About Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston
Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc. uses strategic grantmaking to support Jewish community life in Greater Boston, Israel, and Jewish communities elsewhere, with a portfolio that also reaches health care, social services, arts and culture, youth, and communal security. A large share of the foundation’s recent work sits with Jewish communal institutions and human services providers, including repeated support for Hillel The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life in Washington, DC and Jewish Federations of North America in New York, NY. The grant list also shows support for organizations serving vulnerable populations and for Jewish education and engagement, alongside targeted funding for Israel and global Jewry. The foundation makes program-related investments and operates as a mixed Jewish federation donor-advised fund, which fits the mix of strategic grants, allocations, and initiative-based funding shown in its active programs. Its stated grantmaking approach emphasizes partners and programs that care for vulnerable people, broaden Jewish engagement, and build knowledge and connection with Israel and global Jewry. Recent awards also include support for arts and culture, campus initiatives, and social justice work, showing a multi-issue portfolio rather than a single-program funder.
What Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Funds
Jewish engagement appears across several grant programs and recipient types. In campus work, the foundation gave $4,064,747 to Hillel The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life in Washington, DC in 2024, and another $2,903,000 went to Birthright Israel Foundation in New York, NY for young adult services. For Jewish education and adult learning, Shalom Hartman Institute of North America in New York, NY received $3,342,393 in 2023. The foundation also funds communal institutions that support local Jewish life, including Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston in Newton Center, MA, which appears in the recent grants list with two awards. Beyond Jewish engagement, the grant list includes social services and health care support, such as Jewish Family & Children’s Service in Waltham, MA and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA.
How Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Gives
Typical grant size is $10,000 at the 25th percentile, $25,000 at the median, and $85,234 at the 75th percentile, while the recent grants list also includes very large allocations. The pattern suggests a layered approach: many smaller strategic awards alongside larger institutional grants and allocations. The foundation’s active programs show both unsolicited strategic grantmaking and program-specific channels, including annual allocations, campus microfunding, and security grants. It is not a one-off grantmaker; several recipients appear more than once across the recent grants list, including major Jewish communal and campus institutions. Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc. is a mixed Jewish federation donor-advised fund and also makes program-related investments.
