Jim Joseph Foundation
At a glance
Key takeaways
- This is a good fit if your work centres on Jewish learning experiences for young Jews at key life stages, talent development, or innovation in Jewish life and learning, aimed at children and families, youth, teens, college students and young adults in the United States, including U.S. youth sent to Israel or other settings of Jewish significance for Jewish education.
- The Foundation does not fund directly in Israel or elsewhere outside the United States unless the organisation holds a U.S. 501(c)(3) and the programme directly benefits U.S. Jewish youth or educators, so check this before applying.
- Individual schools, camps, congregations and youth groups are unlikely to receive support except in remarkable cases involving unique programmes, so smaller single-site bodies should weigh this carefully.
- For size of request, look to the typical range of $5,000 to $600,000, with a median grant of $30,000, so a modest, well-scoped ask is realistic for most applicants.
- Approach is by a brief letter of inquiry of no more than one page describing an idea or potential initiative rather than a full proposal, and the Foundation frames its support as strategic partnership built through ongoing conversation and dialogue, so be ready to engage rather than simply submit; note too that a very high share of its grant dollars goes to organisations it has already funded, so persistence and relationship-building over time may matter as much as a single application.
Overview
Jim Joseph Foundation is a US private foundation based in San Francisco, CA.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
The Foundation invests, often through multi-year grants, in Jewish learning experiences for young Jews at key points in life, alongside research and development intended to catalyse new forms of Jewish learning and expression. Its Deliberate Strategy supports exemplary Jewish nonprofit organisations and initiatives with proven models for Jewish learning and talent development. It also uses an Emergent Strategy to develop new value propositions for Jewish life and learning. Intended participants include young children and their families, youth, teens, college students and young adults in the United States, as well as U.S. youth sent to Israel and other settings of Jewish significance for Jewish education. The Foundation seeks to reach young Jews underserved by existing communal offerings.
Themes
- Jewish learning
- Talent development
- Jewish life innovation
Geographic Focus
United States.
What They Don't Fund
- Directly in Israel or any place outside of the United States, unless the organization has a U.S. 501(c)(3) and its program directly benefits U.S. Jewish youth or educators
How to apply
Letters of inquiry should be brief (no more than one page), describe an idea or potential initiative, and not be in proposal form.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 97% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 782 grants to organisations were $30,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- It seeks strategic partnerships with well-established and recently founded organisations that show promise for success.
- It looks for prospective partners whose organisational mission and goals align with the Foundation's, through ongoing conversation.
- It uses ongoing dialogue to clarify and improve an initiative and develop evaluation benchmarks.
- Individual schools, camps, congregations and youth groups are unlikely to receive support, except in remarkable cases involving unique programmes.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
6 other states: 7%
- The largest single recipient received 9% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 97% of grant dollars went to organisations Jim Joseph Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
- 12% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 264 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $49,000 (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Birthright Israel Foundation · General operating support$4,000,0002024 tax year
- Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life · General operating support$4,000,0002024 tax year
- B'nai B'rith Youth Organization · General operating support$3,000,0002024 tax year
- Foundation for Jewish Camp · General operating support$3,000,0002024 tax year
- Moishe House · General operating support$2,875,0002024 tax year
- Shalom Hartman Institute of North America · General operating support$2,500,0002024 tax year
- Board of Jewish Education · General operating support$2,000,0002024 tax year
- UpStart Bay Area · General operating support$2,000,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Dawne Bear Novicoff — COO / Acting President & CEO
- David Carroll — CFO
- Barry Finestone — President / CEO
- Michael Shimansky — Director
- Jeffrey Schoenfeld — Treasurer / Director
- Rachel Levin — Director
- Laura Lauder — Director
- Joshua Joseph — Director
- Shira Goodman — Vice Chair / Secretary / Director
- Matthew Goldberg — Director (As Of 09/2024)
- Joshua Foer — Director
- Ariela Ruth Dubler — Director (As Of 09/2024)
- Dvora Joseph Davey — Director
- David Agger — Chair / Director
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $91,332,491 | $51,231,751 | $1,335,087,353 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $52,003,735 | $61,580,095 | $1,445,120,697 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $74,486,530 | $63,019,624 | $1,513,966,691 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
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At a glance
Applying to Jim Joseph Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- info@jimjosephfoundation.org
- San Francisco, CA
- jimjosephfoundation.org
Applying to Jim Joseph Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- info@jimjosephfoundation.org
- San Francisco, CA
- jimjosephfoundation.org