Behind the scenes of the negotiations between Bank of America and the Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Federation of St. Louis played a key role in making a settlement possible, ending the financial institution’s litigation over various JCC debts.

“It’s precisely in times of crisis like this that you need the strong community organization that the Federation is in order to help move things along in a community,” said Andrew Rehfeld, president and CEO of the Federation here. “It’s important that the community knows that that is why we are here, whether for the J today or for a small organization in the future.”

Launched early last year, the financial giant’s suit alleged that the JCC was withholding millions of dollars in payments in an effort to force a change in the terms of $45 million in bonds that helped fund the organization’s extensive facelift. The JCC said that the economic crisis had hampered their ability to pay. The case even attracted the attention of Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster who filed papers to intervene in the matter last summer.

In January, the litigants reached a settlement, the details of which remain confidential.

With the closing of the settlement this week, the Jewish Federation revealed that it played a part in helping the deal to come to fruition. Lynn Wittels, president and CEO of the JCC, said that the Jewish umbrella agency worked to round up supporters for the organization to acquire necessary funding for the deal.

“There were a lot of people who may not come to the J but decided to support this initiative because they know how important it is to the community and the role that we serve,” said Wittels who noted that the federation was instrumental in bringing donors to the table.

The Federation also provided some transitional financing for the deal by taking out a loan that they then transferred to the JCC.

“We were able to secure a loan and then loan that to the J in order to facilitate their agreement on terms where they will be reimbursing us and paying back the loan over a period of time going forward,” said Rehfeld.

Rehfeld said no Federation funds were used in the effort and that it would not affect allocation pools for either the JCC or other constituent agencies.

He said that the federation had no involvement in negotiations between the JCC and Bank of America.

Rehfeld credited his predecessor Barry Rosenberg and Federation President Bob Millstone for getting the ball rolling and noted that it would not have been possible without support from the federation board.

“This was a process that was going on well before I came into this job in September,” he said.

Wittels said the JCC was very upfront with donors about the issues involved.

“We were very transparent because we knew that we were facing a potential crisis and we had to mobilize the community in a way that would help us find a resolution and you can’t do that without telling those potential donors what the need is,” she said.

The St. Louis Business Journal reported in January that Michael Staenberg donated $10 million and Sam Fox and Tom Green each donated more than $1 million. Wittels said the donations were confidential and did not confirm the figures, but added that the trio of businessmen assisted with making the deal possible.  

“Some community leaders stepped up early and in a significant way,” she said. “Not only with their checkbook but also with their willingness to speak on our behalf and to spread the message.”

Wittels also said it was a testament to the JCC’s financial stability that the federation was willing to help the independent agency. The JCC ran significant deficits for many years but, spurred by the construction of the Staenberg Family Complex and a wide-scale revamp of the organization, its financial picture began to stabilize by about 2010 and now shows a positive cash flow.

“We have a business model that has proven to be successful and I think that is really at the crux of why the Federation board had chosen to support this,” she said, “because we had really proven to the community and to them that once we got past this crisis we would be a viable entity for generations to come.”

Rehfeld agreed.

“The Federation is not in the business of lending its support to failing institutions,” he said. “If we didn’t have confidence in them going forward we wouldn’t have stepped up to the plate in that way.”

Both Wittels and Rehfeld called it a victory for the community and a good example of the power of working together.

“It’s a moment of great excitement,” said Rehfeld. “We’re glad to get it behind us and move forward.”

Contacted Monday, a spokeswoman for Bank of America confirmed that the matter had been resolved but directed all further questions to the JCC.