Marc J. Rowan and Aryeh B. Bourkoff honored for philanthropic leadership
UJA-Federation of New York’s virtual Wall Street Dinner raised $31 million for UJA’s annual campaign. The November 30 event honored Marc J. Rowan, co-founder and senior managing director of Apollo Global Management, Inc., with the Gustave L. Levy Award, and Aryeh B. Bourkoff, founder, chairman, & CEO of LionTree LLC, with the Alan C. Greenberg Young Leadership Award.
Lloyd C. Blankfein, senior chairman of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and chair of UJA’s Wall Street & Financial Services Division, emceed the event that included 1,500 Wall Street professionals. “We’ve all made adjustments to the reality of the pandemic and we’ve adjusted this event. But the essence of why we’re here hasn’t changed. We’re still coming together as a community to support the critical, life-saving work of UJA. And as we do every year, we’re honoring two of our industry’s leaders for their successful careers and for their philanthropy,” said Blankfein.
“UJA and its nonprofit partners are on the front lines of the COVID crisis and serving and protecting our Jewish institutions,” Blankfein continued. “UJA is scaled to meet this moment because we’ve been undertaking this work for more than 100 years. We have the infrastructure and the track record.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, UJA has allocated more than $52 million in emergency grants and interest-free loans to meet the immediate and urgent needs created by the pandemic. Funds have been used to enhance food pantry capacity and meal delivery for homebound seniors and Holocaust survivors, increase mental health services, provide emergency cash assistance to the most vulnerable New Yorkers, allow dignified Jewish burials for impoverished victims of the virus, and more.
In his remarks, Mr. Bourkoff said, “I always felt that I grew up within UJA. It is a true honor to come back to the Wall Street Division now in this way and to be able to help support all the vital work that UJA is doing to heal the sick, lend a hand, and repair what has been broken.”
Rowan remarked, “UJA has been in my blood for 35 years. I can think of no other large organization of scale, organizational skill, and depth of resources that can address significant challenges faced by the Jewish community.” On UJA’s response to the pandemic, he noted that “UJA rose to the challenge to provide people with what they needed, when they needed it, and on a scale that made a difference.”
The event featured an interview between Daniel S. Och, founder of Willoughby Capital Holdings, Inc. and senior chair of UJA’s Investment Management Division, and keynote speaker Bari Weiss, journalist and author of How to Fight Anti-Semitism.