BNAI ZION FOUNDATION INC
Supporting humanitarian projects in Israel that transform the lives of thousands in need.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Bnai Zion Medical Center
The Bnai Zion Medical Center is a leading urban hospital that serves the communities of northern Israel, providing compassionate care without regard to one's ethnicity, religion or economic background. More than 64,000 visits are made annually to its emergency department, where all patients, including citizens injured in terror attacks, have received exceptional treatment.
Ahava Village for Children and Youth
Ahava Village began educational and therapeutic work with Jewish children over 80 years ago in Berlin. Since then, it has helped thousands of children and youth in Israel. Located in
Kiryat Bialik, Ahava is a residential center for children ages 6-18 coming from high-risk home situations. Comprised of apartments, educational facilities and leisure areas, the campus is home to over 250 children, who receive personalized care, support and training. Designed to help children overcome severely dysfunctional backgrounds, Ahava offers
a variety of activities and therapies and plays a leading role integrating these children
and youth into Israeli society to be useful citizens leading fulfilling lives. For the last 30 years Ahava has been home to abused children, placed there by the court system, who stay until they join the Israel Defense Forces or go into national service.
The David Yellin Academic College of Education
Education of Israeli youth is a priority of the Bnai Zion Foundation. A multi-cultural institution and true microcosm of Israeli society, the David Yellin Academic College of Education brings together secular and religious Jews, Muslim and Christian Arabs and new immigrants to develop the next generation of Israel’s educators. Over two thousand new students are accepted annually.
The four main tracks of programs students can select are early childhood education (kindergarten through second grade), elementary, junior high school and special education, focusing on learning disabilities (from severe to moderate).
Ma’aleh Adumim
Ma’aleh Adumim, a city of approximately 42,000 people strategically located near Jerusalem, provides a host of regional services and acts as part of the security belt for Israel’s capital.
Bnai Zion has made important cultural contributions to Ma’aleh Adumim with the establishment of its Library of Peace and the George W. Schaeffer Music Conservatory, and the George and Irina Schaeffer Cultural Center.
Ma’aleh Adumim is surrounded by many Arab villages and it serves a large Palestinian population with whom it has cooperated for many years. 2,500 Palestinians are employed in companies and factories in the Mishor Adumim Industrial Zone, and the fire station in Ma’aleh Adumim is responsible for all the Arab villages and many other communities in the area.
The Library of Peace is a popular source of a wide variety of books for reading, research, enrichment and entertainment. It is also a lively location for cultural, social and educational gatherings. A cornerstone of the city, the library provides an attractive array of opportunities.
The George W. Schaeffer Music Conservatory and the George and Irina Schaeffer Cultural Center are located in the center of the city and serve as cultural anchors for its residents.
Ma’aleh Adumim also provides its children with special needs the facilities, customized education and activities required for their development. This picturesque city with important strategic significance is a blossoming presence in the area with a very appealing quality of life for many.
Israel Elwyn
Israel Elwyn’s Supported Living Services complex in Jerusalem is home to 220 adults with intellectual and other disabilities requiring varying levels of care. The complex is divided into three centers (Shoval House, Gil House and Tal House) each with a professional director, support managers, direct support staff and therapists from a variety of disciplines. Medical and dental services are available to all residents.
One of the residences in Gil House is the Quittman Center, named in honor of Bnai Zion’s former Executive Vice President Herman Quittman, and built with funds generously donated by the Bnai Zion Foundation. It is composed of three apartments, housing a total of 25 residents. This departure from the previous dormitory-style residence that prevailed in earlier years in Israel and elsewhere has greatly improved the residents’ quality of life and has been instrumental in providing them with greater privacy and fostering their independence.
Where we work
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Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Bnai Zion Foundation is a US-based nonprofit that identifies and funds capital projects in Israel in the areas of social inclusion, health, and culture. For one hundred and ten years we have raised tens of millions of dollars and completed more than one hundred projects in Israel.
Below, is a brief description our main projects and their goals.
- The Bnai Zion Medical Center is a leading urban hospital that serves the communities of northern Israel, providing compassionate care without regard to one's ethnicity, religion or economic background. One of our current goals is to raise the funds needed to build a new protected underground emergency department in the Bnai Zion Medical Center in Haifa, Israel. This state-of-the-art facility will be designed to have 30 beds, 2 trauma rooms and 6 professional clinics, as well as a protected hospitalization department for ongoing care with 90 beds and a complete range of services, treatment rooms, doctors' offices, a pharmacy, storage and other features. The cost to build this is 8 million.
- Ahava Village for Children and Youth is a residential center for children ages 6-18 coming from high-risk home situations. Bnai Zion is funding the building of a Therapy Center where all therapists and therapies are under one roof. The cost to build and furnish the Therapeutic Center is $2.2 million.
- Israel Elwyn's Supported Living Services complex in Jerusalem is home to 220 adults with intellectual and other disabilities requiring varying levels of care. For nearly fifty years, Bnai Zion members have opened their hearts to Israel's citizens with disabilities. Bnai Zion's focus is on a new complex of six buildings to house some of the residents.
- The David Yellin Academic College of Education has trained thousands of teachers in Israel. The college has about 4,500 students including. Jews, Arab Muslims, Christians, and new immigrants that will together become the next generation of Israeli educators. Some of Bnai Zion's goals are to enlarge and renovate the classrooms throughout, to optimally accommodate the current population, as well as renovate the archive containing historical documents.
- The city of Ma'aleh Adumim has a population of more than 40,000 people and is strategically situated just seven minutes east of Jerusalem. Continuing needs include completing the cultural center, which still needs equipment and furnishings; increasing the playground equipment throughout the neighborhoods; adding computers to the educational system; building three new preschools for an expanding population; providing air conditioning in all the schools, providing new security vehicles for roving 24-hour detection and protection; expanding the center for children with special needs, and constructing a new, fortified security center.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
What are your strategies for making this happen?
The strategies for achieving our humanitarian goals include:
- Special regional and national fund and awareness raising events
- Sponsored and cosponsored events
- Website promotions
- Email campaigns
- Mobile campaigns
- Social media campaigns
- Press and media coverage
- Facilitating private fundraisers
- Planned giving opportunities
- Corporate sponsorships
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Bnai Zion helps realize it's goals many ways. Here are a few:
Leadership - With a strong leadership team led by Executive Vice President, CEO and National Secretary, Cheryl Bier, Bnai Zion sets clear goals and provides the mechanisms to achieve them.
Reputation - Throughout our one hundred and ten years of existence, Bnai Zion has always reached out to those in need. With over one hundred projects completed, we have built a strong worldwide reputation of being a trusted organization that realizes its goals and stays true to its mission of supporting humanitarian projects in Israel.
Strong Outreach - Besides our national presence we facilitate fundraising and awareness campaigns and events through our regional offices including our northeast, southeast, western, and Texas locations. We also have a team of dedicated professionals who work online and off to facilitate outreach.
Connecting the Dots – A powerful motivator for our supporters and would be supporters is how we connect them to our projects. Through Bnai Zion sponsored Israel trips, to visits to the US by the tremendously talented and dedicated leaders of these projects; interested parties get to witness firsthand the wonderfully important work we do.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
For one hundred and ten years Bnai Zion has raised tens of millions of dollars and completed more than one hundred projects in Israel. Our recent work includes a community center for disabled adults and a performing arts center.
We are currently raising money for a bomb-proof emergency room at a hospital near Lebanon and a therapy center in a village for at-risk youth.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
BNAI ZION FOUNDATION INC
Board of directorsas of 10/21/2021