The Foundation’s grant making spans several areas of interest:
Addressing Anti-Semitism and Other Forms of Hate: History demonstrates that hate in all forms endangers the fabric of civil society. The Foundation is committed to addressing hatred, bigotry and intolerance and invests in efforts to support groups threatened by hate, as well as in research and the monitoring of hate. The Foundation also invests in educational and intergroup efforts fostering tolerance and positive relationships across difference.
Arab Israeli Employment and Education: The Foundation is committed to improving the quality of life and access to opportunities for Israel’s Arab citizens, and to ensuring a strong Jewish and democratic state in which all citizens might participate in the country’s economic growth. The Foundation’s grant making focuses on increasing access to and success in higher education, leadership development and professional employment for Arabs in Israel.
Connecting to Israel: The Foundation believes Israel is essential to the Jewish experience, and that Israel’s significance extends beyond its importance to the Jewish people. It is a dynamic, diverse and democratic society, with an entrepreneurial spirit that has enabled it to make a positive global impact in many fields, including science, technology and medicine. The Foundation supports engaging educational experiences that build authentic relationships between Americans and their Israeli peers.
Funder Collaborations and Bold Bets: The Foundation values working in partnerships as an effective means to increase learning, build capacity, minimize risk and maximize impact. In addition, the Foundation supports a small number of organizations, outside of current areas of interest, led by extraordinary leaders whose bold ideas and comprehensive plans to scale initial outcomes hold significant promise for positive, wide scale impact.
Good Philanthropic Citizen and Community Grants: The Foundation works to expand access to the critical services and enrichment opportunities that help make communities stronger, healthier and more vibrant. While the majority of grants in this category focus on Greater Boston as well as on the Jewish community, the Foundation also values the role it can play within some national and global contexts, acting nimbly as opportunities or needs arise.
These grants cluster around long-standing philanthropic interests such as bolstering a safety net and ensuring access to opportunities for vulnerable families, promoting democratic ideals, strengthening children’s mental health and supporting veterans and military families. Over time, new strategies may emerge from this category.
Medical and Scientific Research: The Foundation invests in research efforts to advance understanding of the biological basis of health and illness. The Foundation’s grant making seeks to advance basic science research, to help create resources that are broadly available for the research community, and to strengthen collaborative efforts in order to accelerate discovery.
Music Pathways for Youth: The Foundation believes in the power of music education to enrich the lives of individuals. It seeks to create a stronger, more accessible music pathway so that young people in Greater Boston, regardless of their financial means, can pursue training – from beginner to mastery – according to their highest level of interest and ability. In addition to providing operating support grants to high quality, music education programs, the Foundation addresses other barriers such as lack of access to appropriate instruments and limited professional development opportunities for music educators and teaching artists to strengthen their ability to teach and mentor students along the music pathway.
Other Grants and Contributions: This category includes contributions made through the Foundation’s employee matching gifts program, conference sponsorships, grants to organizations that no longer fit with the Foundation’s areas of interest, and capital grants that are not associated with a specific Foundation strategy.
As we are continually learning, these categories and our specific strategies within them will evolve. Our dedication to applying best practices in philanthropy will remain unchanged.