Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel founded the Mandel Foundation in 1953 in their hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. The work of the Foundation is grounded in the belief that exceptional leaders, inspired by powerful ideas, are key to improving society and the lives of people around the world. The Mandel Foundation has identified five areas of engagement:
- Promoting leadership of nonprofits with the aim of producing outstanding leaders for the education and social sectors.
- Fostering excellence in the management of nonprofit and public sector institutions, which are indispensable vehicles of social improvement.
- Enhancing humanities in education and the arts with the aim of cultivating leaders and citizens whose deliberations are creative, disciplined, and humane.
- Strengthening Jewish education and Jewish studies, with the aim of helping successive generations of Jews to discover the richness of the Jewish cultural and religious heritage, and build and sustain vibrant Jewish communities in the United States and Israel.
- Supporting urban renewal and community development, as an expression of our commitment to just, inclusive, and democratic societies.