Michael Tarnoff
Mike devoted a 36-year career with the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago serving most of that time as Executive Vice President and CFO. Under his leadership, he created and implemented a system that enabled the Federation to finance more than 20 buildings in excess of $200 million for its initiatives through tax-exempt bonds. In 1985 he created the Jewish Federation Facilities Corporation (FacCorp) to acquire, build, own manage and operate real estate. Today, FacCorp maintains 2 million square feet of properties, encompassing schools, camps, day care centers, community centers, residential facilities for both youth and the elderly, and office buildings.
The Federation’s endowment was at about $39 million when Mike drafted a blueprint for increasing the endowment value to $100 million over the ensuing 10 years. That goal was realized only 6 years later. Under his leadership, the endowment continued to hit the endowment growth targets and today the value of the fund is in excess of $1 billion. In addition to his responsibilities at Federation, Mike has been a leader at the national level with the Jewish Federations of North America. He helped found two nationwide programs that serve all federations and their affiliate and beneficiary agencies: the Jewish Federation Bond Program and the Jewish Federation Investment Program.
Mike earned an MBA at the Booth School at the University of Chicago. He has served on the boards of Michael Reese Health Trust, Howard Area Community Center, Ness Healthcare, and First Nonprofit Insurance Companies. He is also founder and chairman of Make Every Vote Count, a national initiative concerned with the crisis in U.S. electoral politics.
