About Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
The Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation’s most distinctive feature is the size and consistency of its support for Hand in Hand American Friends of the Center for Jewish-arab Education in Israel, which received the foundation’s three largest recent grants: $1,833,200 in 2024, $1,806,200 in 2023, and $1,610,500 in 2025. That pattern points to a highly focused grantmaker rather than a broad generalist funder. Across the recent grant list, the foundation’s funding aligns with integrated Jewish-Arab education and shared society work in Israel, while also extending to selected U.S. causes in civic engagement, local social justice, Jewish communal programs, reproductive health and choice, and environmental work. The grant record shows a mix of very large awards and repeated mid-sized support, with the Israel-focused grants standing apart as the clearest center of gravity. The foundation also backs organizations tied to community infrastructure and advocacy, including New Israel Fund, Pef Israel Endowment Funds Inc, and Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. Its giving reflects a structured approach to a few defined program areas rather than a dispersed portfolio.
What Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation Funds
Shared society in Israel is the clearest thread in the foundation’s grantmaking. Beyond the large Hand in Hand support, it gave $175,000 in 2024 and $127,000 in 2023 to New Israel Fund for shared society in Israel, then added $160,000 in 2025 and $110,000 in 2024 to Pef Israel Endowment Funds Inc for the same area. The foundation also funds U.S. civic work tied to participation and organizing: National Domestic Workers Alliance received $200,000 in 2025 and $200,000 in 2024 for civic engagement, while Georgia Alliance Education Fund Inc received three grants of $150,000, $150,000, and $150,000 across 2023 to 2025 for civic engagement. In Washington, DC, it supported local social justice and civic affairs through Greater Washington Community Foundation and DC Central Kitchen Inc.
How Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation Gives
Typical grant sizes sit in a fairly tight middle band: the 25th percentile is $20,000, the median is $30,000, and the 75th percentile is $50,000. The recent record also shows repeated support to the same organizations across multiple years, including Hand in Hand American Friends of the Center for Jewish-arab Education in Israel, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Georgia Alliance Education Fund Inc, Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, New Israel Fund, Pef Israel Endowment Funds Inc, and DC Vote. The foundation is a regular funder rather than a donor-advised fund, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. Unsolicited applications are not indicated in the program descriptions provided, which all state that they do not accept unsolicited requests.
