To nurture Torah scholarship and rabbinic leadership by providing world-class Talmudic and halachic education, mentoring students in middos (character) and preparing them to serve Jewish communities worldwide.
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary’s grantmaking is built around training rabbis and sustaining advanced Torah study: its active programs include full scholarships for full-time RIETS students, named fellowships in Kodshim, kollel stipends, and support tied to yearlong study in Jerusalem. The foundation’s own description emphasizes nurturing Torah scholarship and rabbinic leadership through Talmudic and halachic education, mentorship in middos, and preparation for service to Jewish communities worldwide. Recent grants show that this mission extends beyond internal student support. In 2024, it gave $29,000 to Yeshiva University High Schools, one of two identical grants to that recipient across 2023 and 2024. It also made repeated $14,500 grants to educational institutions and Jewish organizations such as Margolin Hebrew Academy, Addlestone Hebrew Academy, Torah Academy of Bergen County, and Machne Israel. Those awards suggest a steady pattern of support for Jewish education and community institutions alongside its seminary-centered programs. The seminary’s portfolio includes both institutional gift aid and fellowship-style support, with some programs tied to specific named funds and others to broader kollel and scholarship structures.
A central theme is rabbinical formation. The seminary provides full scholarships to all full-time RIETS students, and its Kollel Elyon and other kollel programs pair monthly stipends with advanced Talmud and Halacha study plus professional development. Another clear focus is specialized textual scholarship. The Rabbi Jacob H. Kupietzky Memorial Fellowship supports advanced study of Kodshim, a rarer order of the Talmud, for scholars pursuing mastery of its texts and concepts. The foundation also supports pathways for specific communities and study settings. The Maybaum Sephardic Fellowship assists students of Sephardic heritage preparing for rabbinic careers in Sephardic communal institutions, while the Caroline and Joseph S. Gruss Institute program supports RIETS students spending a year of advanced study in Jerusalem. Its educational grantmaking also reaches schools and Jewish organizations, including support for Yeshiva University High Schools.
The typical grant size is tightly clustered at $14,500, with the 25th, median, and 75th percentiles all at that amount. Two grants to Yeshiva University High Schools were $29,000 each, indicating a separate higher tier alongside the broader $14,500 pattern. Several recipients appear in multiple years, including Yeshiva University High Schools and Machne Israel, which points to repeat support rather than one-off giving alone. The organization is an operating foundation linked to a seminary, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. Some program support is unsolicited, but the active grant programs listed for fellowships and scholarships generally do not accept unsolicited requests.
$276K
$136.6M
$23M
$18.2M
Most grants fall between $15K and $15K, with a median of $15K.
25th Percentile
$15K
Median
$15K
75th Percentile
$15K
About 24% of grants go to recipients in NY.
RABBI MARC PENNER
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Giving is national, and every grant in the recent list went to U.S. recipients. New York appears most often, with grants to New York City-based recipients such as Yeshiva University High Schools and Machne Israel, and the foundation’s HQ is also in New York, NY. Other recipient cities include Memphis, Charleston, Traneck, Southfield, Cherry Hill, Paramus, West Hartford, Dallas, Los Angeles, Brookline, and Denver. The recipient-country distribution is entirely U.S.-based.
Its active programs center on rabbinic education: full scholarships for full-time RIETS students, named fellowship support for Kodshim study, kollel stipends, and yearlong advanced study in Jerusalem through the Gruss Institute program. The seminary also lists professional training elements within some kollel programs.
Yes. The Rabbi Jacob H. Kupietzky Memorial Fellowship supports advanced study of Kodshim, and the seminary’s programs also cover advanced Talmud and Halacha study through RIETS scholarships, kollel fellowships, and the Kollel Elyon.
The grant-size distribution is very concentrated: the 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile are all $14,500. A separate higher tier appears in the recent grants list, where Yeshiva University High Schools received $29,000 in both 2023 and 2024.
Grantmaking is national, but the top state by grant count is New York. In the recent grants list, New York recipients include Yeshiva University High Schools and Machne Israel, while other awards went to schools and Jewish organizations across states such as Tennessee, South Carolina, New Jersey, Michigan, Connecticut, Texas, California, Massachusetts, and Colorado.
Yes. Yeshiva University High Schools received $29,000 in both 2023 and 2024, and Machne Israel appears in both years as well. That pattern shows at least some repeat support rather than exclusively one-time awards.
2024
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2024.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YESHIVA UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOLS | NEW YORK, NY | $29,000 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| ADDLESTONE HEBREW ACADEMY | CHARLESTON, SC | $14,500 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| TORAH ACADEMY OF BERGEN COUNTY | TRANECK, NJ | $14,500 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| MAIMONIDES SCHOOL | BROOKLINE, MA | $14,500 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| CHABAD OF NORTH TEXAS INC | DALLAS, TX | $14,500 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| MACHNE ISRAEL | BROOKLYN, NY | $14,500 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| MARGOLIN HEBREW ACADEMY | MEMPHIS, TN | $14,500 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| DENVER ACADEMY OF TORAH | DENVER, CO | $14,500 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| YESHIVA UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOLS | NEW YORK, NY | $29,000 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
| CHABAD OF NORTH TEXAS INC | DALLAS, TX | $14,500 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
| Farber Hebrew Day School | SOUTHFIELD, MI | $14,500 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
| Politz Day School | CHERRY HILL, NJ | $14,500 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
| Yeshivat Noam | PARAMUS, NJ | $14,500 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
| MACHNE ISRAEL | BROOKLYN, NY | $14,500 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
| New England Jewish Academy | WEST HARTFORD, CT | $14,500 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
| YAVNEH ACADEMY OF DALLAS | DALLAS, TX | $14,500 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
| Yeshiva of LA Girls High School | LOS ANGELES, CA | $14,500 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
YESHIVA UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOLS
$29,000EDUCATION
ADDLESTONE HEBREW ACADEMY
$14,500EDUCATION
TORAH ACADEMY OF BERGEN COUNTY
$14,500EDUCATION
MAIMONIDES SCHOOL
$14,500EDUCATION
CHABAD OF NORTH TEXAS INC
$14,500EDUCATION
MACHNE ISRAEL
$14,500EDUCATION
MARGOLIN HEBREW ACADEMY
EDUCATION
DENVER ACADEMY OF TORAH
$14,500EDUCATION
YESHIVA UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOLS
$29,000EDUCATION
CHABAD OF NORTH TEXAS INC
$14,500EDUCATION
Farber Hebrew Day School
$14,500EDUCATION
Politz Day School
$14,500EDUCATION
Yeshivat Noam
$14,500EDUCATION
MACHNE ISRAEL
$14,500EDUCATION
New England Jewish Academy
$14,500EDUCATION
YAVNEH ACADEMY OF DALLAS
$14,500EDUCATION
Yeshiva of LA Girls High School
$14,500EDUCATION