About Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego
A defining feature of Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego is the scale of its support for civic and Jewish institutions in San Diego, with some of the largest recent grants going to the San Diego Symphony Orchestra Association and UC San Diego Foundation. The foundation’s giving includes major general support for arts, higher education, Jewish communal organizations, and Israel-related institutions, reflecting a broad grantmaking portfolio rather than a single narrow program. In the recent grants list, San Diego Symphony Orchestra Association received $48,677,537 in 2025 and $44,087,789 in 2024, while UC San Diego Foundation received $28,353,153 in 2024 and $17,520,680 in 2025. Other sizable gifts reached Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, The Weber School, Jewish Federation of San Diego County, and American Friends of the Israel Democracy Institute. The foundation also appears as a philanthropic intermediary through donor-advised funds and endowments, alongside scholarships and capacity-building support. Its grantmaking reaches local, national, and Israel-connected organizations, but a large share of its activity is centered in San Diego institutions and Jewish community infrastructure.
What Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego Funds
Arts and culture are a visible part of the foundation’s work. It gave $12,633,660 in 2023 and $3,661,705 in 2024 to Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, then $3,520,000 in 2025 to Building 178 Performing Arts Center. Education is another major thread: The Weber School - Felicia Penzell Weber Jewish Community High School Inc received $11,062,500 in 2024 and $6,760,000 in 2025, and San Diego Jewish Academy received $6,043,377 in 2025. In Jewish communal life, Jewish Federation of San Diego County received $10,543,601 in 2025, while Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center Jacobs Family Campus received $2,828,924 in 2025. The foundation also supported health and community services through $2,567,214 to Jewish Family Service of San Diego in 2023.
How Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego Gives
Typical grant size centers around $10,000 to $63,280, with a median of $20,500 and a lower quartile of $10,000. The recent record shows repeated support to the same recipients over multiple years, including San Diego Symphony Orchestra Association, UC San Diego Foundation, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Jewish Federation of San Diego County, and American Society for Technion. That pattern points to ongoing relationships rather than one-time awards. The foundation operates as a mixed Jewish Federation DAF structure, which fits its role in facilitating donor-advised and endowment-based giving. Grants in the dataset are made to organizations rather than individuals.
