Make a Gift - Change a Life!
Dear Friends,
It’s been said that there are only two kinds of stories. One features a hero who goes on a journey. In the other story, a stranger comes to town. As a supporter of the Michael Brownstein Foundation, you know that sometimes these stories are entwined. Depending on perspective, the hero and the stranger can be the same person, and we know that Michael was the protagonist in both kinds of stories.
In the twelve years since Michael left us, we are proud to say that, with your help, we have now provided 30 Brownstein Fellowships, ensuring that gifted and committed young men and women have the opportunity to explore and engage with the world during a Gap Year between high school and college, much as Michael did. Although Michael himself never officially took a Gap Year, he made the most of travel and study abroad programs, both at Harvard-Westlake School and at Princeton University. In honor of that spirit, Michael’s family and friends decided that a Gap Year program was the best possible tribute – a way for us to ensure that somewhere in the world, someone was following his footsteps, becoming global citizens and changing the world for the better. We immediately created an endowed fund at Harvard-Westlake School in his name, and in 2008, we awarded our first Brownstein Fellowship.
This was wonderful, but we quickly decided to do more, and formed the Michael Brownstein Foundation as a private, 501 [c] [3] organization and initially partnered with the Fulfillment Fund, adding Bright Star Schools in 2016. These partnerships enable us to award Brownstein Fellowships to young men and women who come from disadvantaged backgrounds but who are academically gifted, have great promise, and are committed to human service. With the life changing experience that a Brownstein Fellowship offers, our awardees move on to higher education having had experiences that generally reshape their plans, thanks to the wealth of experiences they have had during their time as Brownstein Fellows.
Your gifts to the Michael Brownstein Foundation go directly to support our work with the Fulfillment Fund and Bright Star Schools. A Brownstein Fellowship is particularly meaningful to these young men and women, many of who have never ventured beyond the boundaries of their immediate neighborhood and are generally the first in their family to pursue higher education.
We encourage you to make a tax-deductible gift to the Michael Brownstein Foundation – help change lives! Your gift today will support a 2020 Brownstein Fellow, and he or she will emerge from their Gap Year experience better prepared to make the most of college, thanks to the wisdom gained through travel, experiencing other cultures, and giving service in communities across the globe. Just as important, this young person will have made friends on other continents, truly becoming a global citizen.
Person by person, the Michael Brownstein Foundation contributes to the creation of an international community in which peace is possible. Please join us in continuing this very specific and important work of changing lives.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Scott Messer Anna Nesser
President Vice President
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The Michael Brownstein Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization as described in section 501 [c][3] of the IRS code, and gifts are fully tax deductible as charitable contributions. The Foundation’s tax identification number is 38-3848736.