Jewish HomeLife Raises $17.5M in Capital Campaign

Jewish HomeLife, a senior care nonprofit originally founded by Atlanta’s Jewish community, has successfully raised more than $17.5 million in the quiet phase of its first capital campaign since the organization opened Berman Commons Assisted Living in 2015.

With Atlanta’s senior population expected to reach nearly one million by 2030, the need for affordable and trustworthy aging services is greater than ever. Nationally, more than 70 million baby boomers will be 65 or older by 2030, with increasing healthcare and housing needs. Jewish HomeLife’s Campaign for a New Age is designed to address these challenges by modernizing facilities, enhancing resident services, maintaining a high-quality workforce, and ensuring long-term sustainability.

Jewish HomeLife President and CEO Jeffrey A. Gopen explained why the organization launched such a large capital campaign so soon after the challenging years of the pandemic.

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“The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the senior care industry, with more individuals choosing to age at home until they can no longer delay transitioning to facilities with higher levels of care. At the same time, rising costs, reduced government subsidies, and competition from for-profit providers made sustaining a non-profit senior care like ours increasingly difficult. The Campaign for a New Age aimed to fortify Jewish HomeLife’s ability to provide exceptional care amidst these challenges.”

The Meyer and Rosyln Balser Tower was recently upgraded, including new floors, windows, bathrooms, kitchens, HVAC, and plumbing.

In 2024, Jewish HomeLife’s leadership, under the direction of Gopen, outlined a $15.25 million campaign focused on:
• Facility Renovations: Upgrading physical structures to modernize and improve living spaces at The Balser and Zaban Towers (HUD-subsidized independent living) and at The William Breman Jewish Home, the organization’s flagship skilled nursing home.
• Sustainability: Ensuring long-term solutions through endowment funds and pilot programs that augment:
• Staff Support: Initiatives to enhance workforce retention
• Resident Support: Provide financial assistance to low-income seniors who are living longer and/or outliving their savings
• Resident Programming and Staff Training: Focused on enhancing care for our senior population, particularly those who have dementia.
The campaign included three key phases:
• Phase One (completed in 2024): included major infrastructure and unit renovations at The Meyer and Rosyln Balser Tower, supported by a $23.9 million HUD loan. This loan funded renovations of all 200 individual apartments which included new floors, windows, bathrooms, kitchens, HVAC, and plumbing.
• Phase Two (to be completed in Summer 2025): includes a new front entrance, renovations to all the common areas and every elevator lobby of the nine-story Balser Tower. The catalyst for this phase was made possible by the generosity of Ron and Barbara Balser and family, whose lead gift was the largest in Jewish HomeLife history and led to the renaming of the (former) Jewish Tower to The Meyer and Roslyn Balser Tower.
• Phase Three (set to begin in fall 2025): includes comprehensive renovations at The William Breman Jewish Home and The Zaban Tower. Both these communities were last renovated in 2012.

In addition to renovations, the second component of the campaign focused on workforce development as well as resident enrichment and financial assistance.

For older adults, Jewish HomeLife already provides affordable housing to seniors through its HUD-subsidized independent living apartments. However, many individuals lack financial resources for additional care that would allow them to age in place.

Thus, specific campaign dollars have been designated for scholarships that provide reduced cost in-home private care for independent seniors at The Balser and Zaban Towers. Additionally, these funds will be used for residents at Berman Commons Assisted Living who have begun to outlive their savings yet require significant additional care. Funds were also specially designated for enhancing care for seniors with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. This includes more specialized training for staff and new, innovative tools to increase positive outcomes for these residents.

Jewish HomeLife and President and CEO Jeffrey Gopen announced the organization raised more than $17.5 million in its capital Campaign for a New Age.

The campaign is co-chaired by longtime Jewish HomeLife supporters Candy and Steve Berman, who currently serve as Board Chair and Past Chair/Board Member Emeritus, respectively. Campaign committee members include Nancy Canter Weiner, Fred Halperin, Martin Isenberg, Randy Korach, Sandy London, Deborah Maslia, John Perlman, Irwin Siegel, and Ricky Tinter.

Campaign Co-Chair Candy Berman explained why she believes having support from the community is so important: “We always remember our Fifth Commandment, honoring our fathers and our mothers. Our ‘fathers and mothers’ are not limited to our own family; rather, it applies to our collective, community family. We believe that giving all seniors, regardless of their ethnic background or economic status, a dignified quality of life will only strengthen us as a people and fulfill the mitzvah of tzedakah, or charity, operating with justice, throughout the world.”

Jewish HomeLife has invited the community to join this historic campaign. By contributing, donors will directly support vital facility upgrades, enhanced programming, and provide long-term sustainability to one of Atlanta’s top senior care organizations that will serve Atlanta’s growing aging population for generations to come.

For more information on how to support the Campaign for a New Age, please visit www.JewishHomeLife.org/donate or contact Stephanie Wyatt, Chief Development Officer, at 404.751.2269.