Where Your Money Goes

JUF funds are distributed to more than 70 agencies and programs that work directly with the people who most need assistance, at every stage of life.

Here’s how our current allocations break down:

 

Overseas

$30.7 million

Helping Jews in Israel and 63 other countries around the world through allocations to American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and Jewish Agency for Israel, including Partnership 2000, Kiev Kehilla Project and Ethiopian Initiative.

Video: ‘Ethiopian National Project’

For Ethiopian Jews, coming to Israel is the journey they dreamed of for centuries. Here's the story about how they receive the help they need to thrive in Israel.

Health and Human Services

$19.1 million

Serving those who are economically disadvantaged, people with disabilities, seniors and others with special needs through allocations to agencies such as Jewish Child & Family Services, Council for Jewish Elderly, Jewish Vocational Service, Mount Sinai Hospital/Sinai Health System, Response Center and HIAS Chicago.

Video: 'Respite Camp brings families respite and summer fun.'

Families with disabled kids have needs few of us can imagine. Here's the stroy of a special camp that brings these families respite and summer fun.

Education, Continuity and Community-Building

$16.9 million

Supporting the best in formal and informal Jewish education—and building Jewish pride and community—through allocations to institutions such as Jewish Community Centers of Chicago, Community Foundation for Jewish Education, Hillels of Illinois, Associated Talmud Torahs, Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, Hebrew Theological College and local Jewish Day Schools.

Special Projects and National Funding

$2.2 million

Funding for pilot projects that promote continuity and serve people at risk, special local agency allocations requests and support of institutions such as the National Foundation for Jewish Culture.

Community Relations

$1.6 million

Giving voice to our community through support of the Jewish Community Relations Council and other institutions that further inter-group and community relations.

Spotlight on our local affiliates and beneficiaries:

Jewish Child & Family Services (JCFS)
To enhance the quality of life for Jewish families and individuals at all stages of life, JCFS provides a variety of services including caregiving programs ranging from residential treatment and foster care for adolescents and children to childcare and respite services for children with special needs and their families. Some 12,000 people annually benefit from JCFS services.

Jewish Community Centers of Chicago (JCC)
For more than 100 years, JCC’s life-enriching programs and services—including multi-use community centers, early childhood development centers, and day and overnight camps—have been supporting and strengthening the Jewish community. Today, the agency serves 35,000 people each year.

CJE SeniorLife
CJE’s commitment to Jewish communal values and to the dignity of older people is at the core of the agency’s work. CJE provides a variety of assisted living options, counseling, care management, independent housing assistance, home delivered meals, transportation, health and wellness programs and other services to more than 12,000 people annually.

Jewish Vocational Services (JVS)
JVS offers a comprehensive selection of non-sectarian employment and training services for a diverse population, including executives and middle managers, entrepreneurs, women returning to the workforce, young professionals, students and refugees. Annually, JVS helps 10,000 jobseekers find work.

The Hillels of Illinois
Hillel sponsors a wide variety of campus events and offers a pluralistic, welcoming environment that encourages Jewish students as they balance being distinctively Jewish and universally human. For thousands of college and graduate students on 34 Illinois campuses, Hillel is a Jewish home away from home.

Sinai Health System
Developed in 1916 to care for patients and train physicians who were turned away from other facilities, today, the Sinai Health System provides a full continuum of care throughout the Chicago area. Guided by the belief that health care is a right not a privilege, Sinai serves more than 100,000 people each year regardless of their ability to pay.

Community Foundation for Jewish Education (CFJE)
With formal and informal Jewish educational programs, CFJE broadens educational opportunities for Jews of all ages and brings high quality Jewish education to 76 area synagogues and institutions. CFJE serves 16,000 students at affiliated schools throughout the metropolitan area.

Associated Talmud Torahs of Chicago (ATT)
ATT provides curriculum assistance, teacher development training and standards reviews. Throughout the year, 6,000 students and 1,000 summer students receive a Jewish education at ATT day schools and Hebrew schools throughout the Chicago area.

Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies
Spertus is dedicated to preserving the Jewish legacy of the past and utilizing its wisdom to shape the future. The institute offers a wide range of public programs, degree and continuing education courses and museum exhibits. Annually, more than 200,000 people take part in creative, multi-dimensional programming.

Hebrew Theological College (HTC)
Founded in 1919 to prepare candidates for the rabbinate, HTC’s program is one of the oldest and most respected in the country. HTC has ordained hundreds of students who have gone on to serve as rabbis, chaplains and educators in the United States, Canada and Israel.