The Jewish Community Foundation (JCF) regularly works closely with individuals and families to achieve their unique philanthropic goals. Oftentimes this includes creating a customized charitable fund that fulfills a family’s specific charitable mission and engages multiple generations to perpetuate a legacy of generosity. The first such fund established at the Foundation was the Earl J. and Leona K. Tranin Special Fund, created 50 years ago, which continues to give actively today and positively impact the Kansas City community.
The fund was created with a corpus of $50,000 on Nov. 6, 1975. The Tranins formed a committee of community members and family members to help guide the fund and established priority funding areas which included cultural arts, community relations and education predominantly, but not exclusively, within the Jewish community. It was decided that grants were to be restricted to the Greater Kansas City area.
After Earl and Leona died, they were succeeded by their children, Don Tranin, Shirley Morantz and Miriam Kaplan to oversee giving from the fund. The fund is currently led by the third generation of the Tranin family and has distributed $250,000 since it was created. Over the years, the funding priorities have evolved to include the sponsorship of special events, such as lectures, programs, institutes and demonstration projects conceived and applied to raise the educational, cultural or economic level or to improve the health, social responsibility and well-being of the general community.
“My father, Don Tranin, envisioned the fund as a way to honor his parents by supporting cultural and educational activities for the community,” Ed Tranin said. “Fifty years ago, setting up a fund like this was a new concept. It’s my understanding it took some work to convince my grandfather, Earl, to proceed. After the first few grants were made and he saw the results, he understood its value. It’s amazing how long that initial investment has lasted and how many community projects it has been able to impact along the way.”
A notable grant from the fund supported the purchase of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for the Jewish Community Campus and synagogues. Don Tranin felt that it was important to equip the community with these lifesaving tools. The fund provided AED training and installation in 2007, which was groundbreaking at the time.
The fund has long had an emphasis on promoting dialogue between people of different faiths and inspiring racial parity. Another interesting grant went to Avila University in 2008 for the exhibit “A Blessing to One Another.” The exhibit focused on the special relationship between Pope John Paul II and the Jewish people. In 2025, the Earl J. and Leona K. Tranin Special Fund provided underwriting for a visit by Ruby Bridges to Topeka, Kansas. Bridges is a civil rights icon, activist, author and speaker who, at the age of six, was the first Black student to integrate an all-white school in Louisiana.
The committee recently met to make its 2026 grants. This year a grant was made to support the Asylum Project’s Kansas City Safe Expansion Project. The Asylum Project is the only nonprofit organization in Kansas dedicated exclusively to providing immigration legal services for undocumented individuals and unaccompanied children. With the Tranin Fund’s support, the organization aims to provide critical legal representation to 50 highly vulnerable noncitizen children and survivors of human trafficking.
Another grant was made to the Sewing Lab for “Threads of Creativity.” This program empowers primarily women facing economic challenges by offering comprehensive sewing training. Unique aspects include a Registered Apprenticeship Program, textile waste recycling, community partnerships and art therapy-influenced programming, ultimately seeking to provide skills for employment, entrepreneurship and creative expression.
“It has been an honor to work with two generations of this fantastic family,” said Beatrice Fine, JCF’s director of grantmaking and impact.
More information about working with the Jewish Community Foundation to achieve unique philanthropic goals is available by contacting Suzanne Galblum Dicken at or (913) 327-8286.
