OJCF’s David Forman is a man on a mission

BUSINESS

David Forman

is a man on a mission

By Cindy Saltzman

David Forman, the new President and CEO of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation is a man on a mission. David knew from the outset that he had big shoes to fill. His predecessor,

Julie Diamond, was beloved and respected by the community. And her untimely death did nothing to dim her reputation.

David who knew Julie and served on the OJCF board, says that although he usually follows the advice of Vince Lombardi to "never follow a legend", he believes this time, he will make an exception.

He states, "Julie [Diamond] was a rockstar. She changed the face of philanthropy in Portland, if not in all of Oregon. It's a tough act to follow, but I am extremely excited to hold this position and I want to honor Julie."

David began his law career in

New York in a large Wall Street firm. He moved to Portland in 1993. He has been working at

Tonkon Torp, LLP since 2003 where he was most recently a partner and the Chair of the Corporate Finance and

Transactions Practice Group.

In addition to serving on the OJCF board, David was also the past board chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater

Portland and Cedar Sinai Park.

He has an undergraduate degree in economics and a law degree from the University of Michigan. On a personal note,

David is. married and he has two daughters.He is also a self -described Cleveland Browns and University of Michigan alumni fantatic.

CINDY SALTZMAN:

Was it a hard decision to leave the legal field to enter the non-profit world?

DAVID FORMAN : No, because of what I am doing now. But I did have amazing partners and worked at an amazing law firm, so from that point of view, it was hard to leave. The firm was also incredibly supportive of this decision. But if you are asking me from the point of view of the opportunity, then no. I am so excited and thrilled to be here. I know Julie was aware that I was being considered and blessed that as well.

To be able to spend the last chapter of my working life in a mission-driven position, working on issues that I have spent the last 25 years involved in is a gift.

I have a terrific team and I have a lot to learn from them. I feel incredibly supported by the board, the executive committee, and the community in general. Everybody always mentions Julie, as they should. I just hope that everything I do is in honor of her.

Do you have set goals for the Foundation?:

Short term: Listen and learn.

When I first entered my office, which had been Julie's, I noticed a Talmudic quote Julie had hung on the wall:

“I found a beautiful world because my ancestors planted it for me. I am planting it for my children.”

In my first email to the community, I wrote that my long term goal for the Foundation was to help "inspire the next generation of donors to sow their own charitable and philanthropic plantings in honor of the fruitful community that was and continues to be planted through the generosity of our prior generations and existing donors."

What do you see as the biggest challenge for you and the Foundation? I think an issue with every philanthropic organization these days is the way people think about philanthropy and the way they identify with philanthropy. It is not the same perspective as our parents had. The nature of philanthropy is changing. It has been changing for the last decade or so, I think for any non-profit. Also young philanthropists who want to see the impact of what they are doing.

There is the addtional challenge of new poeple movng here that don't have any connection to the community. We need to work on making those connections.

But the real challenge for philanthropy across the board, is that people in their twenties, thirties and forties, don't look at philanthropy in the same way as people in their fifties, sixties, seventies,and beyond. Our job is to help answer the "why" for that group. And I am looking forward to doing that.

It's important to remember that we are a little different from a regular non-profit. We are not a fundraising organization. Our job is to match donors with the community's needs. I think if we do a good job of educating the donors of the community's needs, we will conitnue to succeed.

How have you found it to be working with the other organziations?

I personally have a good relationship with all of the organizations, I think we have terrific relationships with our partner organizations and the Federation

If the community is doing this correctly, there shouldn't be overlap. Each agency should have its own role and we should be complementary to each other. The Federation's role is to identify the community needs and fundraise.. Our job is to find donors to satisfy those needs. None of this is competitive, it is all complimentary.

And this is what the community expects of us, that we should be complementary and work together for the benefit of the community.

What are you looking most forward to in your new position? I’m just so thrilled to be here and to be given this responsibility. I have a unique opportunity to build on Julie‘s legacy and define, on a daily basis, my own. Sometimes it feels that there are a lot of people that don't understand why the Jewish community is so important until they need it.

Our mission is to support a thriving Jewish community in Oregon and SW Washinton. But to have a thriving Jeiwsh community, we also have to have a thriving general community. We have to make sure our community thrives, but we do have an obligation to make sure the general community is healthy as well. We are integrally linked with the larger community.

Speaking of the larger community, you mentioned in an earlier conversation, how much you love Portland. Do you care to elaborate on that?

Either I was built for Portland or Portland was built for me.

I have been able to have a very sophisticated career here and at the same time, I have been able to escape into the wilderness. I spend a lot of time outdoors. I like the independent streak in Portland.

The day I got here, I realized right away, that if you want to be involved in the community, all you have to do is show up. I don't think there are that many places where you can be relatively new to a community and get involved on a pretty substantial level so quickly.

It sounds like your new postion as the President and CEO of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation was also made for you.

I do feel that this is the perfect position for me. It was just 35 years in the making.