Mindy Freedman

The Foundation is one of the greatest gifts in our community to support individual donors in fulfilling their passion for meaningful giving. Thanks to them, I was able to create my own organization of giving. Everything I do for The SAM Initiative was born from the nurturing care and guidance of The Foundation.

Mindy Freedman is a trustee at the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles. She is a social entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of The SAM Initiative—a social venture fund comprised of philanthropic women who passionately pool their charitable dollars to fund and support programs that significantly improve the lives of women, children. Ms. Freedman has worked as a consultant for individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations for over 20 years. Previously, she consulted for several years on micro-lending programs in Latin America with several NGOs and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Ms. Freedman then returned her focus to the United States where she has applied her expertise in strategic planning, implementation, innovation, and executive coaching. Ms. Freedman currently serves on the board of the American Jewish Committee of Los Angeles. She is a member of the Jewish Venture Philanthropy Fund, and guest faculty at the Graduate School of Nonprofit Management at American Jewish University. Ms. Freedman earned her bachelor’s degree in international affairs and Spanish from the University of Colorado, and a master’s in public administration in international development and Spanish from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.

Expertise/Specialty Areas:

• Nonprofit management
• Innovation
• Philanthropy
• Social entrepreneurship
• Community banking

Community Leadership Summary:

• Foundation trustee
• Founder, The SAM Initiative
• Board member, American Jewish Committee
• Guest faculty, Graduate School of Nonprofit Management, American Jewish University.