Leon and Toby Cooperman are visionary, longtime benefactors of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ and Jewish Community Foundation of Greater MetroWest NJ (JCF). Through leadership, involvement, and generous support over decades, they have helped to shape and grow our Greater MetroWest Jewish community over decades of our first century.
Lee, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Omega Advisors, is the first member of his family to be born in the United States, as well as the first to graduate from college. After obtaining his MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business, Lee joined Goldman Sachs, where he retired as a partner after 25 years.
Toby, who retired from a career as a special-education specialist, and Lee, met as students at Hunter College. They have been married for close to 60 years.
In 2010, Lee and Toby established the Cooperman Fund for a Jewish Future (CFFJF) at the JCF with a $5 million gift. Over time the family has buttressed the fund with additional support.
Over 14 years, the CFFJF has supported and enhanced the Jewish journey of tens of thousands of children, teens, and young adults, here in our Greater MetroWest community, and nationally through Birthright Israel.
Critical programs supported by CFFJF include early childhood initiatives, Jewish day and overnight camp, teen mitzvot, Israel advocacy, Hillel of Greater MetroWest, Birthright Israel, and Welcoming and Inclusion.
In 2024, in honor of our Jewish Federation’s Centennial, Lee and Toby made a transformational $20 million gift to the fund to enhance and sustain it today and to continue its vital work for many years to come.
They are a living example of l’dor v’dor. Their son, Wayne, daughter-in-law, Jodi, and granddaughters Courtney and Kyra have continued their legacy of tzedakah and tikkun olam in Greater MetroWest while responding to the Jewish community’s evolving needs.
In recognition of the Cooperman family’s incredible generosity, as well as the special partnership of the Cooperman family with our Jewish community, Jewish Federation was honored to permanently name the Cooperman Family Community Engagement Department in May 2024.
