Moriah Fund
OVERVIEW: A relatively low-profile fund with a big policy footprint, the Moriah Foundation is inspired by Jewish philosophies of social justice. Moriah supports a variety of organizations that expand the rights of underserved and oppressed persons. Its grants support education, human rights, women’s rights and reproductive health and promoting democracy and equity in Israel.
IP TAKE: Most of the Fund’s grantees are large organizations with global or national presence and strong reputations in the fund’s areas of grantmaking interest. Moriah is not highly accessible, but prospective grantees may submit one-page letters of inquiry via email at any time. Selected grantees will be invited to submit full proposals.
PROFILE: Established in 1985, the Moriah Fund was created by Robert and Clarence Efroymson and is rooted in “fundamental Jewish values.” It seeks to “help disadvantaged people gain self-sufficiency and control over their lives, and promote democracy, education, women’s rights and reproductive health.” The Moriah Fund’s grantmaking “incorporates concern for the basic needs of all people—especially the most disadvantaged—and the well-being and continuation of the Jewish people.” While rooted in Jewish values, the Fund does not limit its giving to Jewish causes and identifies with a “desire to improve the quality of life for Jews and non-Jews alike.” Indeed, only a small fraction of its dozens of annual grants go toward overtly Jewish institutions. If a project involves social justice and expanding basic human rights for vulnerable populations, the Moriah Fund is interested, regardless of religious affiliation. Moriah makes grants in the following Program areas: Education, Israel, Human Rights, and Women’s Rights and Reproductive Health.
Grants for K-12 Education
Moriah’s education program prioritizes organizations and initiatives that support “at-risk children, including those in high poverty areas and children impacted by learning differences.” It also works to remedy inequities in access to quality educational opportunities for at-risk students. The programs it funds focus on high quality educational opportunities, supports for children with learning differences and greater understanding and dialogue regarding classroom and learning processes. Past education grantees include Connecticut’s Eagle Hill School, New Classrooms Innovation Partners, Chalkbeat and Narrative 4, Inc., a program based in New York City that uses storytelling to build empathy between young people.
Grants for Global Security, Human Rights and LGBTQ
Human rights is at the center of most of the Moriah Fund’s grantmaking. The Israel program emphasizes “the rights of Arab and Ethiopian citizens of Israel,” and the Women’s Rights and Reproductive Health program supports “organizations that integrate human rights strategies and mechanisms into efforts to promote women’s rights.”
Another area of interest is the rights of LGBTQIA populations around the world. The foundation’s main human rights recipient is the Fund for Global Human Rights, which directs funding to “front-line, in-country human rights activists worldwide.” Smaller grants have gone to the Alliance for Justice, Human Rights First and the Urban Justice Center, which advocates for refugees in the New York City area.
Grants for Women and Girls
Through its Women’s Rights & Reproductive Health Program, Moriah supports access to health care for women and girls and seeks to protect a woman’s right to choose. The program works to transform legal, political, economic and social structures that help to sustain gender inequality and violence against women and prevent women’s full participation in society. The foundation also supports organizations that enable women to have full control over their sexual and reproductive health. Previous women’s rights grantees include the National Network for Abortion Funds, the Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights, the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at the University of California Hastings and In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, which received funding for its grassroots voter education project, and the National Network of Abortion Funds.
Grants for Racial Justice and Indigenous Rights
In 2020, Moriah launched its Black Voices for Black Justice Fund to directly support grassroots leaders in their efforts to build an anti-racist America and amplify the voices of Black luminaries across the country. The fund is co-chaired by some prominent leaders, including actress Kerry Washington and former U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. The fund aims to identify the social entrepreneurs and activists that are doing grassroots work and empower them with unrestricted support. In the first round, 31 awardees received grants of $20,000 and $50,000 to tackle issues like education, criminal justice reform, environmental justice, voting rights and civic engagement. The fund is working to raise a total of $10 million to support additional leaders working to confront racism and promote meaningful change. Awardees come through nomination, rather than by applying.
Other Grantmaking Opportunities
The Moriah Fund’s Israel program seeks to support Israeli organizations involved in strengthening social justice, democracy, civil rights, education and economic opportunity with a strong focus on disadvantaged people in Israel. The program prioritizes grassroots and community-based organizations that promote advocacy and democracy and works to develop programs and initiatives that can have a demonstrable impact on national policies. Its current focus is on “programs that support democratic ideals, build organizational and leadership capacity in the Ethiopian community and advocate for equitable treatment of Arab citizens.” Previous grantees include the Israel Center for Educational Innovation, which aims to increase literacy and improve living conditions for Ethiopian immigrants in Israel, and the Palestinian Society Program, which “provides grants to organizations working to advance planning, land and housing rights, and the status of women,” among Palestinians in Israel.
Important Grant Details:
The Moriah Fund makes between $6 and $7 million in grants each year in amounts of up to $1 million. The foundation’s average grant size is about $50,000. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the fund’s recent tax filings.
This funder supports organizations in the U.S. and Israel, with a strong focus on the New York City area, where the fund is based.
Its grantees tend to be medium- to large-sized organizations with national presence in the U.S. and/or Israel.
This funder accepts one-page letters of inquiry from organizations working in its areas of interest at any time.
Selected applicants will be invited to submit full proposals.
Applicants are advised to read the foundation’s guidelines and funding limitations prior to submitting a letter of inquiry. General questions should be submitted to the fund via email.
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