Foundation for Jewish Camp Announces New $5 Million Grant to Support Orange County Campers
Foundation for Jewish Camp Announces New $5 Million Grant from Samueli Foundation
Orange County, California — Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) announced $5 million in new funding from the Samueli Foundation to increase the number of children participating in the transformative experience of Jewish camp from the Orange County community. The four-year grant will support FJC’s signature One Happy Camper® (OHC) program, middle-income access grants, need-based scholarships, and more.
“Jewish camp helps kids build their own Jewish identity, grow as leaders, and come together in community — all while having fun,” said Jamie Simon, interim CEO of Foundation for Jewish Camp. “These new funds will enable us to significantly expand access to camp for Orange County families. We’re incredibly grateful to the Samueli Foundation for their generosity.”
“The evidence is abundant and unambiguous: attending Jewish camp is one of the singular most potent experiences in terms of strengthening early Jewish identity formation and building enduring community bonds, yet too many kids in Orange County are missing out on this opportunity due to cost or lack of awareness, or both,” said Lindsey Spindle, President and Board Director, Samueli Foundation. “At this inflection point for the Jewish community, we’re thrilled to make this multiyear investment in the Jewish camping leader – Foundation for Jewish Camp – so that substantially more Orange County children can access the boundless joy of summer camp while fostering lifelong connections to their faith.”
The funding will support grants to families and camps starting this upcoming summer, and bolster Orange County’s growing, vibrant Jewish community,
FJC and its partners have provided over 125,000 One Happy Camper® grants to help camps attract new campers and increase enrollment. These grants are typically for a camper’s first, and sometimes second summer at camp. For the first time, FJC and the Samueli Foundation’s OHC grants will support campers with $1,000 and $1,500 need-blind grants for their first three years at camp.
Even after a camper’s third summer, families earning $250,000 or less per year will remain eligible for Middle Income Access Grants indefinitely. And a separate tranche of need-based scholarships aims to ensure financial barriers don’t stand in the way of unforgettable summers.
“FJC and the Samueli Foundation’s new partnership will make it possible for more families to send their child to camp and to keep coming back year after year,” said Margalit Rosenthal, West Coast Regional Director of Foundation for Jewish Camp. “We’re excited to build on programs such as One Happy Camper and pilot ways to make Jewish camp more accessible.”
In addition to resources for campers and their families, FJC and Samueli will provide individual camps with resources to boost recruitment, such as grants for marketing.
Families can find more information, including details on grant eligibility, at jewishcamp.org/oc. Applications are open for summer 2025. To apply, families should find a camp for their child, register their child at camp, and then complete our online application, which can also be found at onehappycamper.org. Contact orangecountyohc@jewishcamp.org for questions.
About Foundation for Jewish Camp
FJC advocates for over 300 day and overnight camps that provide nearly 190,000 campers and counselors each summer with a meaningful, personal, and lifelong connection to Judaism. FJC is the only public 501(c)(3) charitable organization solely focused on Jewish camp. jewishcamp.org
About Samueli Foundation
Since its founding in 1998, the Samueli Foundation has supported a range of catalytic community forces that are consistent with the family’s values and interests, focusing on cooperative, adaptive models that yield a higher quality of life and a more sustainable future for everyone in Orange County. The Samueli Foundation works closely with the constellation of Samueli Family-backed for-profit and non-for-profit organizations to ensure that giving back to the community is central to everything they do; these include the Anaheim Ducks Foundation, the San Diego Gulls Foundation, the Irvine Ice Foundation, The Rinks Foundation, and ocV!BE Sports & Entertainment which oversees the Family’s sports and entertainment assets including the Anaheim Ducks, the San Diego Gulls, and the Honda Center. In 2023, ocV!BE — a 100 acre mixed used real estate development project surrounding the Honda Center in Anaheim – breaks ground. With this new transformational investment in Anaheim, the Samueli Family is deepening its commitment to civic transformation in Orange County. Over the last 25 years the Samueli Family, through its various entities, has contributed over $1 billion in charitable grants.