The Wexner Foundation told alumni on Thursday that it will spin off its flagship leadership programs into an independent nonprofit, marking a major development within the Jewish philanthropic landscape that comes as the foundation’s benefactor, Les Wexner, continues to face pushback for his past ties to financier Jeffrey Epstein. 

Wexner, the founder of the commerce empire L Brands, became one of the Jewish community’s best-known philanthropists over the past four decades as he developed and funded a range of programs to support emerging professional and lay leaders in the Jewish philanthropic world. 

Wexner Foundation President Rabbi B. Elka Abrahamson said in a Thursday email that the foundation’s North American leadership programs will be moved to a new nonprofit beginning next year with a $40 million gift from Wexner and his wife, Abigail. Abrahamson told the Wexner alumni that the spin-off was a long time in the works.

“We have long imagined a time when our leadership programs would operate on their own and pursue new opportunities for growth and impact. That time has come,” Abrahamson wrote in the email, which was obtained by Jewish Insider. 

The foundation’s leadership development programs have for decades been among the most prominent and prestigious fellowships in the Jewish world, helping leading rabbis, educators and Jewish communal professionals earn graduate degrees and providing professional development and educational opportunities to generations of lay leaders. 

Wexner has in recent years faced scrutiny for his close relationship with Epstein, who for a period of time was granted power of attorney over Wexner’s affairs in the 1990s and early 2000s. Wexner cut ties with Epstein in 2007, a year after Epstein was first indicted on sex crimes charges. 

The announcement comes three months after the Wexner Foundation began hosting listening sessions for alumni to be able to raise concerns and ask questions about Wexner as he faced continued scrutiny — most recently in the form of a congressional deposition at his home near Columbus, Ohio earlier this year — for his relationship with Epstein. 

Since Epstein was indicted in 2018 on sex trafficking charges, Wexner’s alumni networks have been grappling with the once-close relationship between Wexner and Epstein, though Wexner has maintained that he was unaware of Epstein’s illicit behavior. 

When asked if the change was prompted by those listening sessions or the recent public conversation about Wexner, a spokesperson pointed to the letter, which said it had been under consideration for a long time.

Abrahamson announced that Wexner will shift the focus of his personal foundation to supporting Jewish programming in his hometown of Columbus and in Israel. 

The foundation’s vice presidents, Rabbi Jay Moses and Or Mars, will lead the new organization, with Moses serving as president and Mars serving as executive vice president. The organization will be overseen by a new board of directors that is “in formation.”