Press Releases

Jim Joseph Foundation Awards Nearly $24 million in Grants at Winter Board Meetings

Grants Reflect Wide Range of Jewish Learning Experiences for Varied Age Groups

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The San Francisco-based Jim Joseph Foundation announced grant awards from its two winter board meetings totaling nearly $24 million to organizations and institutions engaged in Jewish education. The Foundation focuses on creating effective and compelling Jewish learning experiences for youth and young adults in the United States. “These two rounds of grant awards reflect an especially exciting moment for Jewish education and the grantees with which we partner,” says Al Levitt, President of the...

Jim Joseph Foundation Awards $5.25 million in Grants At Latest Board Meeting

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The San Francisco-based Jim Joseph Foundation today announced grant awards from its Fall 2014 Board meeting, totaling more than $5 million to a variety of Jewish education organizations. Grants were awarded to the Contemporary Jewish Museum, American Institutes for Research, Birthright Israel Foundation, and Kevah. “Many of these new grants build on the previous determined work of grantees to create more Jewish learning opportunities,” notes Al Levitt, President of the Jim Joseph Foundation. “We are excited to help successful initiatives expand and evolve to engage even...

The Jim Joseph Foundation Mourns the Passing of Ralph Goldman Z”l

The Jim Joseph Foundation joins others around the world in mourning the passing of Ralph Goldman, a former leader of the American Joint Distribution Committee who also played an integral role in the founding of Israel. “Ralph Goldman embodied what it means to truly change the world,” says Al Levitt, president of the Jim Joseph Foundation. “He was an inspiration, a visionary leader who profoundly impacted the lives of countless of Jews around the globe. From his role in the founding of Israel to his time as head of the...

Collective Investment from Multiple Foundations and Major Planning Process Position Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies for Growth

More than $4 million combined over last year from Jim Joseph, Crown and Shapira Foundations

NEW YORK – The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies (www.pardes.org.il), renowned for inspiring life-long connections to Jewish life and to Israel, announced today that over the last year multiple foundations have collectively invested more than $4 million in Pardes, supporting a major business planning process and positioning it to achieve significant growth and institutional sustainability. Major gifts from the Jim Joseph Foundation, the Crown Family and the David S. and Karen A. Shapira Foundation will support...

New Grants from Jim Joseph Foundation Support Wide Range of Jewish Education Organizations and Initiatives

More than $17 million awarded to create more Jewish learning experiences

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The San Francisco-based Jim Joseph Foundation today announced the grant awards from its June 2014 Board meeting, totaling more than $17 million to a variety of Jewish education organizations. The Foundation focuses on creating effective and compelling Jewish learning experiences for youth and young adults (primarily ages 13-30) in the United States. “These new grants support collaborative and dynamic initiatives designed to educate significant numbers of Jewish youth and young adults,” says Al Levitt, president...

Multi-faceted, Ambitious Jewish Teen Initiative to Launch in Denver and Boulder

Efforts supported by Rose Community Foundation and the Jim Joseph Foundation draw on national organizations, proven models for Jewish teen engagement and education

Denver, CO – Rose Community Foundation (RCF) in Denver, CO announced the launch today of a multi-faceted Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Initiative, supported by a four-year matching grant up to $2,256,015 from the Jim Joseph Foundation. The grant will match the support committed from individual donors and local foundations on a 1:1 basis, led by RCF’s initial grant of $1,065,255 over two years. The collaborative initiative...

Jewish Community Federation Announces $1.75 Million Grant from Jim Joseph Foundation to Expand Jewish Education for Preschools in the Bay Area

San Francisco, CA – Today, the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties (the Federation) announced that its Early Childhood Education Initiative (ECEI) will receive a $1.75 million grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation for the Federation’s Jewish Resource Specialist Program (JRS), a program designed to deepen Jewish curricula at local schools, engage parents, and encourage families to choose Jewish education for themselves and their children. The 3-year pilot program, launched in 2011 at five Jewish Early Childhood Education (ECE) sites in the Bay Area, has had significant success in engaging families...

Jewish New Teacher Project Receives $1.8 million from Major Foundations

New grants from Jim Joseph, AVI CHAI foundations designed to help JNTP reach sustainability

SAN FRANCISCO — To further support Jewish day school teachers and to retain them in the field, the Jim Joseph Foundation and The AVI CHAI Foundation today announced combined grants of nearly $1.8 million to the New Teacher Center (NTC) for its Jewish New Teacher Project (JNTP), an initiative that offers teacher induction, ongoing support and training, and mentorship opportunities for day school teachers. The grants are a significant vote of confidence for the twelve-year-old organization...

Grant Awards from Jim Joseph Foundation Total More Than $300 Million

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The San Francisco-based Jim Joseph Foundation today announced that grant awards from recent Board meetings bring its total grantmaking since 2006 to $303,950,338. The Foundation focuses on creating effective and compelling Jewish learning experiences for youth and young adults (primarily ages 13-30) in the United States. “We are incredibly privileged to work closely with grantees committed to innovative and effective Jewish learning and engagement,” says Al Levitt, President of the Board of Directors of the Jim Joseph Foundation.  “Certainly reaching this grant amount is a milestone...

Jewish Outdoor, Food, and Environmental Education Experiences (JOFEE) Show Increased Potential for Jewish Engagement

National Study Offers Insights on Participants, Programs, and Professionals

NEW YORK, NY — Experiences that blend Jewish learning with the outdoors, food, and environment are attracting a growing number of diverse Jews to meaningful and inspiring Jewish life, reports the first-ever national survey on Jewish Outdoor, Food, and Environmental Education (JOFEE) —Seeds of Opportunity: A National Study of Immersive Jewish Outdoor, Food, and Environmental Education (JOFEE). The report, released today by a group of six major funders and Hazon, examines the history, programs, professionals, and participants that comprise JOFEE experiences.

Leaders in Jewish Early Childhood Education Begin Seminar in Israel to Learn New Perspectives on Israel Education

Cohort will visit Israeli education programs, engage with education leaders

NEW YORK, NY — Sixteen Jewish early childhood education directors and master teachers, along with their mentors and the director of the Jewish Early Childhood Education Leadership Institute (JECELI), are participating in a ten day intensive Israel Seminar February 20 – March 2, 2014. JECELI prepares Jewish educators to be leaders, to help families develop stronger connections to their Jewish communities, and to nurture children’s Jewish growth, including by engaging in Israel education. The Israel Seminar, a critical component of...

Pioneering Consortium Advances Role of Research in Jewish Education

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The Consortium for Applied Studies in Jewish Education (CASJE) today announced a first-of-its kind collaboration among practitioners, researchers, and funders of Jewish education. With gifts to the Stanford University Graduate School of Education, the Consortium will lead efforts to identify key education questions, assist researchers in designing more robust methods, and facilitate work that translates research findings into strengthened practice — in informal and formal Jewish education. The key to the Consortium is creating the conditions for collaboration among scholars of practice and scholarly practitioners in...