Foundation for Jewish Camp puts $45 million into cheaper overnight camp for Massachusetts families

The Foundation for Jewish Camp will spend $45 million over five years to cut Jewish overnight camp tuition for Massachusetts families and add room at 11 New England camps, the New York-based nonprofit announced on October 29.

The Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) is a national nonprofit that supports Jewish summer camps and runs One Happy Camper, its need-blind grant program for first-time campers. Its new Jewish Camp Access & Excellence Initiative runs from 2027 through 2031. The funders named in the announcement are the Endowment for an American Jewish Future, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the Jim Joseph Foundation and Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies. FJC did not say how much each gave.

Who qualifies for the tuition discounts?

Massachusetts families earning less than $300,000 a year, whether their child is new to camp or returning. Under the tuition program, called Road to Camp, households earning under $200,000 can apply for 40% off tuition at the participating camps, and households earning $200,000 to $300,000 can apply for 30% off. FJC plans 6,000 tuition grants over five years and says its goal is to double enrollment among Massachusetts families under $300,000 at those camps.

Families can still apply for a camp's own scholarships, and first-time campers can still get One Happy Camper grants, which FJC says have helped nearly 150,000 children. Grants will be offered on trust, FJC chief executive Jamie Simon told eJewishPhilanthropy. "We believe that if families really need it, they'll ask for it, and if families don't need it, they won't," Simon said. Families can register interest now. The application portal opens November 17, 2026.

Where does the rest of the $45 million go?

Into the camps themselves. FJC will give $5.5 million in capital grants for camper bunks, staff housing, dining halls and program spaces, aiming to make room for more than 200 additional children each summer. The rest pays for coaching, consulting and professional development in leadership, staffing, technology and facilities planning. The table is our own breakdown of the stated figures.

FJC did not state the $12.5 million figure. It is our subtraction, based on eJewishPhilanthropy's report that the remainder goes to coaching, consulting and professional development. By the same arithmetic, $27 million spread over 6,000 tuition grants averages $4,500 a grant.

Why start in Massachusetts?

FJC says the state has a strong camping culture and camps serving several denominations, and the foundation already runs a New England Regional Center, launched with Combined Jewish Philanthropies and the Krupp Foundation. The 11 camps served more than 4,500 campers in 2026: 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.

Cost is the other reason. Debby Shriber, executive director of URJ Eisner and Crane Lake Camps, told eJewishPhilanthropy that families can earn too much to qualify for aid and still struggle to pay for camp. Her two camps give more than $500,000 in scholarships a year, and she said the new money will not replace that. "This is to widen the scholarship pipeline," she said.

What should other funders watch?

Whether children keep coming back. In an FJC study of more than 3,300 families, 86% of first-time campers who got a One Happy Camper grant returned the next summer, but by the fourth year return rates varied widely by household income. Road to Camp aid can continue every year a family qualifies, which is aimed at that drop-off. FJC says it will study the pilot after its third year and hopes to take it to other states.

In our view, it is a useful contrast with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation's approach. Grinspoon's $50 million camp match rewards camps that raise money from their own donors. FJC's pilot pays down tuition directly for middle-income families, a group that often falls just above scholarship cutoffs. Funders weighing camp or youth programs will be able to compare the results.