The Jewish Community Foundation is a unique community resource that empowers individuals and families to fulfill their philanthropic goals on their terms. The Foundation offers donors flexibility and choice. We assist donors from all walks of life in structuring charitable gifts and building lasting legacies their way. Learn more about giving through our Foundation.

The Jewish Community Foundation is among the largest foundations awarding grants in the State of Connecticut. It serves as a conduit between donors’ charitable intentions and critical needs in our community. It also offers ways for donors to give to the charitable causes they care most about. Foundation grants have launched or supported a broad range of programs and activities in the Jewish community… and beyond. Review recent grants.

The Jewish Community Foundation is a steward of the Greater Hartford Jewish Community’s charitable endowment. Established in 1972, it manages over 1,150 charitable funds created by individuals, families, private foundations, synagogues and other nonprofits. Learn more about how we manage the funds entrusted to us.

Our philosophy is to help you give…your way.  You can make gifts in any amount that start working today, or you can leave bequests that will benefit the community in the future.  No matter why or how much you choose to give, or what charitable causes you choose to support, the Foundation staff will work closely with you to explore, sharpen and focus your charitable objectives.  We believe that everyone can be a philanthropist! 

The Foundation offers donor services, resources and tools to make your giving easier and more effective.

• A team of respected, knowledgeable and experienced professionals dedicated to understanding and protecting your charitable intentions
• A wide range of charitable and planned giving choices, including opportunities for anonymous giving and grant making
• Donor advised funds that allow ‘one stop shopping’ for charitable giving
• Professional investment and administration of funds
• Regular reporting on the investment, gifts and grant activity of funds
• Innovative grant funding opportunities and special projects locally and in Israel
• Online tools for grantmaking
• Due diligence on grant requests and awards to ensure appropriate use of funds
• Educational forums on current topics in philanthropy
• Assurance that a donor’s charitable intentions are fulfilled even when the donor is no longer personally available to do so.

Charitable gifts made to our Foundation - whether to establish or build a fund - are commingled for investment purposes. Each fund is maintained as a separate account and is reported on an individual basis. Investment earnings and losses are allocated to individual funds using unitized accounting, much like a mutual fund. Any investment return earned in excess of total distributions made from a fund remains in that fund, so as to combat inflation, overcome down markets and grow the fund over time. Learn more about investment management at the Jewish Community Foundation.

The Jewish Community Foundation can help you at every stage of developing and moving forward with your giving plan.

Step 1: Think about your goals. A conversation with family members or a professional advisor, often at the time of a milestone event, is a common way to start thinking about charitable giving in a personalized way.

Step 2: Talk to us.  There are many ways to give.  By working with the Jewish Community Foundation, you can feel assured that your priorities, the degree of your desired involvement and your vision will guide the gift planning process.

Step 3: Decide when to give.  This decision is based on your personal financial situation and giving objectives.  Does it make the most sense to contribute to an existing fund, establish a new fund during your lifetime, or create a lasting gift in the future through your estate plan?

Step 4: Decide what to give. The Jewish Community Foundation offers flexibility and choice. We can consult with you on a confidential basis about the different assets that can best carry out your personal objectives in a taxwise manner and support your charitable pursuits.

Please call 860.523.7460 to speak with a member of our experienced development staff.

Less than you think!  With as little as a $5,000 gift, you can start a permanent charitable fund at the Jewish Community Foundation.  You and your family and friends can continue to add to the fund and help it grow. Distributions can begin once $10,000 in contributions is received. Learn more about becoming a donor.

We charge an annual administrative fee, ranging from 1% to 1.25% depending on the fund category, to cover the costs of fund management, report and compliance, charitable gift planning and consultation, philanthropic advisory services and grant making.

Yes. We are dedicated to helping Jewish organizations build long-term charitable funds and to assuring donors that their assets will be carefully stewarded. Through Leave a Jewish Legacy, a community-wide bequest building initiative of the Foundation, we make the Greater Hartford Jewish community aware of how simple it is to make a mark on the future through a gift that will benefit generations to come. Our Foundation has 21 community partners, including local agencies, schools and synagogues and the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, who are working together to make our community a better place for future generations.

The Foundation awards grants only to public charities. The Foundation awards grants on a competitive basis through its community grants program primarily to charitable organizations in the Greater Hartford region. Applications are not accepted for grants from donor advised funds.