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Records of the philanthropic foundation focused on supporting Jewish and Detroit-area causes. Also includes the personal papers of founders Mandell "Bill" Berman and his wife Madeleine Berman. This collection contains administrative records, meeting information, grant recipient files, correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, and interviews.

The Mandell L. and Madeleine H. Berman Foundation records contain 32 linear feet and 12.2 GB of records from the Mandell and Madeleine Berman Foundation. It also contains personal papers from Mandell and Madeleine Berman further demonstrating their devotion to local and national philanthropic causes.

The records have been organized into 2 series:

The Mandell L. and Madeleine H. Berman Foundation records series contains administrative files, correspondence, meeting agendas, financial documents, and other information related to the work of the foundation. The sub-series contains the files of the executive director of the foundation, information related to grants and projects and administrative records. The records highlight the work of the foundation with major Jewish organizations including the United Jewish Communities, the Jewish Education Services of North American and the Berman Jewish DataBank.

The Mandell L. and Madeleine H. Berman papers series contains personal materials from the Berman family. Materials include correspondence, papers, photographs, video interviews, and speech transcripts. The series highlights Mandell Berman's service and leadership in major Jewish organizations, the impact of the Berman Center for Performing Arts and the personal history and accomplishments of the Berman family.

Sherwin T. Wine was the iconoclastic founder of Humanistic Judaism and an openly gay rabbi who established the Birmingham Temple and formed the Society for Humanistic Judaism, the Center for New Thinking (a community forum for discussion of current events and issues), and various groups devoted to free thought and humanism. Papers include biographical content, correspondence, writings, educational and worship materials, sound recordings, visual materials, and various organizational records.

The Sherwin T. Wine papers illustrate the intellectual traits and organizational acumen of a man who devoted his life to the establishment of a new branch of Judaism and the advancement of humanistic values and rationalism. The collection will be of value to those individuals who seek a deeper understanding of Wine as a person as well as the founder of Humanistic Judaism. Writings, correspondence, and clippings detail the process by which Wine broke free from the traditions of Reform Judaism to found a new denomination. Materials from the Birmingham Temple and other Secular Humanist Judaism organizations trace the development and expansion of the movement. Content related to the many other groups with which Wine was involved reveal an individual able to organize and inspire others to act at local, national, and international levels.