OVERVIEW: The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity supports Jewish causes, education and human rights causes around the world.
IP TAKE: The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity is singularly focused on issues important to its founder, the Holocaust survivor, writer, teacher and human rights advocate Elie Wiesel. Opportunities change frequently here, but current programs include the long-running Prize in Ethics for college students, the Beit Tzipora educational centers serving Ethiopian-Israeli young people, and the newer Mark Podwal Prize in Visual Art. Recent nonprofit grants have backed Jewish and moral education, leadership development and human rights.
Follow the foundation on social media or sign up for updates to keep up with new opportunities. Grant seekers working in Jewish education, ethical leadership, intergroup dialogue or targeted human-rights advocacy should monitor the foundation for future calls.
As recently as 2022, the Foundation ran open application cycles for nonprofit grant seekers; however, since then, no current nonprofit grant applications or announced cycles appear to exist. Access appears to have tightened, in this regard. Wiesel Foundation does not formally operate on an invite-only basis, but interested parties will have to await further updates.
PROFILE: Established in 1987, the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity was created by the late Holocaust survivor, author, teacher and human rights advocate Elie Wiesel and his wife, Marion. Wiesel was a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and a founding member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D. C. and the New York Human Rights Foundation. Wiesel wrote dozens of books and held prestigious teaching positions at Boston University, City University of New York and Yale University.
The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity pursues a mission to “combat indifference, intolerance and injustice through international dialogue and youth-focused programs that promote acceptance, understanding and equality.” Its grantmaking supports organizations whose missions overlap with “the values embodied by Elie Wiesel.” Grant programs change frequently, but all of them will honor two of the many aspects of Wiesel’s life work as student, educator, activist, writer, journalist, and man of faith. Its current grantmaking focuses on intersections between education and activism.
Grants for Jewish Causes, Higher Education, and K-12 Education
The foundation’s current education grantmaking is broadly focused on “programs connected to moral values grounded in Jewish education.” It does not restrict these grants to either K-12 or higher education and prioritizes funding for “programs and projects that foster dialogue, especially in innovative ways.”
- The Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics Essay Contest recognizes outstanding essays by undergraduate students enrolled at an accredited college or university in the United States.
- Writing prompts change every year, so interested students will want to verify that they are writing on the most current prompt before submitting.
- Award amounts are $10,000 for the winning essay, $5,000 for second place, and $3,000 for third place. Examples of past winning essays are available on the foundation’s contest page.
- According to a recent announcement, the 2027 contest will be open to all full-time undergraduates enrolled for Spring 2027, with submissions due in January.
- The foundation also supports education in Israel’s Ethiopian-Jewish community via its two Beit Tzipora Centers.
- The two centers in Ashkelon and Kiryat Malachi serve Ethiopian-Israeli young people and families through educational and after-school programming.
- Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO) says the centers were founded by the Wiesel Foundation in the mid-1990s and their endowment was entrusted to WIZO in 2017.
- Beit Tzipora is still receiving substantial EWF support. The foundation reported $150,000 to WIZO in 2023; $150,000 in 2024; and $250,000 in 2025.
- Grants have also supported a Black-Jewish fellowship program at Gratz College in Pennsylvania and the Witness Institute, which runs leadership development fellowships based on the writings and teachings of Wiesel.
- Other recent grantees include Witness Institute, Gratz College and Valley Beit Midrash.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The Mark Podwal Prize in Visual Art “honors the enduring legacy of Jewish identity and the profound friendship between renowned artist Mark Podwal and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel.”
- Awards in its first cycle were as follows: first prize, $18,000, second prize, $7,200, third prize, $3,600 plus an honorable mention.
- Applicants had to be at least 18 and U.S. residents.
- The 2028 prize will open in May 2027.
Grants for Human Rights
Issues of human rights are a driving force behind the foundation’s work; however, much of its activity should be considered recent, historical work rather than active programming.
- A past initiative, the Humanitarian Award, recognized individuals who fight injustice and intolerance and whose human rights work overlaps with the vision and beliefs of the foundation’s. Past recipients include former President George H.W. Bush, former first ladies Hillary Rodham Clinton and Laura Bush, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Oprah Winfrey.
- The foundation’s human rights engagement, as recently as 2024, focused on advocacy for the Uyghur Muslim community in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) of northwest China. The foundation co-sponsored a conference, Disrupting Uyghur Genocide, in New York City in 2024 in collaboration with World Uyghur Congress and Uyghur Human Rights Project. This is now considered past work.
- See other past initiatives at the foundation’s Past Work page.
Grants for Writing and Journalism
The foundation is not currently making grants in the areas of writing or journalism; however, the focus of its support changes frequently, so grant seekers should check the website’s Grants page regularly. The foundation continues to describe journalism and witness as elements of Elie Wiesel’s legacy, while the Ethics Prize itself centers writing and the Podwal Prize supports artistic expression.
Important Grant Details:
Grant amounts range in size from $20,000 to $300,000. In recent years, this funder has given between $250,000 and $500,000 in total annual grants.
- This funder’s grantmaking programs and awards change frequently. Follow the foundation on social media or sign up for updates at the bottom of the site to keep up with new opportunities.
- The foundation does not make many grants each year and, historically, supports organizations in strong support of Israel.
- This foundation has accepted grant applications in the past, but information relating to the application process appears to have been removed. College students interested in participating in the Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics Essay Contest will find guidelines on the program page.
- Reach out with questions via email at info@eliewieselfoundation.org or by phone at (212) 490-7788.
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