Past Initiatives

Interest-free Loan Program

2021

The 2021 Interest-free Loan Program provided short-term unsecured loans to enable organizations to maintain camp services and retain staff. Partnering with JFNA, FJC represented our network of Jewish overnight camps, utilizing data collected through the 2019 census and 2020 ConCensus to help guide decision-making while administering the first round of applications.

Capacity Expansion Grants

2021

Capacity Expansion Grants help camps maintain and increase their capacity to serve more campers in 2021 which may have been limited due to COVID-related occupancy restrictions. Funding was made possible due to the generosity of the Jewish Community Response and Impact Fund.

Crown Fellowship

2011

Through the Crown Fellowship, FJC engaged 12 creative young adults from Russian-speaking backgrounds as specialists in several camps in the Northeast in summer 2011. The fellows participated in a training intensive, which taught them to transform their personal Jewish journeys into interactive camp activities that speak to Jewish children from less engaged backgrounds.

Goodman Camping Initiative

2012-2015

The Goodman Camping Initiative for modern Israel history cohorts of camps that integrated Israel and Israel education into every aspect of their program. The Goodman Initiative provided camps with a customizable Israel education curriculum, staff training, and ongoing mentorship throughout the year.

Innovative Engagement Initiative

2016

The “I Belong to Jewish Camp” Innovative Engagement Initiative sought to increase the number of children attending Jewish camp and more deeply engage and welcome a more diverse camper (and their families) community. FJC received over 60 responses from overnight and day camps, communities and other organizations to develop new outreach and/or programmatic initiatives that engage numerous different constituencies.

Lekhu Lakhem

2004-2018

A Jewish educational leadership fellowship for residential camp directors. Lekhu Lakhem created a community of directors passionate about providing the Jewish educational and visionary leadership to bring about fundamental change within their own camps.

Nadiv

2011-2016

Nadiv created six senior experiential Jewish educator positions to be shared by overnight camps and Jewish day/synagogue schools. This program aspired to build synergy and collaboration in Jewish education. It strategically enhanced the quality of Jewish education at the participating camps with a sustainable new model, increased the use of “informal” educational techniques at the participating schools, and created a new career path for select, talented educators.

FJC Ruderman/Alexander Inclusion Initiative

2012-2013

Funded by the Ruderman Family Foundation and the Stanford and Alexander Family Fund, the FJC Ruderman/Alexander Inclusion Initiative enabled selected camps to hire and train new inclusion coordinators in order to increase the number of children with disabilities participating in their camps and to provide intensive in-person training and mentorship from FJC.