OVERVIEW: The Wexner Foundation runs programs to develop Jewish leadership in the U.S. and Israel. Additional giving addresses Jewish education and, to a lesser extend, non-religious higher education and medicine.
IP TAKE: The Wexner Foundation runs signature fellowship programs for Jewish leadership development with target participants ranging from teenagers to Senior Israeli officials. Each program runs its own application program, with varying eligibility requirements, guidelines and due dates. Most fellowships are comprised of mentoring, education, service learning and networking opportunities. Additional grantmaking is by invitation only, with grants mainly serving organizations involved in the foundation’s fellowship programs. Networking with past grantees may be the best way to proceed here.
PROFILE: Established in 1983 in New Albany, Ohio, the Wexner Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle of the billionaire Leslie “Les” Wexner. Wexner, who got his start in business at this parents’ retail clothing shop, is the founder of the retail conglomerate formerly known as L Brands, which was comprised of retail chains including the Limited, Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works. According to its mission statement, the foundation “develops and inspires leaders in the North American Jewish Community and the State of Israel.”
Grants for Jewish Causes
The Wexner Foundation’s philanthropic work consists of several signature leadership development programs and related grantmaking. It currently offers six leadership development programs that aim to inspire Jewish leaders, ranging from teenagers in Ohio to senior-level public officials in Israel.
The Wexner Service Corps offers Jewish teens in the Columbus, Ohio area an opportunity to combine the study of traditional Jewish texts with service learning experiences in the Columbus area and other parts of the U.S.
- Wexner’s Field Fellowship program is aimed at “Jewish professionals who plan to pursue careers as professional leaders in the North American Jewish community.” These three-year fellowships provide extensive opportunities for early-career professionals to develop Jewish leadership skills and establish a broad network of colleagues throughout the North American Jewish community.
The Wexner Heritage Program is a two-year fellowship in which volunteers involved in Jewish learning and culture participate in a series of structured seminars on culture, history and contemporary issues in Jewish thought. Volunteers who complete the program become part of a network of leaders who lead Jewish religious, educational and cultural organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Wexner’s Israel Fellowship sponsors as many as “10 outstanding public sector directors and leaders from Israel” as they pursue masters’ degrees in public administration at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Fellows typically “commit to returning to Israel and remaining in the public sector for at least three years after completing the program.”
The Wexner Senior Leaders fellowships support Israelis who hold “senior level positions within Israel’s public service sector, including the civil service, local government, government agencies, and security forces” with opportunities to hone their collaboration, innovation and decision-making skills with a series of seminars and a four-week residency at Harvard’s Kennedy School.
Finally, the Wexner Foundation runs periodic Alumni Summits that bring past program participants together to “foster substantive actions” on areas of specific interest to Jewish communities. Recent summit topics have included social justice, gender safety and equity, civil discourse and (re)imagining the Israel-North American Jewish community relationship.
- Information about how to apply for the above opportunities and contact information for relevant program staff are linked to each program page.
The Wexner Foundation also makes grants for Jewish education.
- Its largest grants in recent years have gone to Jewish institutions of higher education in the U.S. and Israel, as well as Hillel and Jewish studies programs at leading U.S. universities and theology schools.
- Grantees include the Hebrew Union College of Cincinnati, New York City’s Yeshiva University, the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies and Israel’s University of Guleph.
Grants for Higher Education and Public Health
While Jewish education is a strong focus for the Wexner Foundation, the foundation also supports higher education that is not directly affiliated with the Jewish faith, often focusing on medical schools and research.
- At Ohio State, the fund has bankrolled the Wexner Medical Center, which received a donation of $100 million in 2011 for support of the center’s James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.
- The foundation has also provided ongoing support to the Ohio State’s Wexner Center for the Arts, a “multidisciplinary, international laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art.”
- Additional grantmaking for higher education has supported schools and programs including Stanford University, Princeton in Latin America, the Society of Women Engineers and the Association for Computing Machinery at Harvard University’s Aiken Laboratory.
Important Grant Details:
The Wexner Foundation’s grants range from about $200 to $1.6 million.
- This funder is best known for its Jewish leadership development programs.
- Information about how to apply for any of its programs is available at individual program pages linked here. Additional grantmaking is conducted by invitation only.
- Wexner provides ongoing support to named programs in medicine and the arts at Ohio State and other institutions of higher education in the U.S. and Israel.
The foundation can be reached via its contact page or by telephone at (614) 939-6060. Contact information for staff members is available at the team page.
PEOPLE:
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