Press Releases

Jewish Students Mobilized Across the United States to Design Affordable Solutions with People with Disabilities

New York, NY — Jewish students at CornellTech, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Berkeley, UCI, and Solomon Schechter Westchester are preparing for six TOM Makeathons ‘three-day marathons of making’ at five colleges and one high school where participants will work with people with disabilities to develop solutions for everyday challenges. The designs of the solutions will be developed further and made available for widespread use for other users worldwide. The six Makeathons are being organized with the support of the Jim Joseph Foundation and will be the latest in activities launched by the...

Onward Israel Receives $8 Million to Expand and Enhance Immersive Israel Experiences for Students and Young Adults

Support from Jim Joseph Foundation to deepen program’s Jewish educational component

New York, NY – Onward Israel, which has engaged more than 4,200 young adults in multi-week, immersive, resumé-building experiences in Israel, has received an $8 million investment from the San Francisco-based Jim Joseph Foundation to expand its programs and engage even more participants. A portion of the funding is designated for Onward’s popular theme-based programs and to strengthen the Jewish educational components of all of its offerings. Onward Israel works in collaboration with a wide range of communities and organizations, and...

Mechon Hadar Receives its Largest Grant Ever to Expand Work with Jewish Community

$2.15 million investment from the Jim Joseph Foundation will support Programs and Priorities in Hadar’s Strategic Plan

New York – Celebrating its tenth year empowering Jews to create and sustain vibrant, practicing, egalitarian communities of Torah learning, prayer, and service, Mechon Hadar has received a $2.15 million grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation—the largest gift in Hadar’s history. The four year grant will support the programs and priorities outlined in Hadar’s recent Strategic Plan, helping Hadar to double the number of participants in its programs and to greatly expand its work...

Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Receives $2.45 million from Aviv and Jim Joseph Foundations

Support will help YCT continue to enroll and graduate rabbinic educators and leaders imbued with a welcoming, inclusive approach to Jewish education and engagement.

New York, NY — Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT), the Modern Orthodox Rabbinical School, has been granted $2.45 million from the Aviv and Jim Joseph Foundations to support its continued growth and development of rabbinic leaders and educators who exhibit a welcoming, inclusive, and open-minded approach to Jewish education and engagement. YCT alumni serve in yeshiva day schools, in community day schools and high schools, on college...

JNF’s Alexander Muss High School in Israel Receives $250,000 Grant for Alumni Engagement and Communal Scholarships

San Francisco, CA — Jewish National Fund’s (JNF) Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI-JNF) has received a $250,000 grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation for its Israel Continuum programming that furthers alumni connection to Israel and increases scholarship opportunities for children of Jewish communal professionals. “As AMHSI-JNF alumni go through high school, college, and ultimately enter the workforce, we want to continue and deepen their connections to Jewish life and Israel in all of those environments,” says Rabbi Leor Sinai, AMHSI-JNF co-executive director. “This investment from the Jim Joseph...

New Investments by Jim Joseph Foundation in Teen Jewish Experiences and Educator Training

San Francisco, CA – New investments in Jewish teen initiatives and educator training opportunities by the Jim Joseph Foundation are designed to enhance and deepen Jewish learning experiences for youth and young adults throughout the country. The San Francisco-based Foundation, which has awarded more than $440 million, partners with organizations that create vibrant Jewish life and ongoing Jewish learning opportunities. “Excellent Jewish education requires excellent educators who are supported and trained at various stages in their careers,” says Al Levitt, Chair of the Jim Joseph Foundation. “We are excited to...

After $45 million investment, HUC-JIR, JTS, and YU Built New Landscape of Jewish Educator Training

Key findings include increased salaries, job promotions for many of the 1,500 educators from Education Initiative Programs

San Francisco, CA — A $45 million investment over six years from the Jim Joseph Foundation to Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), and Yeshiva University (YU) has produced unprecedented numbers of graduate Jewish education degree and credentialed students, new and better trained Jewish educators, educator professional career advancement, and 20 new educator training programs at the three institutions, among numerous positive outcomes detailed in an independent...

Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative Welcomes Sara Allen as First Director

Funder Collaborative is expanding co-investments and shared learnings of Jewish teen initiatives

San Francisco, CA — Signaling its continued growth and increased opportunities to support Jewish teens in ten local communities across the United States, the Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative announced that it has hired Sara Allen to serve as its first full-time Director. The Collaborative is comprised of 15 national and local funders committed to learning together, to sharing best practices, and to investing in community-based Jewish teen education and engagement initiatives in these ten Collaborative...

Institute for Curriculum Services to Expand Israel Education Professional Development

With $600,000 Jim Joseph Foundation grant, ICS will reach more public and private school teachers

San Francisco, CA — The Institute for Curriculum Services (ICS), a national nonprofit initiative of the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Relations Council and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, has received a $600,000 grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation. The grant will allow ICS to offer significantly more professional development on Judaism and the Arab-Israeli conflict in order to support teachers in meeting their curricular mandates. By working with social studies textbook publishers, developing curricular...

Jim Joseph Foundation Announces Additional Grants From Summer 2016

More than $21 million awarded to support Jewish education

San Francisco, CA – The Jim Joseph Foundation today announced that more than $21 million were awarded in new grants during summer 2016 to support effective Jewish learning experiences and to build the capacity of organizations that make them possible. Based in San Francisco, the Foundation is in its eleventh year of grantmaking and has awarded more than $440 million to support Jewish education primarily for youth, teens, and young adults in the United States. “These valued partners create compelling experiences...

Jim Joseph Foundation Awards $10 million to Birthright Israel Foundation

Grant will subsidize trips as Birthright Israel continues to raise the quality of educational experience

New York, NY — The Jim Joseph Foundation today announced a $10 million grant to Birthright Israel Foundation (BRIF). This is the largest total gift the Foundation has awarded to Birthright Israel, which will be paid out over three years. The award will subsidize Birthright Israel experiences for young adults from North America, and comes as BRIF continues to increase the breadth and depth of the Birthright Israel educational experience. More than 45,000 North American...

Shalom Hartman Institute Receives $1 million Towards its Israel Education on Campus Efforts from Jim Joseph Foundation

Grant supports expansion of “iEngage on Campus” to West Coast and launch of new programs

San Francisco, CA — The Shalom Hartman Institute, a center for research and education that improves the quality of Jewish life in Israel and North America, has received a grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation for $1 million over three years to expand its iEngage on Campus program on the West Coast and to launch new Israel education initiatives to be piloted at West Coast campuses. This is the Foundation’s second major grant to the...