Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund

Background

The Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund is a grantmaking organization created by Zanvyl and Isabelle Kreiger that supports programs operating with Baltimore, Maryland. The Fund is a supporting foundation of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore. ³ The Fund was first established in 1978 by Zanvyl Krieger and Isabelle Lowenthal. Isabelle passed away in 1989 and Zanvyl passed away in 2000 at the age of 94. ⁴

Work Areas

The Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund provides grants to left-of-center issues including low-income housing, behavioral health, and environmentalism. ¹ The fund claims to support “justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion” in its priorities. ²

Grantmaking

Grants provided by the Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund are determined by the board of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, and are required to reflect the supporting organization’s mission to “support Jewish, cultural, educational, and social justice work.” ⁵

In 2023, the Fund awarded 66 grants totaling $1,961,828. In addition to The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, grantees included United Workers Association, Maryland Philanthropy Network, the Environmental Integrity Project, the Center for Popular Democracy, Jews United for Justice, Civil Justice, Inc., Out for Justice (Out 4 Justice), ACLU Foundation of Maryland, the Common Cause Education Fund, Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, and the Baltimore Civic Fund. ⁶

Related Organizations

In addition to the Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, the Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund’s 2023 tax filing names over 40 related organizations, including the Goldsmith Foundation, the Fund for Change, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, the Kesher Fund of the Cohen Fruchtman Krieger Family, and the Joan G and Joseph Klein Jr. Foundation. All of these organizations name The Associated as its “direct controlling entity.” ⁷ The Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund and the Fund for Change share several board members. ^{8 9}

The fund is also a member of the Maryland Philanthropy Network, a Maryland state-level association of philanthropists. ¹⁰

Leadership

The directors of the fund are not compensated by the fund, but the executive director is employed by the supported organization, The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore. ¹¹

Brooke Hisle has been executive director of the fund since 2020 and has worked at the fund since 2011. She is also executive director of the Fund for Change. Previously Hisle was coalition development director at Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative (Health Care for All) and a case manager for the Catholic Charities-supported My Sisters’ Place Lodge. She is a board member of the Maryland Philanthropy Network. Hisle earned a master’s degree in social work at the University of Maryland. ¹²

Fund board member Andrew Cushnir became president of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore in April 2024. Previously he was an assistant director at the Anti-Defamation League, a practicing attorney, and an executive at the  Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles for 20 years. ^{13 14}