The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies has received a $1,000,000 bequest from the Jerome Toffler Foundation. This is the third-largest individual’s donation in the history of the Institute.

David Lehrer, Arava Institute Executive Director, acknowledged the significance of this gift, saying, “Mr. Toffler’s incredible gift demonstrates his confidence in the environmental solutions and coexistence paradigm that the Arava Institute is pioneering.”

Mr. Toffler was born in Van Nuys, California. An inventor, Mr. Toffler created a patented delay equalizer circuit that is used today in heating and cooling devices. Throughout his lifetime, Mr. Toffler used his technological expertise in his work with aircraft companies and Honeywell, a company that produces consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems.

Jerry Roth, Mr. Toffler’s financial advisor, and Jerry’s wife, Bonnie, were both instrumental in facilitating this generous gift. “He supported a lot of environmental causes, and he was intrigued by the environmental projects that students [at the Arava Institute] worked on,” Jerry says.

In addition to supporting environmental causes, the Jerome Toffler Foundation donated generously to diabetes and heart disease research.

This endowment will go towards sustaining the core academic program.