About

The Five Together Foundation was established in 2005, inspired by generous parents who believed in their children’s capacity to engage together with intentionality and help make the world a better place. When the Foundation began, the siblings — Laurie, Jake, Rachel, Debbie, and Josh — scrambled to balance their busy lives with learning how to run a foundation and decide where to make their mark in the world. Within months, when Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, the family sprang into action, making several meaningful disaster relief contributions, including helping to rebuild and restock a library, and to a business loan program run by Jewish Family Services.

As the Foundation’s journey continued through the years, the siblings were united by their common values of compassion, justice and equal opportunity. They began investing in organizations and places near and dear to their hearts and minds- identifying and satisfying basic human needs such as safe and affordable housing, food insecurity, and ensuring a person’s right to vote. The siblings were mobilized as a result of the 2016 election and moved to support efforts to engage low-propensity voters as well as get out the vote efforts for the 2018 midterms. In 2020, Five Together focused their efforts on addressing the unexpected effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and providing critical support to its current partners, particularly those who were serving vulnerable populations and those most affected by the virus and its effects on society.

Over the years, the siblings learned by doing, and found their philanthropic footing supporting vulnerable populations and frontline issues in America and globally. Their different careers and passions transformed eventually into the areas of focus for the Foundation today: Preserving Democracy in the U.S., Services to Families in Need, and Youth Development / Youth Leadership.