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Zach Bronstein is the chief operating officer of Endaoment, a public charity that makes it easy for people to make and receive charitable gifts in cryptocurrency. Bronstein was selected as one of the New York Jewish Week’s 36 to Watch (formerly 36 Under 36). This distinction honors leaders, entrepreneurs and changemakers who are making a difference in New York’s Jewish community. Bronstein has master’s degrees from theHe lives in Westchester.
For the full list of this year’s “36ers,” click here.
New York Jewish Week: Tell us what Endaoment does.
Bronstein: We make it easy for donors with crypto to make donations and receive tax receipts, and we make it easy for organizations to receive donations that start as crypto and are delivered as U.S. dollars. We do all this at no cost to the nonprofits, and industry-low costs to the donors — 1.5% of donated dollars, that’s it! We launched in the fourth quarter of 2020 and raised just under $300,000 those first three months. In 2021 we raised $28 million in crypto donations and in the first five months of 2022 we’ve already raised $15 million for U.S. non-profits.
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How does your Jewish experience influence your work?
Jewish summer camp was where I was first inspired to think about my role in the community. It was where I began to develop my Jewish identity in earnest. I spent many years as both a camper and a counselor at Eisner Camp in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and thought hard about the kind of person I wanted to be. I remember reflecting frequently, and still do, on the idea that it was my duty to be a “light unto the nations.” I knew that I had to bring positive, systemic change to the world around me, and it was only through self-examination that I came to understand the overlap of things I felt duty-bound to and the things I genuinely wanted to do.
Who is your Jewish hero?
Rabbi Elyse Frishman. She was my congregational rabbi when I was growing up in North Jersey, and one of my oldest friend’s parents. She’s my hero because of all she gives of herself to her community and how intentional she is with her words and actions. She has always been a rock for those around her, and has set the bar impossibly high for future spiritual leaders of mine. As a personal recipient of much of her counsel, I know I would not be where I am today without her guidance and patience. Immediately after college, we had many conversations about the future I was trying to build for myself, and it is in no small part because of her that I find myself doing what I love — impact-oriented work at Endaoment.
What is your favorite place to eat Jewish food in New York?
Zabar’s. They deliver too!
In one sentence, what was your best experience as a Jewish New Yorker?
Handing out menorahs after a Matisyahu concert in Brooklyn let out, on the first night of Hanukkah.
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