SUPPORTING A SAFE, CONNECTED AND THRIVING JEWISH COMMUNITY
The Jewish Life Pillar at the Walder Foundation aspires to elevate Jewish Chicago and ensure a vibrant community that offers excellent day schools, diverse and creative leadership, a culture of inclusion and unity, and responsive human services.
Funding opportunities are by invitation only. The Foundation issues specific application invitations and instructions for each grant cycle. The information below is intended to provide a general overview of our grantmaking strategies, eligibility, and timing.
STRATEGIES AND FOCUS AREAS
The Jewish community in Chicago is well established and growing. The Foundation supports the long-term sustainability of a safe, connected and thriving community with a focus on quality education; mental health and human services; security initiatives and efforts to combat hate and antisemitism; and the advancement of men and women as future leaders in the community.
Leadership Development
Our work in leadership development is centered on strengthening leaders in the Orthodox Jewish community in organizational, spiritual, and volunteer roles. We seek to strengthen their professional skills, increase diversity among communal leadership, and encourage collaboration between leaders.
Combatting Antisemitism and Advancing Security
The Jewish Life Pillar at the Walder Foundation seeks to address the rise of antisemitism in Chicagoland, and advance security for local Jewish communities. Our approach to these challenges includes encouraging bridge-building across the Chicago Jewish community and other racial, ethnic, and faith-based groups in Chicago, supporting community-wide security measures, and investing in promising local initiatives to combat antisemitism.
Mental Health and Human Services
A vibrant Jewish community cannot be achieved without responsive human services to meet the needs of our diverse Jewish population. A core focus of our work in this area is supporting access to mental health services for Jewish community members. We also contribute capital, capacity building, and program funds to support Chicago’s core Jewish human service organizations.
Jewish Education
Our work in Jewish education has been focused on responding to the growing needs of our burgeoning Orthodox schools. Over the past few years, the Foundation has invested heavily in supporting the rapid growth of our schools by investing in greater physical infrastructure through capital investments, bolstering teacher recruitment and retention, and supporting the growing and diverse needs of students.
GRANTEE STORIES
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Funding opportunities are by invitation only. The Foundation recognizes that there are numerous organizations and projects that elevate Jewish Chicago. The Foundation’s strategic priorities have been identified as underfunded areas where additional resources can be most impactful and align with the founders’ vision. As a learning organization, the Foundation is continuously iterating, adapting, and evolving its approaches and grantmaking criteria.
Eligibility
Applicants must be a registered Section 501(c)(3) organization classified as a Section 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2) public charity, or a project within a fiscal sponsor organization that meets this requirement.
We prioritize applicants who service the Greater Chicago Metropolitan Region, and those that fit within our focus areas in Israel.
Additional eligibility requirements will apply to specific funding opportunities and/or strategy areas.
Walder Foundation encourages applicants from all backgrounds to apply, including those with a demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion.
We do not fund projects or organizations that perpetuate any form of hate, discrimination, or intolerance.
We generally do not fund
Fundraising events
Commercial activities
Political action groups, political campaigns, lobbying activities, or 501(c)4 affiliates
Projects intended to influence legislation, to influence the outcome of any election for public office, to carry on any voter registration drive, or to undertake any activity for a purpose other than charitable, scientific, educational or other purposes specified in Section 170(c)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code.
GRANT CYCLES
Funding opportunities are by invitation only. The Foundation generally provides about 6-8 weeks for application submissions and needs 2-3 months for review and decision making. At times, grant applications require further diligence and grant decision notifications are communicated later than the expected timeframe.
Please know that as Walder Foundation strategies and grant initiatives continue to evolve, applicants should not have any expectations that awarded grants will be renewed beyond the scope of the grant period. Please keep this in mind when planning for the sustainability of the work.
GETTING IN TOUCH
If you are an existing grantee looking to clarify future areas of funding alignment and timing of opportunities, please email your program team member.
If you are new to Walder Foundation and think your work aligns with our strategies and goals, please complete a concept note (one paragraph in length) via this link. If there is project alignment, a staff member will contact you.
For updates about Walder Foundation’s Jewish life grantmaking, sign up for alerts and select Jewish life in your interests.