Avi Chai Foundation

## How to Approach the AVI CHAI Foundation

Critical Notice: AVI CHAI concluded its general grantmaking on December 31, 2019. The foundation is no longer accepting new grant applications. Any approach strategy must account for the fact that this is a sunset foundation operating in legacy mode.

### Current Status AVI CHAI was founded in 1984 by Zalman Chaim Bernstein, an investor and founder of Sanford C. Bernstein and Company. Bernstein expressed concern about mission drift in perpetual foundations (citing the Ford Foundation as an example) and informally communicated his desire for AVI CHAI to eventually sunset. The board formalized the spend-down decision around 2005, initially targeting January 2027 (Bernstein's 100th birthday), but accelerated the timeline to end general grantmaking in December 2019.

### Theory of Change AVI CHAI's theory of change centered on strengthening Jewish identity through education and direct engagement. The foundation believed that Jewish day schools and overnight summer camps were the most effective vehicles for transmitting Jewish literacy, religious purposefulness, and a sense of Jewish peoplehood to the next generation. Rather than funding broad-based community organizations, AVI CHAI invested deeply in institutional capacity — training principals at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, developing new teachers through the Jewish New Teacher Project (JNTP), and building field-wide infrastructure through Prizmah.

### Remaining Funding Pathways Post-sunset, AVI CHAI retains approximately $375 million in assets and continues distributing funds — $16.2 million in 2024 across just 2 grants. However, these distributions are limited to pre-established commitments, primarily: (1) Avi Chai Israel (the foundation's Israeli arm, receiving the bulk of annual distributions), (2) Beit Avi Chai (a cultural center in Jerusalem that the foundation committed to funding in perpetuity), and (3) occasional legacy grants to organizations like Prizmah and Pardes Institute. New applicants cannot access these funds.

### Alignment Signals If you had a historical relationship with AVI CHAI, the foundation valued: deep commitment to Jewish education (not just programming), evidence-based approaches to teaching and learning, willingness to participate in foundation-led capacity building, and alignment with the dual mission of Jewish literacy and Jewish peoplehood.

## Funding Patterns

### Historical Giving Over its 35-year active grantmaking period, AVI CHAI disbursed approximately $339 million in grants in North America alone, plus $158 million in interest-free loans for capital projects. The North American allocation was heavily concentrated: $247 million (73%) to Jewish day schools and $34 million (10%) to overnight summer camps.

### Grant Size Distribution In its active years, AVI CHAI made grants ranging from modest program support ($50,000–$500,000) to multi-million-dollar institutional investments. In recent legacy years, the pattern has shifted dramatically: - 2024: 2 grants — Avi Chai Israel ($15.6M), Pardes Institute ($640K) - 2023: 3 grants — Avi Chai Israel ($16.6M), Beit Avi Chai ($500K + $350K) - 2022: 4 grants — Avi Chai Israel ($10.3M), Prizmah ($500K), Beit Avi Chai ($500K + $300K) - 2020: 8 grants to Avi Chai Israel, Prizmah, Pardes Institute, Israel Education Resource Center, Jewish Funders Network, JTA-MJL New Corp, George Washington University

### Geographic Distribution North America and Israel were the primary geographies, with some activity in the former Soviet Union. Within North America, New York was the central hub, though day school and camping grants reached communities across the United States.

### Sector Focus Narrowly focused on Jewish education infrastructure: day schools (K-12), overnight camps, teacher training, principal development, curriculum development, and field-building organizations. The foundation did not fund general social services, healthcare, arts, or secular education.

### Funding Trajectory Annual giving peaked during the spend-down acceleration (2010–2019) before dropping sharply. Current annual distributions (~$16M) are nearly all directed to the Israeli arm and Beit Avi Chai, with minimal North American grantmaking remaining.

## Peer Comparison

### Asset Class and NTEE Positioning AVI CHAI sits in an unusual position — classified as NTEE Z99 (Unknown/Unclassified), despite being one of the largest Jewish education foundations in American history. With $375 million in remaining assets, it dwarfs most Jewish education funders but operates at a fraction of its historical grantmaking capacity.

### Comparative Analysis AVI CHAI was distinctive in several ways compared to peers: 1. Spend-down model: Unlike perpetual foundations like Jim Joseph or Schusterman, AVI CHAI chose time-limited impact over enduring presence. This is rare among major Jewish foundations. 2. Narrow focus: While peers like Schusterman and Crown fund broadly across Jewish life, AVI CHAI maintained laser focus on day schools and camps. 3. Capacity building: AVI CHAI's late-stage pivot to organizational capacity building (starting ~2010) was a notable strategic shift that influenced how other foundations approach sunset planning. 4. Solo funder model: AVI CHAI historically avoided co-funding partnerships, which created dependency among grantees — a challenge it had to address during spend-down. 5. Field building legacy: The creation of Prizmah (2016 merger of day school associations) represents AVI CHAI's most enduring structural contribution, giving the field a unified voice beyond the foundation's lifespan.

## Recent Activity

### Post-Sunset Operations (2020–2024) Although AVI CHAI concluded general grantmaking in December 2019, the foundation continues to operate with $375 million in assets and a small staff. The board of trustees — chaired by Alissa Fried — includes nine members who each receive $25,000 in annual compensation. The foundation generated $16.5 million in revenue in 2024 (primarily from dividends at $9M and asset sales at $3.7M) against $18.1 million in expenses, resulting in a modest net loss of $1.6 million.

### Legacy Site and Archival The foundation's website (avichai.org) has been converted to a "Legacy Site" that preserves the record of its 35 years of grantmaking. The site archives program descriptions, blog posts, reports, and research publications. The foundation's historical records have also been deposited with the Center for Jewish History's ArchivesSpace collection.

### Continuing Grant Distributions The bulk of post-sunset distributions flow to Avi Chai Israel: - 2024: $15.6M to Avi Chai Israel, $640K to Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies - 2023: $16.6M to Avi Chai Israel, $850K to Beit Avi Chai - 2022: $10.3M to Avi Chai Israel, $500K each to Prizmah and Beit Avi Chai

The foundation retained sufficient endowment to fund Beit Avi Chai (a cultural center in Jerusalem) in perpetuity — a notable exception to the full spend-down model.

### Leadership and Governance Executive director Yossi Prager oversaw the final years of active grantmaking. The current board maintains fiduciary oversight of remaining assets and legacy distributions. Officer compensation totals $225,000 annually.

### Field Impact Assessment At a Prizmah conference with over 1,000 Jewish educators, nearly the entire room stood when asked if they had been impacted by an AVI CHAI professional learning experience — a testament to the foundation's deep reach into the Jewish education ecosystem.

## Application Tips

Important: AVI CHAI is no longer accepting grant applications. The following tips are provided for historical context and may be useful when approaching similar Jewish education funders.

### What Made a Strong AVI CHAI Proposal 1. Deep Jewish educational mission alignment: AVI CHAI funded organizations whose core mission was Jewish education — not organizations that happened to include Jewish programming. Proposals needed to demonstrate that Jewish literacy, religious purposefulness, or Jewish peoplehood was central to the applicant's identity.

2. Evidence-based approaches: The foundation increasingly valued data-driven program design. Its investment in the BetterLesson coaching platform for day school teachers reflected a preference for measurable pedagogical improvement over anecdotal success stories.

3. Institutional sustainability: Especially in later years, AVI CHAI scrutinized whether organizations could survive without foundation support. Proposals that demonstrated diverse revenue streams, strong governance, and strategic planning were favored.

4. Willingness to participate in foundation-led initiatives: AVI CHAI was a hands-on funder. It created and managed programs (Harvard summer institute, JNTP) rather than simply writing checks. Organizations that engaged fully with these initiatives received deeper support.

5. Field-building orientation: In its final decade, AVI CHAI prioritized organizations willing to collaborate, merge, or share resources for the good of the broader Jewish education field. The Prizmah merger was the signature example.

### Lessons for Approaching Similar Funders - Jim Joseph Foundation has absorbed some of AVI CHAI's former focus areas and may be receptive to proposals from former AVI CHAI grantees. - Maimonides Fund and Harold Grinspoon Foundation fund overlapping areas in Jewish education and camping. - Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools (itself an AVI CHAI creation) now serves as a hub for day school support and can connect organizations to current funders. - When approaching any funder in this space, referencing participation in AVI CHAI programs (Harvard institute, JNTP, BetterLesson) signals credibility and institutional quality.