PHOTO: From left, Robert and Ann Sacks are inducted into the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation's Julie Diamond, z"l, Legacy Society by President and CEO David Foreman and Past Chair Jonathan Singer at the Foundation's annual meeting Monday, June 16 at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center. (Rockne Roll/The Jewish Review)

The Oregon Jewish Community Foundation had plenty to share at its annual meeting at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center Monday, June 16; A slate of new board members, new members of its executive committee and the induction of Robert and Ann Sacks into the Julie Diamond, z”l, Legacy Society. But perhaps the biggest announcement of all was visible before the meeting even began.

Signs, nametags and even cookies greeted attendees with the Foundation’s new logo – part of a comprehensive rebranding effort rolled out at the meeting and the result of a just-as-comprehensive process.

“This reveal has been about three years in the making, which may sound a bit absurd for a nonprofit rebrand,” OJCF Executive Committee Member Emily Kahn explained, “but throughout the process, the team, everybody involved, was very consistent in our desire to spend the time and the effort do it right one time, rather than rush through it.”

This process started back in 2022 with research that found that while OJCF was positively perceived, there was significant room for improvement in terms of messaging around its functions and programs. Last year, the design process took off in earnest, resulting in the new logo, typefaces and color scheme that greeted guests. Much of 2025 has been devoted to preparing the Foundation’s extensively remodeled website, which was shown to guests during the presentation.

“This is a culmination of community input strategy and creativity, and it’s centered on making OJCF clearer, more inclusive and more connected to our mission,” Kahn explained.

That mission, also summarized on signage at the meeting, is “Connecting people, passion, and philanthropy since 1989.”

The logo is a mixture of some of Judaism’s most prominent symbols – a blue mezuzah, a white braided Havdalah candle, and a gold ner tamid (eternal flame).

“Being a rabbi, I don’t just see shapes. I didn’t just see a hexagon and a bar and some squiggles,” Rabbi Eve Posen, a member of OJCF’s Board and Senior Rabbi at Congregation Neveh Shalom, explained of seeing the logo for the first time. “This logo and this brand beautifully capture who we are, what we’ve inherited, and where we’re headed.”

“This new brand provides a better platform and runway for OJCF to serve the community and implement our mission and vision,” OJCF Director of Community Relations Noah Rosenberg added. “We’re excited about putting this into action. Continue to build a culture of giving the philanthropy in Oregon, Southwest Washington, and we invite you to be on this journey with us.”

Before the journey continued, Jonathan Singer came on stage to recognize the efforts of two people who have long been a part of that mission.

“Robert and Ann Sacks came to our community nearly 50 years ago, so I guess they’re newcomers in that way for Robert to attend law school after the two met and got married while at University of Michigan,” Singer said, joking that “Yes, we chose the colors of the Foundation to honor them.”

Since their arrival, Ann Sacks has launched a trio of highly successful businesses, the most recent of which, Fetch Eyewear, donates all its profits to The Pixie Project animal welfare non-profit started by the couple’s daughter, Amy. Pixie Project has facilitated over 10,000 animal adoptions – including to Singer,he said - and provides low- and no-cost veterinary services as well as social services to pet owners of limited means. Robert Sacks represented labor organizations in Portland for 25 years before moving to real estate development, achieving parallel success through revitalizing Portland neighborhoods.

“The Torah says of Moses that he was a very humble man, and Jewish tradition teaches that humility is one of the greatest virtues that a person can have,” Singer said. “Robert and Ann are incredibly understated in their philanthropy and their service to the community, even as the impact of their good deeds cannot be overstated.”

Like all Legacy Society members, the Sacks have committed to contributing a significant portion of their estate to the Foundation. The society bears the name of its founder, former OJCF Executive Director Julie Diamond, z”l, who founded it in 2009 with 12 members – a roster that’s grown to nearly 180 today.

“It’s always been embarrassing and awkward to be the honoree at an event. As Jonathan said, given the choice, I think Ann and I would both rather lie low,” Robert Sacks said. “But we also know that these events serve multiple purposes, and one of those purposes is to provide small examples, often for people just entering their most productive earning years and maybe thinking about philanthropy and how they want to go about it, and also for people in our age group who may be considering how best to structure their philanthropy in their later years and in their estate planning.”

Robert told the audience how they structured the sale of Ann’s second business, a tile company, so that half of the shares went to the buyer from the Ann and Robert Sacks Family Fund at OJCF – a structure which saved them a significant tax bill and helped enable the philanthropy they practice today.

“The purpose of this story is not to demonstrate any cleverness on our part, because frankly, it wasn’t even our idea,” Robert Sacks explained. “Rather, it’s to tell you that what I have made pretty simple tonight was actually very complicated and had a lot of moving parts. And the OJCF was involved in every step of that process. They played an integral part in accomplishing the best possible result.”

“The country of our birth is searching for its soul, and the country of our hearts is struggling for its survival, and we’re asking ourselves how we can help,” Ann Sacks said. “I feel very optimistic we can help, and we will help because we will think, we will use our compassion and our competence, we’ll continue to work hard and give of ourselves generously, and then everything will be better for it.”

David Foreman, OJCF’s President and CEO, shared a quote from Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks which reminded him both of Robert and Ann Sacks (no relation) but of OJCF’s ongoing mission.

“The moral life is the one we share with others. We are, in some sense, responsible for the society of which we are part. It is not enough to be good. You must encourage others to be good. There are times when each of us must lead,” Foreman read. “These words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks capture something profound, something we in this room know instantly. They remind us of who we are as a Jewish people and what our shared responsibility looks like in action.”

Among those increasing their leadership contribution are Stefan Ostrach, who was elected as an at-large member of OJCF’s Board of Trustees at the meeting. Ostrach is treasurer of Eugene’s Temple Beth Israel and is the first person living outside the Portland Metropolitan Area to serve on OJCF’s board. The meeting also elected Rabbi Posen to a second term as an at-large trustee, welcomed David Bean and Jason Zidell to the board upon the designation of Congregation Beth Israel and Portland Jewish Academy, respectively, and recognized Arlene Cogan and Lisa Fasolo Frishman, who were elected to the executive committee at the board’s previous meeting.

“With your partnership, your trust and your leadership, the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation will continue to be a force for moral good for now and for generations to come,” Foreman concluded, “because Rabbi Sacks is right; the moral life is shared. It is not lived alone; it is built together. ”