The National Center to Encourage Judaism concentrates its support on organized Reform Judaism and related institutional channels, providing unrestricted/general support to national movement bodies. Most giving is channeled in large, handful grants rather than many small awards, and it also uses donor-advised vehicles to direct funds. The foundation appears focused on sustaining the infrastructure of Reform Jewish life rather than program-level grassroots funding.
Highly concentrated: very few, relatively large general-support grants with repeat funding to the Union for Reform Judaism and use of a donor-advised fund intermediary.
The National Center to Encourage Judaism centers its giving on outreach and education for people exploring Judaism, especially through programs that introduce newcomers to Jewish beliefs, holiday practice, interfaith engagement, and conversion support. Its recent grants show a mix of national movement bodies, synagogues, federations, and Jewish educational organizations, with large general-support awards sitting alongside smaller program grants. The largest recent grant in the data is $76,000 to Union Reform Judaism, followed by $70,000 in 2025 to the same organization and $60,000 in 2024 to Vanguard Charitable. That pattern points to a funder that uses both direct operating support and donor-advised channels to move money to Jewish causes. The foundation’s grantmaking is not limited to one institution type. It gave $45,000 in 2025 to the Institute for Southern Jewish Life and $35,175 in 2024 to the Joint Distribution Committee, while also funding many synagogue-based efforts and outreach programs. Recent awards also include support for Jewish Federation of North America, Sha'ar Zahav, and Center for Jewish Life Beth David.
A central theme in the foundation’s giving is support for programs that welcome new people into Judaism. It awarded $23,900 in 2025 to Sutton Place Synagogue NYC for general support, and its program descriptions emphasize Judaism 101 classes, experiential learning, and holiday programming. Interfaith and intercultural engagement is another recurring focus. The foundation gave $17,100 in 2025 to Sha'ar Zahav, and its active grant programs explicitly include interfaith engagement and outreach to participants exploring Judaism. The foundation also supports institutions that build movement infrastructure. It gave $25,000 in 2024 to Jewish Federation North America and $20,000 in 2025 to the same organization, while donor-advised giving appears in the $60,000 grant to Vanguard Charitable. Jewish education and conversion-related support appear in the funding menu as well, including introductory classes, holiday workshops, and support for those exploring or converting to Judaism.
Typical grants are relatively small even though the funder also makes occasional larger awards: the p25 grant size is $2,150, the median is $3,900, and the p75 is $7,050. The recent-grants list shows repeated support to the same recipients across years, including Union Reform Judaism, Joint Distribution Committee, and Jewish Federation North America, which indicates a recurring relationship pattern rather than one-off only. The foundation uses general support frequently and gives through donor-advised vehicles as well, including Vanguard Charitable. It also accepts unsolicited applications through multiple grant programs and an initial proposal form.
$426K
$3M
$793K
$505K
Most grants fall between $2K and $7K, with a median of $4K.
25th Percentile
$2K
Median
$4K
75th Percentile
$7K
About 5% of grants go to recipients in NY.
Top 5 recipient countries by grant volume for National Center to Encourage Judaism.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 143 | $1.3M | 96.6% |
| 2 | United Kingdom |
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Notable grantees: Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), Vanguard Charitable, National Reform Jewish movement institutions (general)
Giving is national, and every grant in the recipient-country distribution is in the United States. Pennsylvania appears most often in the grant list, including Philadelphia, Jenkintown, and Allentown. New York City recipients are also frequent, with awards to Union Reform Judaism, Sutton Place Synagogue NYC, and Project Kesher. Other recipient cities in the data include Jackson, Miami, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Bellevue, and Warwick, RI.
It funds synagogues, JCCs/federations, national and international Jewish organizations, and other Jewish nonprofits. Recent examples include Union Reform Judaism, Jewish Federation North America, and synagogue-based recipients, with many awards labeled general support.
The grant-size distribution is modest: p25 is $2,150, the median is $3,900, and p75 is $7,050. The recent grants list also shows a few much larger awards, including $76,000 and $70,000.
Yes. Several active grant programs are marked as accepting unsolicited applications, and the foundation also offers an online proposal or interest form for organizations to submit initial program ideas.
The active programs focus on introducing new people to Judaism through Judaism 101 classes, interfaith and intercultural engagement, holiday programming, experiential learning, outreach and marketing, and limited support for program materials and staff expenses.
Its giving is national, but Pennsylvania appears most often in the recent grants list. Recipient cities there include Philadelphia, Jenkintown, and Allentown.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
| 2 |
| $29K |
1.4% |
| 3 | Brazil | 1 | $10K | 0.7% |
| 4 | Ukraine | 1 | $6K | 0.7% |
| 5 | Georgia | 1 | $6K | 0.7% |
Recipient country reflects the grantee's headquarters per IRS 990-PF and Schedule F filings, not the program's implementation country.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNION REFORM JUDAISM | NEW YORK, NY | $62,900 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| VARIOUS SYNAGOGUES VARIOUS SYNAGOGUES | ALL IN USCANADA, MD | $45,248 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| SUTTON PLACE SYNAGOGUE NYC | NEW YORK, NY | $36,200 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| INSTITUTE FOR SOUTHERN JEWISH LIFE | JACKSON, MS | $30,000 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMM | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| HILLELS INT | WASHINGTON, DC | $28,000 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| ISRAEL REFORM MOVEMENT | NEW YORK, NY | $25,000 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| MISHKAN CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $25,000 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| KENESETH ISRAEL CONGREGATION | ALLENTOWN, PA | $16,800 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| NEW LONDON SYNAGOGUE | LONDON, LO | $16,000 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| FINCHLEY PROGRESSIVE SYNAGOGUE | LONDON, LO | $13,000 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| AMERICAN JEWISH UNIVERSITY | SHERMAN OAKS, CA | $12,000 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| SHABBAT WITH FRIENDS | SANTA FE, NM | $10,000 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| UJRURJ AM-LAT | SAN PAULO, SA | $10,000 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| HEBREW COLLEGE | AUBURNDALE, MA | $6,200 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| SOCIETY FOR HUMANISTIC JUDAISM | FARMINGTON HILLS, MI | $6,100 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| BERI FOUNDATION UKRAINE | KYIV, KY | $6,000 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| PROGRESSIVE JUDAUSM CENTER OF GEORG | TBILISI, TB | $5,500 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| NJ RABBINICAL ASSEMBLY | ONTVILLE, NJ | $5,000 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| SCHECHTER INSTITUTEUKRAINE | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $5,000 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| TEMPLE ISRAEL ALBANY | ALBANY, NY | $3,100 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| JEWISHCOLORADO PJ LIBRARY | DENVER, CO | $3,100 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| SID JACOBSON JCC | GREENVALE, NY | $2,800 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| MAKOM COMMUNITY PA | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $2,700 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| RUSSIAN AMERICAN JEWS | EAGAN, MN | $2,600 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| CONGREGATION NEVE SHALOM METUCHEN N | METUCHEN, NJ | $2,500 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| TEMPLE SINAI LAS VEGAS | LAS VEGAS, NV | $2,000 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| TEMPLE BETH EL MUNCIE | MUNCIE, IN | $1,800 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| OHAVI ZEDEK SYNAGOGUE VT | BURLINGTON, VT | $1,700 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| CONGREGATION NER TAMID NV | HENDERSON, NV | $1,500 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| TEMPLE BETH EL HUNTINGTON | HUNTINGTON, NY | $1,400 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| OR AHAVAH -FL | LUTZ, FL | $1,300 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| JCC SYRACUSE PJ LIBRARY | SYRACUSE, NY | $1,170 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| CONGREGATION GEMILUTH CHASSODIM | ALEXANDRIA, LA | $1,100 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| THE KEDUSHA PROJECT | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | $1,030 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| AGUDAS ACHIM CONGREGATION | CORALVILLE, IA | $1,000 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| HILLEL BUFFALO | AMHERST, NY | $1,000 | 2026 | GENERAL |
| UNION REFORM JUDAISM | NEW YORK, NY | $70,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| INSTITUTE FOR SOUTHERN JEWISH LIFE | JACKSON, MS | $45,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| VARIOUS SYNAGOGUES VARIOUS SYNAGOGUES | ALL IN USCANADA, MD | $43,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMM | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| SUTTON PLACE SYNAGOGUE NYC | NEW YORK, NY | $23,900 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| JEWISH FEDERATION NORTH AMERICA | NEW YORK, NY | $20,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| SHA'AR ZAHAV | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $17,100 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| CENTER FOR JEWISH LIFE BETH DAVID | MIAMI, FL | $15,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| JEWISH LEARNING VENTURE | JENKINTOWN, PA | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| KENESETH ISRAEL CONGREGATION | ALLENTOWN, PA | $7,100 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| TEMPLE BNAI TORAH WA | BELLEVUE, WA | $7,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| ALEPH ALLIANCE FOR JEWISH RENEWAL | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $6,600 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| BUFFALO JEWISH FEDERATION | WILLIAMSVILLE, NY | $6,400 | 2025 | GENERAL |
UNION REFORM JUDAISM
$62,900GENERAL
VARIOUS SYNAGOGUES VARIOUS SYNAGOGUES
$45,248GENERAL
SUTTON PLACE SYNAGOGUE NYC
$36,200GENERAL
INSTITUTE FOR SOUTHERN JEWISH LIFE
$30,000GENERAL
JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMM
$30,000GENERAL
HILLELS INT
$28,000GENERAL
ISRAEL REFORM MOVEMENT
GENERAL
MISHKAN CHICAGO
$25,000GENERAL
KENESETH ISRAEL CONGREGATION
$16,800GENERAL
NEW LONDON SYNAGOGUE
$16,000GENERAL
FINCHLEY PROGRESSIVE SYNAGOGUE
$13,000GENERAL
AMERICAN JEWISH UNIVERSITY
$12,000GENERAL
SHABBAT WITH FRIENDS
$10,000GENERAL
UJRURJ AM-LAT
$10,000GENERAL
HEBREW COLLEGE
$6,200GENERAL
SOCIETY FOR HUMANISTIC JUDAISM
$6,100GENERAL
BERI FOUNDATION UKRAINE
$6,000GENERAL
PROGRESSIVE JUDAUSM CENTER OF GEORG
$5,500GENERAL
NJ RABBINICAL ASSEMBLY
$5,000GENERAL
SCHECHTER INSTITUTEUKRAINE
$5,000GENERAL
TEMPLE ISRAEL ALBANY
$3,100GENERAL
JEWISHCOLORADO PJ LIBRARY
$3,100GENERAL
SID JACOBSON JCC
$2,800GENERAL
MAKOM COMMUNITY PA
$2,700GENERAL
RUSSIAN AMERICAN JEWS
$2,600GENERAL
CONGREGATION NEVE SHALOM METUCHEN N
$2,500GENERAL
TEMPLE SINAI LAS VEGAS
$2,000GENERAL
TEMPLE BETH EL MUNCIE
$1,800GENERAL
OHAVI ZEDEK SYNAGOGUE VT
$1,700GENERAL
CONGREGATION NER TAMID NV
$1,500GENERAL
TEMPLE BETH EL HUNTINGTON
$1,400GENERAL
OR AHAVAH -FL
$1,300GENERAL
JCC SYRACUSE PJ LIBRARY
$1,170GENERAL
CONGREGATION GEMILUTH CHASSODIM
$1,100GENERAL
THE KEDUSHA PROJECT
$1,030GENERAL
AGUDAS ACHIM CONGREGATION
$1,000GENERAL
HILLEL BUFFALO
$1,000GENERAL
UNION REFORM JUDAISM
$70,000GENERAL
INSTITUTE FOR SOUTHERN JEWISH LIFE
$45,000GENERAL
VARIOUS SYNAGOGUES VARIOUS SYNAGOGUES
$43,000GENERAL
JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMM
$30,000GENERAL
SUTTON PLACE SYNAGOGUE NYC
$23,900GENERAL
JEWISH FEDERATION NORTH AMERICA
$20,000GENERAL
SHA'AR ZAHAV
$17,100GENERAL
CENTER FOR JEWISH LIFE BETH DAVID
$15,000GENERAL
JEWISH LEARNING VENTURE
$10,000GENERAL
KENESETH ISRAEL CONGREGATION
$7,100GENERAL
TEMPLE BNAI TORAH WA
$7,000GENERAL
ALEPH ALLIANCE FOR JEWISH RENEWAL
$6,600GENERAL
BUFFALO JEWISH FEDERATION
$6,400GENERAL
Current and upcoming funding from National Center to Encourage Judaism that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Open to organizations offering programs for interfaith families, people interested in conversion, and others who are new to Judaism. NCEJ funds local, regional, national, and international groups.
Deadline: Applications accepted throughout the year; turnaround generally under 30 days.
Who can apply: Open to organizations offering classes or discussion groups for people exploring Judaism, including those interested in conversion and interfaith couples.
Deadline: Applications accepted throughout the year; turnaround generally under 30 days.
Who can apply: Open to organizations running engagement programs for interfaith couples, people considering conversion, and other newcomers to Judaism.
Deadline: Applications accepted throughout the year; turnaround generally under 30 days.
Who can apply: Programs must be open to the public, must begin after the application is submitted, and must have an educational component. NCEJ funds synagogues, JCCs/federations, national groups, international organizations, and other Jewish nonprofits. Larger organizations and requests over $10K are directed to the larger grant requests process.
Deadline: Applications accepted throughout the year; apply anytime.
Who can apply: For larger organizations or requests more than $10K; supports programs they sponsor directly and umbrella grants for subgrants to affiliates. Applicants are directed to the larger grant requests page instead of the standard application.
Deadline: Applications accepted throughout the year.
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