Supporting Jewish fertility in Pittsburgh leads organization to adopt regional model
'The Jewish Fertility Foundation fills a need in the community, and it's positioned to continue to do so with its new model'
An evolving organization is altering its Pittsburgh presence. Jewish Fertility Foundation, a 10-year-old Atlanta-based group, will no longer employ a local staffer to oversee its Pittsburgh operations. Instead, the organization has tapped Tamar Poupko Smith, a Cleveland resident with Pittsburgh ties, to serve as regional manager.
Smith, whose late grandfather Rabbi Baruch Poupko served as Congregation Shaare Torah’s spiritual guide between 1942-1996, visited Pittsburgh on Dec. 17 to build rapport with local residents.
Inside Bunny Bakes on Murray Avenue, Smith spoke with several individuals before heading to UPMC to meet healthcare professionals.
“JFF is here to stay in Pittsburgh,” Smith said. “I’m here to support all potential clients, current clients and grantees, and to continue to support them through our financial grants and support programs.”
Since its inception, JFF has distributed 354 fertility grants (totaling $2.49 million in grants, loans and clinic discounts) to Jewish families experiencing medical infertility challenges in one of the organization’s nine nationwide communities: Atlanta, Birmingham, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Tampa and Washington, D.C.
Among those who’ve received emotional and/or financial support, there’ve been 221 babies born, Smith said.
Seated beside Smith, JFF Director of Development Jenny Jones proudly flashed photos of newborns and told the Chronicle that requests for aid have ballooned nationwide.
In 2023, JFF provided fertility grants to 76 families totaling $305,750. One year later, the organization supported 129 families with fertility grants totaling $491,000.
There was a similar increase in Pittsburgh.
After arriving in western Pennsylvania in 2022, the organization distributed two grants totaling $5,000. In 2023, another two grants, totaling $12,500, were provided. In 2024, JFF delivered fertility grants to nine couples totaling $32,000.
Eligibility for JFF funding, which ranges between $1,000-$10,000, includes several requirements: at least one Jewish parent (Jewish from birth or conversion from any denomination); intention to raise the child Jewish; no smoking or drug use; and applicants may have up to one child already. Funding is not available to those seeking treatment due to either a vasectomy or bilateral tubal ligation.
After receiving a grant, funds can be used for intrauterine insemination or in vitro fertilization treatment. Grant decisions are generally made within two to four weeks after an application is received, but the process begins with a diagnosis from a reproductive endocrinologist, according to the organization.
In addition to meeting with local residents, Smith said she hoped to develop greater bonds with Pittsburgh health providers.
JFF has directed Pittsburghers to Shady Grove Fertility in Wexford and UPMC-Magee Women’s Center for Fertility and Reproductive Endocrinology, according to the organization.
Shelly Parver, associate director of planning and impact at Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, met with Smith last week and praised her efforts as well as the organization’s move to a regional model.
When JFF arrived in Pittsburgh it was in “startup-growth mode,” with specific needs, such as local people building relationships with therapists, fertility clinics and the hospital systems, Parver said. Now that the organization has become “sort of like a midstream,” the priorities needed to change.
After coming to Pittsburgh in 2022, JFF received $90,000 from Federation.
The last of that three-year seed grant, with annual allocations of $30,000, was recently distributed and runs through June 2025. Once that period ends, JFF is eligible to receive additional funding, Parver said.
JFF has applied for another three-year grant, totaling $90,000, Jones said.
Federation’s grantmaking committee will review that request and make a recommendation to the board around February or March, Parver said.
JFF’s needs are growing, Jones stressed.
The World Health Organization estimates that one in six people of reproductive age experience infertility during their lifetime.
Among some demographics, rates are climbing.
The percentage of married women ages 15–44 who were infertile rose from 6.7% in 2011–2015 to 8.7% in 2015–2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Access to high-quality family planning services, including fertility care, is among the “core elements of reproductive health,” WHO reported.
“The Jewish Fertility Foundation fills a need in the community, and it’s positioned to continue to do so with its new model,” Parver said.
Removing a local staffer and transitioning to a regional model does not preclude Pittsburghers from accessing JFF’s programs or services. Similarly, the decision does not ignore the sizable differences between the two communities, Smith explained.
Cleveland has about 80,000 Jewish residents, according to a 2011 population study commissioned by its Federation. Pittsburgh has about 30,000 fewer, according to a 2017 population study commissioned by Pittsburgh’s Federation.
Cleveland’s Federation announced last week that it raised a record $38,087,175 in its annual campaign. Pittsburgh’s Federation is set to raise $14.5 million in its annual campaign.
Smith said she’s well aware of the differences between the two Rust Belt locales.
After speaking with local residents and visiting her grandparents’ former Squirrel Hill home, Smith said plenty of details distinguish Cleveland from Pittsburgh — access to fertility care shouldn’t be one of them.
“These are two totally different communities, but in both communities are families who are on family-building journeys,” she said. “The needs are the same, the details are different, but I think that’s why I’m here: just to figure these things out.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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