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Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc

Annual Giving
$208.7M
Grant Range
$1K - $0.1M
Decision Time
3mo

Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $208+ million (FY2023)
  • Total Assets Managed: $2.4 billion
  • Organizations Supported: 963 Jewish and secular groups (FY2023)
  • Grant Range: $1,000 - $100,000+ (varies by program)
  • Geographic Focus: Greater Boston area, Israel, and worldwide
  • Application Method: Primarily Letter of Intent (LOI) process, varies by program

Contact Details

Main Office: Combined Jewish Philanthropies Kraft Family Building 126 High Street Boston, MA 02110-2700

Phone: 617-457-8500 Fax: 617-988-6262 Website: www.cjp.org

Grant Support Contacts:

Overview

Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), founded over 125 years ago, is Massachusetts' largest nonprofit organization and Greater Boston's Jewish Federation. As President and CEO Marc Baker states, CJP's mission is to "inspire and mobilize the diverse Greater Boston Jewish community to engage in building communities of learning and action that strengthen Jewish life and improve the world." The organization manages philanthropic assets valued at $2.4 billion and reported annual expenses of $208.7 million in FY2023, making grants to 963 Jewish and secular organizations. CJP operates through strategic grant-making, investing in organizations, programs, and people within Greater Boston, Israel, and around the world. The organization collaborates with and supports more than 200 organizations in the Greater Boston Jewish community, focusing on caring for the vulnerable, creating broad and deep engagement with Jewish life, and ensuring a thriving and sustainable community.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The Miriam Fund (TMF)

  • Amount: Up to $25,000 per year
  • Duration: One-year grants with potential renewal for up to two additional consecutive years
  • Focus: Programs supporting the wellbeing of women and girls in Greater Boston or Israel using a gender lens
  • Eligibility: Organizations with operating budgets of $1.5 million or less
  • Application: Letter of Intent (LOI) due August 29, 2025 (for 2025-2026 cycle)
  • Recent Awards: $400,000+ to 22 organizations in 2024-2025

Community Impact Grants

  • Amount: Up to $15,000
  • Focus: Nonprofit partner organizations in Greater Boston and Israel
  • Recent Awards: 39 grants in 2021-2022 cycle

Arts and Culture Community Impact Fund

  • Amount: $7,500 (10 grants) and $25,000 grants
  • Focus: Individual artists or collaborative groups exploring Jewish identity
  • Eligibility: Artists must be 18 years or older
  • Application: LOI opens August 26 annually
  • Exclusion: Previous year's recipients cannot apply in the following funding cycle

Young Adult and Families with Young Children Engagement Grants

  • Amount: Up to $25,000 for young adult programs (ages 22-45); up to $10,000 for families with young children
  • Focus: Programs helping participants navigate their Jewish journeys and create their Jewish future
  • Application: Rolling applications to Rabbi Elyse Winick

RSIP Grants

  • Amount: Up to $1,000
  • Eligibility: RSIP partners that are synagogues or other religious organizations

Ally Challenge Grants

  • Amount: Varies (part of $1.7 million in strategic grants in 2024)
  • Focus: Grassroots, hyperlocal projects building cross-community relationships to combat antisemitism across Greater Boston
  • Recent Recipients: Newton Interfaith Leaders Association, Parents Diversity Council Bedford

Communal Security Initiative

  • Amount: Grants available up to $100,000 (Commonwealth grants); federal grants also available
  • Focus: Physical security improvements, assessments, training, and cybersecurity for Jewish institutions
  • Services: Free security assessments, consultations, training, and guidance
  • Support: Serves 250+ Jewish organizations in Greater Boston

Israel Emergency Fund

  • Amount: $41+ million deployed as of September 2024
  • Focus: Mental health, economic, and emergency social services for Israelis
  • Recipients: 72 grants to 51 unique partners

Priority Areas

Core Strategic Priorities:

  1. Engagement with Jewish life, learning and Israel - Investing in experiences, learning opportunities, and programs that enable broad and deep engagement with Jewish life
  2. Caring for the vulnerable - Commitment to ongoing care of the most vulnerable in Greater Boston, Israel, and around the world, responding in times of crisis
  3. Ensuring a healthy, thriving community - Supporting institutions and organizations that welcome all and ensure sustainability

The Miriam Fund Specific Focus Areas:

  • Economic advancement
  • Education
  • Health
  • Advocacy
  • The arts
  • Girls' healthy development
  • Safety from violence

Arts and Culture Priorities: Projects should address at least two of these principles:

  • Embraces the diversity and complexity of Jewish identity, community, and tradition
  • Sparks questions, fosters curiosity, or invites communal dialogue
  • Creatively interprets or reinvents Jewish teachings, ritual, tradition, or Jewish life

What They Don't Fund

General Exclusions:

  • Capital projects (for The Miriam Fund)
  • Scholarships (for The Miriam Fund)
  • Grants to individuals (for The Miriam Fund)

Eligibility Restrictions:

  • Organizations with operating budgets over $1.5 million (for The Miriam Fund)
  • Previous year's Arts & Culture grant recipients (one-year waiting period)
  • Third-year Miriam Fund grantees must take one full year off before reapplying
  • Organizations outside CJP's catchment area (for most programs)

Governance and Leadership

Executive Leadership

Marc Baker - President and CEO Rabbi Marc Baker leads CJP in its mission to inspire Jewish life and ignite positive change. A Lynnfield native who previously served as head of school at Gann Academy in Waltham for 11 years, Baker succeeded Barry Shrage as CJP's president. He emphasizes connection and collaboration in his leadership approach.

Key Quotes from Marc Baker:

  • "No community can go it alone. We will only solve our biggest problems when we build collaborative relations with one another; when we find ways to connect our institutions and our individuals."
  • "Once you get a few generations away, connection doesn't just happen. After time, you forget, and you disconnect, unless you choose to stay connected."
  • "We need to build institutions that are vibrant and relevant and compelling."
  • "I'm trying to create a culture of learning and growth, where people can take risks and be vulnerable."

Board Leadership

Aron Ain - Board Chair Currently serves as Board Chair, previously served as CEO of UKG for 17 years prior to his retirement from the firm in 2022.

Shira Goodman - Former Board Chair Formerly chief executive officer of Staples, also sits on the boards of directors for Carmax, Henry Schein, CBRE, and The Rockport Company.

Other Board Members:

  • Matthew Sidman - Member of the Budget and Administration Committee
  • Michelle Black - Active member of Commission for Strategic Priorities and former Chair of the Governance Committee

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Letter of Intent (LOI) Process (Most Programs):

  1. Submit a Letter of Intent through CJP's online LOI form
  2. CJP reviews and notifies organizations whether they'll be invited to submit a full proposal
  3. Selected applicants submit complete applications through online portal

Required Documentation: All applying organizations must submit one of the following:

  • For public charities: IRS Letter of Determination
  • For organizations using a fiscal sponsor: Letter with fiscal sponsor's full legal name, contact information, and IRS Letter of Determination
  • For synagogues/religious organizations: Letter on letterhead signed by Rabbi or President/Chair of Board confirming the organization is a currently operating house of worship in Massachusetts

Program-Specific Application Details:

The Miriam Fund:

  • LOI deadline: 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, August 29, 2025 (for 2025-2026 cycle)
  • Funding period: July 1 - June 30
  • Contact: betht@cjp.org

Arts and Culture Community Impact Fund:

  • LOI opens: Monday, August 26 annually
  • Contact through main website

Young Adult Engagement Grants:

  • Rolling applications
  • Submit to: Rabbi Elyse Winick at elysew@cjp.org

Communal Security Initiative:

  • Free assessments and consultations available
  • Grant applications for Commonwealth and federal funding facilitated by CSI team

Decision Timeline

The Miriam Fund:

  • Projects funded for fiscal year July 1 - June 30
  • LOI submitted in late August, full proposals invited thereafter
  • Grant announcements typically made in late spring for upcoming fiscal year

General Timeline: Most CJP grant programs operate on annual cycles with specific LOI and application deadlines. Decision timelines vary by program but typically range from 2-4 months from LOI submission to grant announcement.

Success Rates

Specific success rate data is not publicly published. However, with 963 organizations receiving grants in FY2023 and multiple active grant programs, CJP maintains a substantial grantmaking portfolio serving a broad range of partners.

Reapplication Policy

The Miriam Fund:

  • First-year grantees may be considered for renewal for up to two additional consecutive years
  • Third-year grantees must take one full year off before reapplying (e.g., if grantee rolls off in June 2025, can next apply in August 2027)
  • All other past grantees are eligible to apply at the LOI stage

Arts and Culture Community Impact Fund:

  • Recipients from the previous funding year are not eligible to apply in the following cycle
  • Must wait one full year before reapplying

Application Success Factors

Alignment with CJP's Core Values: CJP seeks to "incentivize and embolden those grantees that strive to meet the following ideals: Collaboration between multiple institutions working together toward shared outcomes; Stability, responsiveness, and continually seeking improvement."

Demonstrable Outcomes: The Miriam Fund explicitly looks for "innovative projects that deliver measurable and sustainable outcomes" and welcomes "results-oriented projects that can demonstrate a measurable and sustainable impact."

Budget Size Matters: For The Miriam Fund, organizations must have operating budgets of $1.5 million or less. This restriction ensures grants reach smaller organizations where funding can have significant impact.

Geographic Requirements: Most programs require organizations to be CJP partners currently operating within the CJP catchment area (Greater Boston). Make sure your organization clearly serves this geographic region.

Partnership and Collaboration: Marc Baker's emphasis on collaboration suggests that applications demonstrating partnerships with other organizations or cross-community connections may be viewed favorably, particularly for the Ally Challenge Grants focused on building relationships.

Innovation and Creativity: Particularly for Arts & Culture grants, projects should "creatively interpret or reinvent Jewish teachings, ritual, tradition, or Jewish life" and "spark questions, foster curiosity, or invite communal dialogue."

Recent Grant Examples to Inform Applications:

Ally Challenge Grants:

  • Newton Interfaith Leaders Association received funding for allyship training workshops for local interfaith clergy and lay leaders
  • Parents Diversity Council Bedford received a grant for projects deepening connections between Jewish and non-Jewish residents through community-wide events

Arts & Culture:

  • Documentary photographer Ilene Perlman's project to document Jewish communities in Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Malta, Uruguay, Greece, and Ethiopia
  • Anat Hochberg's project studying traditional Yemenite songs, translating lyrics, and conducting workshops
  • Sephardic literature translation project promoting medieval Jewish-Spanish poetry

Connection to Israel: Given CJP's $59 million Israel Emergency Fund and ongoing commitment to Israel, applications that demonstrate connections to Israel or support for Israeli communities may be particularly timely.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Start with the LOI: Most CJP grants use a two-stage process beginning with a Letter of Intent. Focus on crafting a compelling, concise LOI that clearly articulates your project's innovation and measurable outcomes.

  • Emphasize collaboration: Marc Baker's leadership philosophy emphasizes building connections between institutions and individuals. Demonstrate how your project involves partnerships or cross-community collaboration.

  • Size matters: For programs like The Miriam Fund with budget restrictions ($1.5 million or less), smaller organizations have an advantage. Clearly state your operating budget.

  • Measurable impact is essential: CJP consistently emphasizes "measurable and sustainable outcomes." Include specific metrics and evaluation plans in your applications.

  • Multi-year potential: The Miriam Fund offers up to three consecutive years of funding. First-year applicants should consider how their project could scale or deepen over multiple years.

  • Geographic alignment: Ensure your organization operates within CJP's Greater Boston catchment area and clearly demonstrate how your work serves this community (and/or Israel for relevant programs).

  • Timing is critical: Most programs have annual LOI deadlines (often in August). Sign up for notifications on CJP's website to ensure you don't miss deadlines. The Miriam Fund deadline for 2025-2026 is August 29, 2025.

References

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