Foundation for Jewish Camp Specialty Camps Incubator III
April 11th, 2016
Building on the success of Specialty Camps Incubator I and II, Foundation for Jewish Camp and the Jim Joseph Foundation announced Incubator III, which will create four new Jewish specialty camps and continue the effort to achieve the joint vision of both foundations: to increase experiential Jewish learning, strengthen Jewish continuity, and foster strong Jewish social networks among Jewish children and teens.
Specialty Camps Incubator offers a forum to pilot new educational models by integrating Jewish learning with activities that kids are passionate about – the environment, performing arts, sports, and outdoor adventure. The Incubator also successfully establishes new sustainable business models for Jewish camps by not requiring burdensome capital investment since the camps are required to rent existing properties.
Incubator III will launch four new Jewish specialty camps, provide funding to the new camps during their planning, start-up and first three years of operation, and evaluate the progress of each camp’s development. Each new camp will receive start-up investment and operational funding for three years of up to $1.4 million, pegged to performance goals.
The first two Specialty Camps Incubators, funded initially by the Jim Joseph Foundation and then later joined by The AVI CHAI Foundation, was modeled on a business incubator, formed to accelerate the launch of entrepreneurial ventures. The camps launched through Incubator I and II have already served more than 5,000 unique campers in six years.
“The Specialty Camps Incubators have raised the profile of Jewish camp and has allowed the field to continue to expand, grow, and attract children and teens from all backgrounds,” explains Jeremy J. Fingerman, CEO, FJC. “We are grateful for the Jim Joseph Foundation’s incredible investment in our field.”
FJC expects these four new specialty camps will serve annually, in aggregate, 1,200 campers and 160 college-aged counselors by the conclusion of the grant period (December 2020, after three summers). The experienced Incubator team will provide expert training and mentoring to support the Specialty Camp Incubator III cohort as they plan and implement their vision for new models of Jewish specialty camps.
“Specialty camps continue to gain in popularity and have proven to be a very worthy investment,” adds Al Levitt, President of the Board of Directors of the Jim Joseph Foundation. “Now, we can apply previous lessons learned as we launch four new specialty camps with innovative ideas in underserved areas. With FJC’s leadership and expertise in the field, these camps will be positioned to incorporate experiential Jewish learning along with excellence in programming.”
FJC is now accepting proposals for four new specialty camps. The RFP can be found at: www.JewishCamp.org/incubator.
The Jim Joseph Foundation grant supporting Specialty Camps Incubator III is for up to $10 million.