Hillel International: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life recently announced that it has received a $16 million grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation, the largest grant ever awarded by the S.F.-based foundation.
The grant, which will be paid out over five years, will assist Hillel in implementing a strategic plan designed to help campuses and communities implement best practices for supporting Jewish student life.
The Drive to Excellence campaign “is a strategic, deeply thoughtful initiative that can expand Hillel’s already effective efforts,” Al Levitt, president of the Jim Joseph Foundation, said in a statement. “This campaign warrants a grant of this magnitude.”
The main pillars of the plan are recruiting and developing talent, student engagement and resource development. It’s “about raising the capacity and the infrastructure for the whole Hillel system in ways that will enhance our ability to do what we’re doing locally,” said Rabbi Adam Naftalin-Kelman, executive director of Berkeley Hillel.
“This gift is really laying the foundation for Hillel International to have a huge impact on local Hillels” in terms of fundraising and staff hirings, Naftalin-Kelman said.
A 2008 grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation helped Hillel launched its Senior Jewish Educator/Campus Entrepreneur Initiative pilot program.
The foundation focuses on supporting organizations that serve American Jewish youth and young adults, ages 13 to 30. Jim Joseph, the foundation’s namesake, was born in Austria in 1935 and achieved success in America as commercial and residential real estate developer. The foundation was established in 2006, three years after his death, and has awarded more than $370 million in grants. — jta & j. staff