When you think about Boston philanthropy, you probably don’t envision young people learning to surf in the Mediterranean Sea. But Boston’s Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), the city’s Jewish Federations of North America affiliate, has long supported Israel and global Jewry as one of its three main impact areas. Founded in 1895, CJP is the oldest Jewish Federations affiliate, and one of the largest; it raises about $60 million each year through its annual campaign. It also has a long reach. I first became intrigued by its work in Los Angeles, while talking to a couple of fellow museum-goers at the Broad who raved about an innovative new arts collaborative that CJP was involved in launching, called JArts.
Its recent Israel-focused funding includes two post-October 7 emergency grants to HaGal Sheli, a nonprofit that uses surfing as a way to help at-risk young Israelis of all religions overcome trauma and PTSD. “We help them grow their self-confidence, learn healthier ways to handle tough situations, and find hope for a future they might not have thought was possible,” said Yaron Waksman, co-founder and CEO of HaGal Sheli, speaking to IP by email. “CJP’s support has been absolutely essential, not only in providing immediate trauma therapy following the October 7 attacks, but also in helping us form strategic partnerships both within Israel and internationally. These connections have allowed us to expand our reach and offer therapy to even more individuals who need it.”
Helping the vulnerable and building Jewish community at home
I grew up imagining the Puritan’s shining “City on a Hill” as almost a mythical place, a key geography in the classic founding story of America — quite unlike the empty, snow-covered expanse of suburban Michigan where I lived. But Boston also has deep Jewish roots, as CJP’s 130th anniversary this month shows. Most of CJP’s work happens in the greater Boston area, much of it in its other two key impact areas: caring for the vulnerable and broadening and deepening Jewish engagement. It supports hundreds of local organizations, funding groups such as the JCC and Jewish day schools. In 2024, it provided $1.7 million in strategic grants to partners focused on preventing antisemitism in schools and college campuses, civic spaces and workplaces. It also funds the arts, including through JARTS and grants of $7,500 to individual artists that live within its catchment area and are focused on some aspect of Jewish identity or culture.
Since COVID, CJP has increasingly partnered with groups focused on mental health, on combating loneliness and social isolation, and on supporting families with young children. “I would say families with young children is a top priority for us because of the vulnerability that young families really experienced in COVID that’s kind of lingered. It’s harder to actually connect with people in real life,” said Sarah Abramson, CJP’s executive vice president, who leads a team of 40 and heads the Israel emergency fund. “Also, there’s a lot of research that shows that if you help people build community with a Jewish lens early on in life, they’re much more likely to stick with it throughout the rest of their life.”
CJP also sees itself as a nexus of connection in Boston. It hosts mission-style trips, local events, learning circles and a variety of opportunities for donors to participate in the group’s giving. Building community in Boston also helps CJP’s fundraising efforts. “We definitely find that people are looking for community, and when they get involved with CJP through committees, or going on missions, or attending events, it’s very nice and it creates more and more connections,” said David Adler, chair of CJP’s annual campaign and a longtime Jewish Federation supporter, first in his hometown of Cleveland, and more recently in his newer home of Boston. “I think those connections lead to dollars. People meet and get to know each other, and are motivated by what others are doing in terms of their philanthropy.”
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From Boston to Israel, Supporting Victims of the October 7 attack and ongoing war
Then there’s Israel. CJP already supported organizations across the nation before the attack by Hamas. But when the Jewish Federations of North America launched its Israel Emergency Fund after October 7, CJP kicked into high gear, raising an additional $60 million on top of its usual budget, more than four-fifths of which it has already given away. CJP has raised “significantly more dollars per capita than other large cities,” according to a Federation spokesperson.
It has so far deployed this money in a phased approach, with phase one focusing on rapid humanitarian aid such as shelter, food and critical basic supplies, primarily to communities evacuated from the south and those on the front lines. This included $1 million to Kibbutz Re’im to house 430 displaced individuals in temporary housing in Tel Aviv. Phase two supported organizations focused on mental health and trauma, economic relief, community-specific rehabilitation and supporting the most vulnerable, including through a grant to the Association for the Elderly of Eshkol Region. Phase three, which is continuing today, focuses largely on strategic investments to make lasting change, and includes grants to partners such as the Israeli Children’s Fund.
For HaGal Sheli, CJP’s giving has taken the form of an initial grant of $300,000 to seed an emergency response project, then another $1.5 million in phase three to scale it. Since its founding in 2013, HaGal Sheli has grown to have multiple sites running surf and life-skills programs for Israeli teenagers in “last chance schools,” a direct translation from Hebrew which describes “schools where students have been kicked out of other educational settings due to behavioral or academic challenges,” said Waksman. Some 80% of participants are Jewish Israelis, with the remaining 20% coming from Muslim and Christian Arab families within Israel, including kids from East Jerusalem and Bedouins from the Negrev.
After October 7, HaGal Sheli added trauma intervention programs for youth in the communities surrounding the Gaza Strip. “Our ‘Tools from the Waves’ program, which has been providing PTSD treatment since 2021, was quickly adjusted to address the acute trauma experienced by those most affected, including displaced communities from the Gaza Envelope and Northern Israel, released hostages, survivors of the Nova Festival and parties, and other affected populations,” he said.
More than 80% of its funding comes from Israel. Waksman said they have experienced an outpouring of support over the past year. The partnership with CJP came about through a longtime friend and supporter Izhar Armony.
Waksman’s advice for other nonprofits looking for funding? “Focus on connecting with communities and individuals who truly believe in your mission, rather than simply following the money. Don’t worry too much about who has the financial means — build genuine, deep connections and the support will follow.” For HaGal Sheli, this approach has led to huge growth. “What began as a small idea — teaching a group of 10 teens to surf on the condition they return to school — has expanded into the largest surf therapy organization in the world,” he wrote in an email. “We’re deeply humbled by the impact we’ve had on so many lives (over 15,000 since 2013!)”
Fundraising and awareness raising for Boston and beyond
CJP devotes a lot of resources to fundraising. It has a 60-person “advancement team” that includes both development and marketing staff. Abramson sees the marketing department as playing an important storytelling role. “They exist to lift up the best of our community, to showcase how CJP is contributing to the world and the unique things they’re doing. A lot of our work, we’re thinking about what’s the immediate impact, but then also what’s the greater story we’re telling about Jewish values and who we want to be and what we want to be known for as a people.
“At the core, Jewish Federations really act as a communal tzedakah box for any given Jewish community,” she added, describing the traditional Jewish practice of keeping a piggybank of sorts, for charity, at home, and putting money into it regularly to later give away. “Whatever you have to give, you put in the box. Our role at CJP is to distribute those philanthropic dollars to the biggest needs or opportunities across our community, broadly defined.”
