The
National Center to Encourage Judaism (NCEJ) is a private foundation that funds efforts worldwide to attract more new people to Judaism. Our primary objective is to help Judaism grow by increasing the number of Jews by Choice and helping those in interfaith marriages see the benefits of raising their children as Jews. We give grants to synagogues, JCCs/federations, national groups, international organizations, and other Jewish nonprofits.
Grant Overview
Our grants cover marketing, program materials, and other expenses for both single events and multi-session programs, traditional classes and experiential learning. One of our priorities is marketing – we want our grantees to promote their programs using a variety of channels to widen the audience and bring in new people. Programs must have an educational component. Learn more about what we fund. If you are a larger organization or if your grant request is more than $10K, please visit our Larger Grant Requests page.
Our Grant Funding Goals:
To help people get the tools to build the type of Jewish home that has meaning for them.
To provide the resources for groups to promote their programs to a wider audience.
To enable people who are interested in exploring Judaism find a place in their local Jewish community.
The National Center to Encourage Judaism offers grants to synagogues, and regional, national, and international groups sponsoring programs that attract more new people to Judaism from all walks of life and backgrounds.
Grant-Giving at a Glance:
Type of Programs We Fund
- Basics of Jewish belief
- Introduction to Jewish traditions
- Holiday programming
- Israel engagement
What We Fund
- Marketing
- Program materials
- Some staff support
- Virtual and hybrid programming
- Security
Who We Fund
- Local: Synagogues and Consortium (Rabbinic Councils and Other Groups)
- Regional: Individual Federations and JCCs
- National Groups: for Sub-grants to Affiliates in their networks and for Programming promoted throughout the US
- International: Projects located in Israel, Europe, Canada, and many more countries.
Download Grant Application
NCEJ accepts applications throughout the year — Apply Anytime! Grantees may receive more than one grant per year.
We fund a variety of programs (online, hybrid, and in person) for interfaith families, people interested in conversion, and others who are new to Judaism. All programs must have an educational component. We place a priority on marketing, to widen the audience and increase attendance. We do not fund programs that have already taken place (i.e. an application dated 4/1 for a program held 2/1). We receive many applications each year. Our goal is to provide grants for a diverse group of organizations, and a mix of programs.
We welcome your inquiries. Please reach out to us at 301-802-4254 or contact Ellen Gerecht, Executive Director.
Applicants are generally notified of a decision within 45 days. No commitment should be assumed until the receipt of a grant award letter.
Looking for Programming Ideas? We Can Help.
Our program profile pages are chock-full of examples of recently-funded projects, ranging from Judaism 101 classes to holiday workshops for interfaith families. To get ideas that you can use in your community see our profile pages:
Have an idea but not sure if it meets our criteria? Try our proposal form, or contact us and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Grant Guidelines
Applying
- Applications are considered throughout the year.
- Program must be open to the public.
- We only fund programs that begin after the date the application was submitted.
- Grantees may receive more than one grant per year.
- If you are seeking funding for a multi-part year-long program please complete a single application.
- If you are submitting for two different programs, please separate into two separate applications with the relevant details on each. The applications will be reviewed and considered individually.
Reimbursement
- Generally funds are not dispensed until a program is completed and copies of receipts are submitted, along with any other information that may have been requested.
- We only reimburse for expenses directly related to the content of the program we are funding.
- NCEJ does not reimburse for the entire cost of a program.
- It may take up to a month before you receive reimbursement.
- Reimbursement for multi part year long programs can take place at the conclusion of each section or at the end of the year.
Program Evaluation
- We ask that a program survey be completed upon program conclusion (available here on our website). Photos are encouraged.
- Grantees may be profiled on NCEJ website.
- We encourage grantees to submit marketing examples.
Funding Focus
NCEJ funds programs worldwide to engage, educate, and connect interfaith couples, people interested in conversion, and others who want to explore becoming part of the Jewish community. We give grants for advertising and program materials, security, and some staff support.
Marketing
Types of Marketing Covered
NCEJ reimburses for some of the costs for graphic design and printing. We reimburse for the costs for email marketing campaigns directly attributable to a specific program. Examples of promotional material we have funded recently include:
- Print and digital ads
- Banners
- Postcards
- Brochures
- Flyers
The Value of Publicity
We fund a mix of advertising methods to help grantees widen the audience and reach new people. We encourage grantees to go outside their traditional marketing methods, and particularly to consider local channels. In addition to using fee-based platforms, many of our grantees have found personal outreach to be an effective way to increase program participation. Here are some ideas from recent grantees:
- Jewish and mainstream press
- Instagram, Facebook, Google, other digital media
- Jewish websites
- Local community media
- Neighborhood list-serves
Program Materials
We cover a wide variety of program materials, including:
- Activity and take-home kits*
- Food related to program content
- “How-to” booklets
- Books to be used solely for students registered for class
- Arts and craft supplies
- Ritual-related items (i.e. candlesticks, mezuzahs)*
*We only cover ritual items as part of a program we support, not as a stand-alone item.
Staff Support
In some cases we provide limited staff support, including speaker honoraria.
Other
NCEJ does not reimburse for the entire cost of a program. View/Download these guidelines as a PDF
- Programs geared only to an institution’s members or solely a Jewish audience
- Tuition assistance or grants to individuals
- Festivals (i.e. food or film)
- Web development
- Meals before classes, and food expenses unrelated to program content
- Operating expenses (both brick and mortar and virtual)
- Software subscriptions
- Hardware
- Services for the community at large
- Travel expenses
- Conferences
- Programs that have already started
View/Download these guidelines as a PDFNCEJ funds larger organizations, such as JCCs and Federations, to support programs they sponsor directly, and also gives umbrella grants to national groups to fund subgrants for their members/affiliates. If your grant request is more than $10K, or you are a larger organization please visit our Larger Grant Requests page.
Have an idea for an outreach program for your national network? See our Larger Grant Requests page.
View/Download Funding Focus Framework as a PDFApply Now
Applications are considered throughout the year.
Download the application below. Best edited in Adobe Reader (free download).
Grant Application
Follow the submission instructions on the application.
Verify that your PDF is filled out and
not blank before you submit it via email.
Download PDFFor larger grant requests and umbrella grants, please visit this page instead.
Applicants: If you have submitted an application and have not heard from us in 2-3 weeks please reach out to us at 301-802-4254, or contact Ellen Gerecht, Executive Director to make sure we received your application.
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