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With Deep Gratitude, From Ma'ayan

Dear Friends,

As I prepare to conclude my time as Executive Director of the Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation, I am humbled by the privilege of having served the very community that raised me.

My connection to CUJF is lifelong. Core memories of my childhood include witnessing as my parents gave their time to the very committees I have now had the honor to work with, including the Allocations Committee, the Human Services Committee, the Chevrah Kadisha, and more. Through their example, I learned that Jewish leadership is built on compassion, community, and responsibility. In college, it was thanks to CUJF’s Gift of Israel program that I was able to travel around Israel. And when my mother passed, it was the Chevra Kadisha that stood beside me, honoring her and holding me in my grief. CUJF has been interwoven with my life from the beginning.

Building on the Shoulders of Those Who Came Before

When I accepted this position, I knew that I was stepping into a role shaped by decades of strong leadership. Each Executive Director before me shepherded CUJF through its own era of change, growth, and renewal. Everything we accomplished together in recent years was built on the foundation they created. It has been my honor to continue their legacy and to help CUJF evolve while remaining anchored in our enduring traditions.

Please allow me a moment to reflect on what we have accomplished.

Financial Growth and Sustainability

We strengthened CUJF’s financial foundation. In the last three years our net assets have seen a strong increase that reflected growth in both campaign giving and endowment strength.

We grew our annual campaign by more than 35%, allowing us to expand programs and strengthen community support.

We established five new funds to secure CUJF’s long-term vitality and deepen our impact across Central Illinois:

We also earned the Candid Platinum Transparency Seal, a recognition of our commitment to responsible, transparent, and ethical nonprofit governance.

Educational and Cultural Impact

We partnered with the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois to launch the Holocaust Education Book Trunk Project in Champaign Unit 4 Schools, providing age-appropriate books, curriculum, and teaching materials to classrooms and school libraries in 19 schools. 

We launched the Vermilion County Holocaust Education Project through $28,000 in grants from the Mervis Foundation and The Lumpkin Family Foundation, bringing Holocaust education to rural schools across Central Illinois. This year in Vermilion County alone we will reach more than 10,000 students through Holocaust education across 12 school districts, expanding our Book Trunk libraries, educator coaching, and professional development programs.

We presented exhibits such as The Art of Auschwitz, The Courage to Remember, and Through Their Eyes, and we hosted more than 25 public lectures, panels, and survivor programs at libraries, schools, community centers, and more across Central Illinois.

We hosted the regional premiere of Violins of Hope, a series of concerts and programs that united history, music, and memory in one of CUJF’s most powerful cultural collaborations spanning 6 weeks of programming in venues including the high school, the Spurlock museum, Clarke Lindsey, and under the tent of the Rose Bowl.

We produced Musical Magic Live, which raised over $40,000 to support Holocaust and tolerance education and outreach.

We are preparing to launch the inaugural Midwest Yiddishfest, a regional celebration of Yiddish language, art, music, foodways, and culture that will continue to grow in the years ahead.

We brought the community together for Annual Campaign Dinners at the Orpheum Theatre and at The Venue CU, transforming these events into joyful celebrations of generosity and belonging.

We organized community programs such as Jewish film screenings at the Spurlock and Savoy 16 Cinemas, Shine a Light on Antisemitism programming, and Israel at 75 and Yom HaShoah commemorations, strengthening our collective identity through remembrance and creativity.

We launched our podcast series, Holocaust Stories of Champaign-Urbana and Beyond, now in its third season, preserving and amplifying the voices of survivors, descendants, and educators whose stories continue to guide our work.

Family Engagement and PJ Library

We expanded PJ Library and early childhood engagement across Champaign-Urbana.

We secured two-years of IPEG (Implementing Partner Engagement Grants) funding from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, allowing us to grow programming for young families and caregivers.

We established Parents’ Nights Out, creating meaningful spaces for connection for parents while providing childcare.

We launched “Schools Out with PJ and Sinai,” offering Jewish enrichment on school breaks in partnership with Sinai Temple.

Community Building and Civic Leadership

We strengthened CUJF’s visibility and presence across Champaign-Urbana.

We marched annually in the Parade of Lights, bringing Jewish joy and pride into one of our city’s most beloved civic celebrations, and this year joined the Champaign City Partnership by invitation, the membership organization that hosts the parade.

We participated in Pride Fest, Interfaith Alliance gatherings, Community Coalition, Read Across America, and more, sharing the richness of Jewish life in public spaces.

We stood up to antisemitism at City Council and in other public spaces, aiming to amplify your voices with clarity, dignity, and strength. We built relationships with our City Council members and the mayors of our cities, ensuring that the Jewish community remains a visible and valued part of the civic fabric.

We gathered the community in solidarity following the October 7 attacks in Israel, creating space for prayer, mourning, and connection during a time of immense pain. One year later, we came together again for a public commemoration, honoring the lives lost, praying for a safe return of the hostages, and reaffirming our shared resilience.

We served on the City of Champaign Race Relations Subcommittee as well as the UIUC Chancellor's Advisory Committee for Jewish Life on Campus, ensuring a Jewish voice in civic equity and dialogue.

We partnered with Rekindle Fellowship, in preparation to launch the first Black–Jewish Dialogue Fellowship in Champaign-Urbana.

We implemented Resetting the Table dialogue training for board members and community leaders, to build skills to foster respectful communication across differences.

We sent more than 100 students and community members from Champaign-Urbana to the March for Israel in Washington, D.C., joining with Jewish Federations across North America in solidarity and strength at one of the most heartbreaking times in recent Jewish history.

Human Services and Care

We created Jewish Family Services as a pilot program to meet the growing needs of our community with compassion and joined the national Network of Jewish Human Services Agencies.

We revitalized CHAI Seniors after a lull during COVID, offering monthly intergenerational programming and renewed connection for older adults.

Security and Resilience

We joined forces with Iowa and Illinois under the Secure Community Network (SCN) to establish a Regional Security Advisor for Central Illinois.

We launched a Security Fund Match Campaign, empowering our community to play an active role in Jewish safety and preparedness.

We secured more than $50,000 in Emergency Security Funds to strengthen the safety of our Jewish community buildings and programming through security personnel funding.

Looking Ahead

And even with all of this, these highlights only begin to capture the full scope of CUJF’s programming and services that I am deeply proud of. I can already think of dozens more events and programs I have left out.

None of this work was mine alone. All of these were ideas and projects from each of you. Everything we accomplished, we accomplished together through the dedication of our volunteers, staff, and the generosity of you - our donors and community.

As I prepare to pass the torch, I do so with pride in what we built together. I hope for a stronger, more connected, and more resilient Federation, one that is rooted in both tradition and innovation.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve. Thank you for your partnership, your ideas, your courage, and your belief in both me and our mission. It has been an honor.

With gratitude,


Ma’ayan Weinberg
Executive Director
Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation