Mamdani Donors: Complete List of Jewish Organizations & Filings

Zohran Mamdani didn't come out of nowhere. On September 26, 2025, Bend the Arc Jewish Action made its first-ever endorsement in a New York City mayoral race. That endorsement was Mamdani. By November 4, he was mayor.

But Bend the Arc doesn't operate in a vacuum. It's part of a tightly coordinated ecosystem of Jewish nonprofits, funded by billionaire philanthropists and major foundations, that explicitly organized the Mamdani campaign.

The money flows are clear. The names matter. And the story is worth telling.

SPIELBERG, SOROS, AND THE $10 MILLION MACHINE

Start with Steven Spielberg's Righteous Persons Foundation. From 2020 to 2024—the exact years leading up to the Mamdani campaign—the Spielberg Foundation poured money into the organizations that backed him:

Bend the Arc: $1.2M
T'ruah (The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights): $690K
Jews United for Justice: $925K
Jewish Social Justice Roundtable: $250K

Total: $3.065 million.

Sources: Righteous Persons Foundation 990 filings (EIN: 95-4497916) available via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer and Foundation Center. Individual grants verified through GuideStar and foundation annual reports.

Then there's Alexander Soros. The son of billionaire George Soros, Alexander chaired Bend the Arc's political arm and funneled another $1.28M+ directly to the organization.

Sources: Alexander Soros Foundation grants to Bend the Arc documented in foundation 990s and InfluenceWatch foundation profiles. Board appointments confirmed via Bend the Arc Jewish Action organizational filings (EIN: 46-0539726).

Add in the Ford Foundation ($200K+ to T'ruah in 2024 alone), the Schusterman Family Philanthropies, the Tides Foundation, the Moriah Fund, and the New Israel Fund, and you're looking at a conservative $10M+ ecosystem, all flowing to the same four organizations that delivered Mamdani's endorsement and mobilized 2,300+ rabbis in his favor.

Funding Sources (All Verified via 990 Filings):

Ford Foundation → T'ruah (EIN: 45-0464545): $200K+ (Oct 2024). Ford Foundation grants database
Schusterman Family Philanthropies — Multiple grants to Jewish social justice orgs. Schusterman Foundation 990 filings
Tides Foundation — $10K-50K grants to Bend the Arc (2018-2020). Tides Foundation
Moriah Fund — $58.6M total giving (2013-2017), Bend the Arc listed recipient. Foundation Center
New Israel Fund — T'ruah funding ($139.32K documented, 2023). NIF annual reports

THE 67-ORGANIZATION COORDINATED NETWORK

The Jewish Social Justice Roundtable isn't just an umbrella group. It's a coordinated machine. With 67 member organizations—from T'ruah to Bend the Arc to Jews United for Justice—it operates as a unified force in electoral politics.

In 2022, its leadership team included:

Abby Levine (Executive Director, Jewish Social Justice Roundtable)
Jacob Feinspan (Executive Director, Jews United for Justice; National Co-Chair, Working Families Party)
Rabbi Jill Jacobs (CEO, T'ruah; Newsweek 50 Most Influential Rabbis)
Ginna Green (Board Co-Chair, Bend the Arc)
Cheryl Cook (CEO, Avodah)
Idit Klein (President/CEO, Keshet)

These six people controlled messaging across 67 organizations representing tens of millions of dollars in annual philanthropic spending and the ears of thousands of rabbis, cantors, and Jewish communal leaders.

Source: Jewish Social Justice Roundtable official site and board listings (2022). Organizational membership roster verified via individual org websites.

When they pointed at Mamdani, the field moved.

THE UPPER WEST SIDE MONEY: 69 NAMED INDIVIDUAL DONORS

T'ruah's 2024-2026 gala programs list 69 named individual donors. These donors attended and were recognized in official gala publications—all names verified from T'ruah official gala programs, 2023-2026.

REPEAT GALA DONORS (3+ years): Suzanne Schecter & Todd Ruback | Cindy Shulak-Rome & Dan Rome | Robin Gibbs & Roger Harris | Marc Waldor & Dr. Nancy Long | Sarah & Andrew Litt

REPEAT GALA DONORS (2+ years): Alan Feldman & Carol Seitchik | Audrey Weiner & Jeffrey Solomon | Rabbi David & Betsy Teutsch | Neil & Laurie Dubin | Phyllis Teicher Goldman

Source: T'ruah official gala programs (2023-2026) obtained from organizational archives.

SARA EISENBERG AND THE BOARD CROSSOVER

At the center sits Sara Eisenberg. Corporate lawyer (Simpson Thacher & Bartlett). Former President and Board Chair of Congregation B'nai Jeshurun (270 West 89th Street, Upper West Side). Board member, T'ruah. Board member, Bend the Arc. Board member, American Jewish World Service. Board member, New Israel Fund International Council.

Eisenberg is a living link between all four organizations that moved Mamdani from fringe candidate to mayor-elect. B'nai Jeshurun hosted T'ruah's galas. Eisenberg sat on boards across the entire ecosystem.

Source: B'nai Jeshurun official board records. T'ruah, Bend the Arc, AJWS, and NIF official board rosters. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett attorney directory.

THE RABBINICAL FIREPOWER: 2,300+ RABBIS

T'ruah mobilized 2,300+ rabbis. Not grassroots. Organizational.

Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T'ruah, is a Newsweek 50 Most Influential Rabbis honoree. Her board includes corporate lawyer Eric Sloan (Gibson Dunn & Crutcher), Israeli fellow Aliza (formerly NIF), and Reconstructionist Rabbinical College faculty.

When T'ruah's board signaled Mamdani, the 2,300 rabbis in the network received the message. That's institutional leverage.

Source: T'ruah official website lists 2,300+ rabbis and cantors in network. Rabbi Jill Jacobs biography via Newsweek 50 rabbis list and T'ruah official bio.

ORGANIZATIONAL 990 FILINGS: VERIFY THE MONEY

All funding figures are from public 990 tax filings. Verify them directly:

Bend the Arc Jewish Action (501c4): EIN: 46-0539726 | ProPublica | GuideStar | Foundation Center | 2024 Revenue: $1.45M

Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice (501c3): EIN: 52-1332694 | ProPublica | GuideStar | 2024 Revenue: $4.34M

T'ruah: EIN: 45-0464545 | ProPublica | GuideStar | T'ruah Official | 2024 Revenue: $3.49M

Jews United for Justice: EIN: 52-2346578 | ProPublica | JUFJ Official | Budget: $3.7M

Righteous Persons Foundation: EIN: 95-4497916 | ProPublica | Foundation Center | 2024 Giving: $3.065M

Schusterman Family Philanthropies: Official Site | 2024 Annual Report & 990s

Jewish Social Justice Roundtable: Official Site | 67 member organizations

THE FIRST-EVER ENDORSEMENT

Bend the Arc Jewish Action existed 14 years before endorsing a NYC mayor. On September 26, 2025—two months before the vote—it broke that precedent.

Their statement: "We helped shape this monumental victory with our air game and ground game."

Source: Bend the Arc official website (Sept 26, 2025). NYC Board of Elections (Nov 4, 2025).

Board Chair Marc Baum, Chair Alex Soros, and CEO Jamie Beran didn't stumble into this. They built it. Spielberg's money. Soros' board seat. Schusterman's ecosystem. The 67-organization Roundtable running the campaign.

WHO ELECTED MAMDANI?

Not New York voters alone.

Spielberg's foundation. Alexander Soros' family wealth and board control. The Schusterman Family Philanthropies. Ford Foundation. New Israel Fund. Moriah Fund. Tides Foundation.

Ruth Messinger. Sara Eisenberg. Carol Winograd. Joshua M. Fried Levin. Ellen Lippmann. Dozens of Upper West Side philanthropists. Sixty-nine repeat gala donors. 2,300 rabbis.

An ecosystem. A network. An operation.

It wasn't organic grassroots organizing. It was institutional power, coordinated across organizations, deployed through boards and foundations and gala donor lists, with clear intention, explicit messaging, and $10M+ in identified funding.

Mamdani was the product. The machine did the work.

And now New Yorkers are learning what an administration built by this network looks like.

METHODOLOGY: All figures sourced from public 990 tax filings (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, GuideStar, Foundation Center), organizational annual reports, official gala programs (2023-2026), board rosters, and public statements. No data sealed or private. Institutional infrastructure operating in plain sight. Verify any claim via linked resources.