Changing our Name from the Sephardic Home for the Aged Foundation to the Sephardic Foundation on Aging

Many of you might be familiar with our work because you’re familiar with the Sephardic Home for the Aged—the nursing home at our roots. When we shifted our resources in 2015 to begin our new chapter as a foundation, we initially went by the name Sephardic Home for the Aged Foundation. We did this because it was important for us to explicitly acknowledge the Foundation’s direct relationship with the psychical Sephardic Home for the Aged in Brooklyn. 

Now, more than 5 years after becoming a foundation, we’ve updated our name to more strongly reflect our commitment to inclusion and position us for even more impact in the future. We’re excited to announce that we’re now The Sephardic Foundation on Aging (SFOA). 

We made the shift away from The Sephardic Home for the Aged Foundation for a few reasons. First, referring to older communities as “aged” makes them appear separate from the rest of society, and goes against our values as a foundation to be open and inclusive. More practically, The Sephardic Foundation on Aging is shorter, simpler, and more clearly communicates who we are (an organization with a Sephardic identity) and what we do (funding projects in aging care and innovation). 

At our heart, we’re still the same organization that cared for New York’s older Sephardic Jews in Brooklyn. In fact, our history as a community nursing home still guides and motivates our mission to this day. It’s an integral part of our new brand; you can explore the history of The Sephardic Home for the Aged and the people who called it home here. So while the direct connection to The Sephardic Home for the Aged is no longer present in our name, it remains present in our organization’s ethos. 

We hope you’ll share this exciting news with your peers and loved ones. And that you’ll continue to support us in our ambitious mission to help Jewish people around the world thrive.