Foundation for Jewish Camp launches $45 million initiative to lessen summer costs

Foundation for Jewish Camp announces a $45 million, five-year investment to make Jewish overnight camp more affordable for Massachusetts families, strengthen 11 New England camps and expand capacity so more children can attend.

Running from 2027 through 2031, Jewish Camp Access & Excellence will award $27 million in tuition support through FJC’s new Road to Camp, a key pillar of the initiative.

It will fund coaching, consulting and professional development tailored to areas including leadership, staffing, technology and facilities planning. It will also provide $5.5 million in capital grants to support expansion projects such as bunks, staff housing, dining halls and program spaces, increasing camps’ physical capacity to serve more than 200 additional children each summer.

The New England Jewish overnight camps participating in the initiative include Camp Avoda, Camp Bauercrest, Camp JORI, Camp Pembroke, Camp Ramah in New England, Camp Tel Noar, Camp Tevya, Camp Yavneh, Camp YJ, URJ Crane Lake Camp and URJ Eisner Camp. In 2026, they served more than 4,500 campers.

New and returning camper families in Massachusetts earning less than $200,000 will be eligible to apply for 40% off camp tuition at participating camps; families earning between $200,000 and $300,000 can apply for 30% off. The goal is to double enrollment among Massachusetts families with annual household incomes under $300,000 across participating camps.

The Access & Excellence Initiative is supported by the Endowment for an American Jewish Future, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the Jim Joseph Foundation, and Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies. It also builds on FJC’s New England Regional Center, launched with support from Combined Jewish Philanthropies and the Krupp Foundation.

The application portal opens on Nov. 17.