Mercer, Calgary, and Orange County.


This national award, presented by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, is the highest recognition given to a Life & Legacy professional who embodies the vision, passion, and enduring impact of Gail Littman, z”l.


It honors individuals who have not only championed legacy giving in their own communities but who also mentor, inspire, and lead with creativity, discipline, and joy—hallmarks of Gail's lasting legacy.


“I’m incredibly honored to receive the 2025 Gail Littman Leadership Award from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation—an organization that has transformed how communities like mine think about legacy, leadership, and Jewish continuity," Rebecca said. "This award belongs to the entire Charleston Jewish community and our local partners—dedicated leaders, professionals, and generous souls who believed legacy giving could become a daily conversation, not just a philanthropic afterthought. This work—what we’re building together—is about securing Jewish life. It’s about ensuring our values outlast us. It’s about bold, intergenerational conversations that move us from memory to meaning, from preservation to purpose.”


To learn more about Life and Legacy and how to confirm your legacy gift, please reach out to Rebecca at rebecca@jefsc.org or 843.818.4850.



December 2024

Thank you, Judi Corsaro, for 18 Years of Visionary Leadership

On Sunday, Dec. 15, more than 200 community members gathered for the Charleston Jewish Federation’s Annual Meeting, an evening dedicated to celebrating Judi Corsaro’s remarkable retirement after 18 years of steadfast service.


The evening featured heartfelt testimonials, inspiring stories of CJF’s impact this past year, an introduction of the new CJF Board of Directors, and a powerful reminder of the enduring importance of Jewish philanthropy. CJF award recipients were also honored, including the Jewish Endowment Foundation’s Board member, Mike Mills, who received the William Ackerman Volunteer of the Year Award for his outstanding, impactful contributions to Jewish Charleston, including his leadership in Life and Legacy and Holocaust Remembrance initiative.


A Legacy of Endowed Philanthropy
Judi Corsaro and the Charleston Jewish Federation have long championed endowed philanthropy. Their shared vision reflects the same principles that guided the founders of our Jewish community: Endowed philanthropy is more than an investment in resources — it is an investment in values, traditions, and the future of our people. This approach ensures our community’s light continues to shine brightly today and for generations to come, strengthening and sustaining Jewish identity and connection.


Honoring Judi’s Impact
Judi’s transformative work has left an indelible mark on our community. In honor of her dedication, the Charleston Jewish Federation has renamed their Good Deeds Endowment as the CJF Judi Corsaro Good Deeds Endowment. This lasting tribute ensures her legacy of compassion and leadership will continue to shape our community’s future.


If you feel inspired to contribute, your gift will ensure Judi’s vision and passion for Jewish philanthropy continue to make a difference.


November 2024

JEFSC Congratulates Susan Pearlstine, Recipient of the Malcolm D. Haven Award for Selfless Community Giving 

The Malcolm D. Haven Award for Selfless Community Giving is named for a founding member of CCF who worked tirelessly to make our region a better place while emphasizing “it wasn’t about who did the doing, rather it was about getting it done”. Recipients of this award have made extraordinary contributions to the community while demonstrating selflessness, generosity, and a spirit of upliftment. Since 1983, 32 community leaders have received the Haven Award.


Susan received the Haven Award during Coastal Community Foundation’s 50th Anniversary Gala on Nov. 23, for her impact on the Jewish community and Lowcountry at-large. She is a Board Member for Life with CCF’s affiliate the Saul Alexander Foundation, and has served on several grantmaking committees with Coastal Community Foundation and the Jewish Endowment Foundation of SC. In 1994, she spearheaded the Gimme Shelter project, partnering with the City of Charleston to create covered bus stops throughout the region. She established the Susan Pearlstine Sarcoidosis Center of Excellence at MUSC, which provides critical care and research. She also made the West Ashley Theatre Centre a reality through a major gift to Charleston Stage.


Pictured:  Darrin Goss, Coastal Community Foundation CEO; Susan Pearlstine; Anita Zucker

Congratulations CCF on your 50th Anniversary Celebration and your dedication to the Lowcountry region.


Pictured:  Lisa Isaacson, Anita Zucker, Ellen Mintz, Phyllis Martin

March 2024

Next Generation of Jewish Leadership and Philanthropy

In March of this year, the Jewish Endowment Foundation of South Carolina and the Charleston Jewish Federation engaged rising community leaders in a four-session cohort to explore leadership concepts and competencies needed to create lasting impact in the Jewish and greater Charleston community. This program, the Charleston Jewish Leaders Impact Accelerator, was made possible by the Jewish Federations of North America as part of Amplifier, an experiential learning lab for collaborative and democratized giving, rooted in Jewish values. It encourages people to give more intentionally, more meaningfully and in-community, engaging more people in tzedakah and magnifying their impact. A major focus of Amplifier’s work is training federations and other Jewish organizations to launch giving circles and supporting them at every step of the way.

 

This initial pilot focused on Stanley Farbstein, one of our region’s most generous and impactful philanthropists, his leadership, impact, and current grant-making through the Farbstein Funds held at the Jewish Endowment Foundation of South Carolina. 

 

Eight amazing leaders experienced curated sessions to learn and explore concepts tied to values, philanthropy, and grantmaking.   In 2025, JEFSC and CJF aim to start the first giving circle of its kind with the second JCLIA cohort.

Pictured: Victor Hyman, Noah Feit, Hannah Lippman, JEFSC Board Member Eileen Chepenik, Alyssa Farber, Jennifer Tolin, JEFSC Executive Director Phyllis Martin, Danielle Trauth-Jurman, Jacqui Rosshandler, Albert Eisenberg


Oct. 25, 2023

JEFSC Executive Director Phyllis Martin Honored
as a Charleston Woman of Influence

JEFSC Executive Director Phyllis Martin was honored on Oct. 25 as a Charleston Woman of Influence for her contributions to the region and state. Phyllis works to support communities through her commitment to and leadership of Jewish philanthropy throughout South Carolina. Pictured with Phyllis are Board Member Jan Lipov (left) and President Terry Fisher (right). Other JEFSC Board members who attended the event were Mike Mills, Secretary Benny Chase, and Ed Kronsberg.

JEFSC Unequivocally Stands in Solidarity with Israel

The Jewish Endowment Foundation of South Carolina (JEFSC) unequivocally stands in solidarity with Israel. Our hearts break for all Israelis and for the Israeli and American families in our region and state with family living there. 
 
While we remain grateful for your commitment to JEFSC, we hope at this time that you will join us in using our collective power to ensure the security, safety, and future of our homeland. The needs of the Jewish people in Israel right now are enormous. By working together, we can focus our philanthropic outreach where it will be the most impactful.


As leaders in the Jewish community, we encourage you to ask your family and friends to support philanthropic efforts by participating in one or more of the following ways.


  • CLICK HERE to donate to Israel Emergency Fund
  • CLICK HERE to donate to Zaka Israel
  • CLICK HERE to register for the Charleston Jewish Community Rally for Solidarity
  • CLICK HERE to tell Congress to speak out

 

We send prayers for the safety of our Jewish brothers and sisters and a swift, decisive end to this war.

Sept. 13, 2023
Coastal Community Foundation, Affiliates Partner to Abolish
$4 Million+ in Local Medical Debt

Coastal Community Foundation and its affiliate organizations, Waccamaw Community Foundation, Frances P. Bunnelle Foundation, and the Jewish Endowment Foundation of South Carolina, announced a partnership to abolish more than $4 million in medical debt in the region. This is possible through a donation to RIP Medical Debt.

 

RIP Medical Debt is a national nonprofit that buys medical debt in bulk at a steep discount, for pennies on the dollar, eliminating debt for people living four times or below the federal poverty level or with debts that are 5% or more of their annual income. The donation will abolish debt for those eligible in CCF’s nine county footprint: Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry, and Jasper counties.

 

The idea for the partnership came from Geales Sands, Executive Director of the Frances P. Bunnelle Foundation, who was inspired after reading about a CCF donor who made a significant impact across the state by donating to RIP Medical Debt with his year-end giving.

 

“Medical debt can be devastating,” said CCF President and CEO Darrin Goss. “At CCF we are dedicated to creating more opportunities for economic mobility in our region. We are proud to come together with our affiliate organizations and relieve this financial burden for members of our community.” 

 

Thanks to the $33,717 donation from CCF and its affiliates, $3.14 million in medical debt will be erased in this first round of relief. As RIP Medical Debt acquires more debt in the area, additional debt relief will follow with the remaining donated funds. This will likely be an additional $1 million in face value medical debt relief.

 

“We’re grateful to this coalition of organizations, led by Coastal Community Foundation, for their commitment to lessening the financial and emotional burden of medical debt on their neighbors,” shares RIP Medical Debt CEO and President Allison Sesso. “These debts force people to make impossible decisions between food and medicine, between seeking necessary medical care or keeping a roof over their heads. This campaign will help thousands of people by providing a lifeline and reminding them that someone cares.”

 

Recipients of debt relief are source based, meaning medical debt erasure cannot be requested but is based on which qualifying debts the nonprofit can acquire. Recipients will be notified via mail if their debt has been abolished with a branded envelope.

 

“I am so thankful to my donor. I am a single mother of three who recently had surgery, so I’m thankful to have that financial burden lifted… I will pay it forward. It amazes me how kind this world can be. I am forever thankful to [the] RIP Medical Debt donor,” said Jessica, RIP letter recipient from South Carolina.

JEFSC Executive Director Phyllis Martin speaks at a press conference announcing the partnership to abolish more than $4 million in medical debt.

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