The Harry & Leah Gudelsky Foundation focuses on strengthening Jewish communal institutions, local arts/music education, and youth sports/fitness programs — primarily in the Washington, DC area but with occasional out-of-region grantees. Their grants support synagogues and JCCs, community health and hospital-related causes, and nonprofit program providers that deliver sport- and arts-based youth development and education.
A 2025 grant of $140,000 to Bender Jcc in Rockville, Maryland stands out in Harry & Leah Gudelsky Foundation Inc’s recent giving and points to a pattern of institution-level support for Jewish communal life. The foundation’s recent grants also show repeated backing for synagogues and JCCs, along with funding for local arts and music education, youth sports and fitness, and selected community health-related organizations. The foundation has supported both large and modest awards within that mix. Grants to Levine School of Music in Washington, DC, and to Montgomery County Tennis Education Foundation in Silver Spring, Maryland, show that its funding reaches beyond one sector while still staying close to community-based programming. Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan appears more than once in the recent grants list, which suggests continued relationships with some recipients. The same is true for So What Else Inc in Bethesda, Maryland, which appears in multiple years. Recent awards also include Sibley in Washington, DC, Southwest Sports and Fitness Alliance in Baltimore, and Women Make Movies in New York, indicating that the foundation supports nonprofits delivering services through health, sport, and media-based programs as well as Jewish communal institutions.
Jewish communal institutions are a central part of the foundation’s portfolio. Recent grants include $140,000 to Bender Jcc in Rockville, Maryland, and $10,000 to Bender Jcc of Greater Washington in Rockville, showing direct support for JCC programming and community infrastructure. Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan also received multiple awards across 2023 to 2025. Youth sports and fitness is another clear theme. The foundation gave $100,000 to Montgomery County Tennis Education Foundation in Silver Spring, $50,000 and $20,000 to Southwest Sports and Fitness Alliance in Baltimore, and $30,000 to Grassroot Soccer in Hanover, New Hampshire. These grants point to support for tennis, broader sports alliances, and soccer-based youth programming. Arts and education appear in several forms. Levine School of Music in Washington, DC received $70,000 and $30,000, while Women Make Movies in New York received $35,000. The Dinner School in Bethesda also received a $50,000 grant, adding food education and experiential learning to the foundation’s mix.
$550K
$2.2M
$291K
$591K
Most grants fall between $20K and $40K, with a median of $25K.
25th Percentile
$20K
Median
$25K
75th Percentile
$40K
About 14% of grants go to recipients in MD.
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Moderately concentrated mid-sized grants with several repeat grantees; a regional focus on the DC/Maryland area but occasional funding elsewhere. Funding mixes program support for established community institutions (JCCs, temple, hospital) with targeted grants to nonprofit program providers in sports, arts, and education.
Notable grantees: Bender JCC, Temple Israel, Montgomery County Tennis Education Foundation, Levine School of Music, Sibley (hospital)
Typical grant size centers in the mid-five-figure range: p25 is $20,000, median is $25,000, and p75 is $40,000. Recent grants range from $7,500 to $140,000, with several awards clustered at $20,000, $25,000, $30,000, and $50,000. The foundation is a regular funder rather than a DAF, and it does not make program-related investments or fund individuals. Its recent records show repeat support for several recipients across multiple years, including Temple Israel, So What Else Inc, Montgomery County Tennis Education Foundation, Southwest Sports and Fitness Alliance, Levine School of Music, Maccabi USA, and Bender Jcc of Greater Washington. That pattern suggests ongoing relationships rather than one-time awards.
Grantmaking is regional and heavily centered in Maryland, which is the top state by grant count. Washington, DC recipients also appear regularly, including Sibley, Levine School of Music, and Bender Jcc of Greater Washington. Bethesda, Rockville, Silver Spring, and Baltimore are recurring Maryland locations in the recent grants list. Outside the DC-Maryland core, the foundation has also awarded grants to organizations in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan; Tucson, Arizona; New York, New York; Hanover, New Hampshire; Aspen, Colorado; Palm Beach, Florida; and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Recipients in the HQ state of DC account for 7% of grants.
The foundation supports Jewish communal institutions such as synagogues and JCCs, youth sports and fitness programming, community music and arts education, film and media programs for women, local healthcare and hospital support, and food education and experiential learning. Recent grants name Bender Jcc, Levine School of Music, Women Make Movies, Sibley, and The Dinner School in those areas.
Its grant sizes are centered in the mid-five-figure range. The typical distribution is p25 at $20,000, median at $25,000, and p75 at $40,000. Recent awards also show a wider range, from $7,500 up to $140,000.
Yes. Several grantees appear more than once in the recent grants list, including Temple Israel, So What Else Inc, Montgomery County Tennis Education Foundation, Southwest Sports and Fitness Alliance, Levine School of Music, Maccabi USA, and Bender Jcc of Greater Washington. That indicates repeated relationships across multiple years.
Maryland is the top state by grant count. Recent Maryland recipients include organizations in Rockville, Bethesda, Silver Spring, Baltimore, and West Bloomfield Township, while Washington, DC recipients also appear in the record.
Recipients include JCCs and synagogues, youth sports organizations, music and arts education groups, community service nonprofits, and healthcare-related institutions. Named recipients include Bender Jcc, Montgomery County Tennis Education Foundation, Levine School of Music, So What Else Inc, and Sibley.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MACABI USA | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $110,000 | 2026 | SAME |
| SOUTHWEST SPORTS AND FITNESS ALLIANCE | BALTIMORE, MD | $50,000 | 2026 | SAME |
| THE DINNER SCHOOL | BETHESDA, MD | $50,000 | 2026 | SAME |
| LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD | WASHINGTON, DC | $50,000 | 2026 | SAME |
| SO WHAT ELSE INC | BETHESDA, MD | $50,000 | 2026 | SAME |
| LEVINE SCHOOL OF MUSIC | WASHINGTON, DC | $50,000 | 2026 | SAME |
| MCTEF | SILVER SPRING, MD | $50,000 | 2026 | SAME |
| BENDER JCC | ROCKVILLE, MD | $40,000 | 2026 | SAME |
| TEMPLE ISRAEL | WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI | $25,000 | 2026 | SAME |
| SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE | SPRINGFIELD, MA | $20,000 | 2026 | SAME |
| FOOD AND FRIENDS | WASHINGTON, DC | $20,000 | 2026 | SAME |
| I AM YOU 360 | TUCSON, AZ | $10,000 | 2026 | SAME |
| ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET | SANTA FE, NM | $10,000 | 2026 | SAME |
| TOMORROWS WOMEN SANTA FE | SANTA FE, NM | $10,000 | 2026 | SAME |
| BINAI ISRAEL CONG | ROCKVILLE, MD | $5,000 | 2026 | SAME |
| BENDER JCC | ROCKVILLE, MD | $140,000 | 2025 | SAME |
| MONTGOMERY COUNTY TENNIS EDUCATION FOUNDATION | SILVER SPRING, MD | $100,000 | 2025 | SAME |
| TUCSON JCC | TUCSON, AZ | $100,000 | 2025 | SAME |
| SIBLEY | WASHINGTON, DC | $100,000 | 2025 | SAME |
| LEVINE SCHOOL OF MUSIC | WASHINGTON, DC | $70,000 | 2025 | SAME |
| SOUTHWEST SPORTS AND FITNESS ALLIANCE | BALTIMORE, MD | $50,000 | 2025 | SAME |
| TEMPLE ISRAEL | WEST BLOOMFIELD TOWNSH, MI | $50,000 | 2025 | SAME |
| THE DINNER SCHOOL | BETHESDA, MD | $50,000 | 2025 | SAME |
| SO WHAT ELSE INC | BETHESDA, MD | $50,000 | 2025 | SAME |
| GRASSROOT SOCCER | HANOVER, NH | $30,000 | 2025 | SAME |
| TOMORROWS WOMEN SANTA FE | SANTA FE, NM | $10,000 | 2025 | SAME |
| I AM YOU 360 | TUCSON, AZ | $10,000 | 2025 | SAME |
| ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET | SANTA FE, NM | $7,500 | 2025 | SAME |
| MONTGOMERY COUNTY TENNIS EDUCATION FOUNDATION | SILVER SPRING, MD | $50,000 | 2024 | SAME |
| TEMPLE ISRAEL | WEST BLOOMFIELD TOWNSH, MI | $50,000 | 2024 | SAME |
| SO WHAT ELSE INC | BETHESDA, MD | $50,000 | 2024 | SAME |
| SOUTHWEST SPORTS AND FITNESS ALLIANCE | BALTIMORE, MD | $40,000 | 2024 | SAME |
| WOMEN MAKE MOVIES | NEW YORK, NY | $35,000 | 2024 | SAME |
| MACCABI USA | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $20,000 | 2024 | SAME |
| TEMPLE ISRAEL | WEST BLOOMFIELD TOWNSH, MI | $40,000 | 2023 | SAME |
| LEVINE SCHOOL OF MUSIC | WASHINGTON, DC | $30,000 | 2023 | SAME |
| MACCABI USA | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $25,000 | 2023 | SAME |
| SO WHAT ELSE INC | BETHESDA, MD | $25,000 | 2023 | SAME |
| HARAMBEE ARTS | BALTIMORE, MD | $20,000 | 2023 | SAME |
| SOUTHWEST SPORTS AND FITNESS ALLIANCE | BALTIMORE, MD | $20,000 | 2023 | SAME |
| ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL SCHOOL | ASPEN, CO | $20,000 | 2023 | SAME |
| THE CHILDREN OF DIFFERENCE FOUNDATION | PALM BEACH, FL | $18,000 | 2023 | SAME |
| BENDER JCC OF GREATER WASHINGTON | ROCKVILLE, MD | $10,000 | 2023 | SAME |
SOUTHWEST SPORTS AND FITNESS ALLIANCE
$50,000SAME
THE DINNER SCHOOL
$50,000SAME
SAME
MCTEF
$50,000SAME
BENDER JCC
$40,000SAME
TEMPLE ISRAEL
$25,000SAME
SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE
$20,000SAME
I AM YOU 360
$10,000SAME
BINAI ISRAEL CONG
$5,000SAME
BENDER JCC
$140,000SAME
MONTGOMERY COUNTY TENNIS EDUCATION FOUNDATION
$100,000SAME
TUCSON JCC
$100,000SAME
SIBLEY
$100,000SAME
SOUTHWEST SPORTS AND FITNESS ALLIANCE
$50,000SAME
TEMPLE ISRAEL
$50,000SAME
THE DINNER SCHOOL
$50,000SAME
I AM YOU 360
$10,000SAME
MONTGOMERY COUNTY TENNIS EDUCATION FOUNDATION
$50,000SAME
TEMPLE ISRAEL
$50,000SAME
SOUTHWEST SPORTS AND FITNESS ALLIANCE
$40,000SAME
TEMPLE ISRAEL
$40,000SAME
HARAMBEE ARTS
$20,000SAME
SOUTHWEST SPORTS AND FITNESS ALLIANCE
$20,000SAME
ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL SCHOOL
$20,000SAME
THE CHILDREN OF DIFFERENCE FOUNDATION
$18,000SAME
BENDER JCC OF GREATER WASHINGTON
$10,000SAME