Today, The Tepper Foundation announced that it is granting $8.75 million from its Security Fund to Jewish Federations of North America to protect young Jewish children and promote interfaith bridge-building as incidents of antisemitism reach the highest recorded levels in 46 years.

 

More than 100 federations across 39 U.S. states and Canada will receive this funding in 2025. This funding will support the increased demands of security personnel at early childhood programs such as pre-schools, day camps, and after-school programs, while also strengthening local community relations and vital interfaith and intergroup efforts.

 

“The Security Fund is continuing to provide a critical service for Jewish spaces across the United States, and the Jewish Federations play a key role in helping more families feel safe,” said Randi Tepper, CEO of The Tepper Foundation. “While most Jewish organizations have existing funds dedicated to security, many institutions have had to pull money from other budget lines to meet increased security needs. We want to ensure these organizations can not only provide security but continue their missions serving local families.”

 

“Jewish Federations look for opportunities to take preemptive action to ensure our communities are safe and have strong alliances,” said Jewish Federations of North America Chair Gary Torgow. “That's why we are so grateful that The Tepper Foundation continues to be our partner on this effort, helping us protect our children - while also ensuring that we are proactively building safer communities.”

 

“Jewish Federations are on the front lines of combatting antisemitism and protecting their communities, which is essential for the North American Jewish community to fully participate in Jewish life without fear or barriers to Jewish life flourishing,” said Jewish Federations of North America Executive Vice President Shira Hutt. "The partnership between Federations and The Tepper Foundation is a testament to our unwavering commitment to the safety of our Jewish communities and the recognition that combatting antisemitism requires active bridge building with other communities.”

 

By the Numbers

• Today’s $8.75 million grant brings the Security Fund’s total commitment to Jewish Federations to nearly $18 million across 2024 and 2025.
   
• In 2024, The Tepper Foundation’s Security Fund granted more than $9 million to Jewish Federations to protect Jewish spaces and promote interfaith bridge-building.
   
• In 2024, 84 federations provided funding for security at more than 560 local Jewish sites where over 71,000 young children took part in programming.
   
• In 2024, 150 new partnerships between Jewish federations and other faith-based groups emerged from the bridge-building component of the Security Fund
   
• The Tepper Foundation’s Security Fund has now approved $23.1 million in grants since 2023 to improve security in Jewish spaces across a range of organizations. Of this, Jewish Federations will distribute nearly $18 million across 2024 and 2025.

 

Program Background:

The Tepper Foundation’s Security Fund was launched in November 2023 following the October 7 Hamas attacks on the people of Israel. This funding addressed the urgent increased security needs of college Hillel organizations, Jewish community centers, synagogues, Jewish Federations, and other Jewish communal organizations in North America.
 

More than 100 federations will receive 2025 Security Fund grants, and these organizations have already established comprehensive security plans through the existing LiveSecure program from Jewish Federations. Founded in 2018, LiveSecure is the largest philanthropic effort to support communal Jewish security in North American history. The Tepper Foundation was also among the first contributors to the LiveSecure program.
 

Jewish organizations in a Federation catchment area that provide programming to children between the ages of 0-5 are eligible for a grant from the Security Fund. These can include but are not limited to camps, preschools, afterschool programming, synagogues, PJ Library, and family programming.
 

Federations receiving 2025 Security Fund grants will also commit to engaging in a series of bridge-building efforts by leveraging their security expertise to support local faith-based institutions and cultural communities outside the Jewish community. Examples of activities are safety assessments, security training, support accessing federal security grants, and more.