The Reform movement’s Camp Newman has received $4 million from the S.F.-based Koret Foundation to build a retreat center at its Santa Rosa campus.

The Koret grant is the largest single gift Camp Newman has ever received, and according to camp representatives, one of the largest made to any Reform camp.

The Koret Retreat and Conference Center at Camp Newman will be an expansion of its existing retreat facility, and will enable the camp to serve more than 12,000 people a year, tripling its current capacity. Construction will begin in August and is scheduled to be completed next summer.

“We are honored to have the support of the Koret Foundation, and look forward to establishing the Koret Retreat and Conference Center at Camp Newman to benefit our entire Northern California Jewish community,” said Ruben Arquilevich, Camp Newman’s executive director.

The Koret gift is part of $22 million already raised in URJ Camp Newman’s $30 million campaign to improve the camp’s housing and infrastructure.

“We know that the Koret Retreat and Conference Center at Camp Newman will serve as a model for Jewish communities throughout North America,” said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the URJ president.

The Koret Foundation, a private philanthropic organization, has invested over $500 million since 1979 to strengthen the Bay Area, Israel and Poland. — j. staff