Total Assets in 2012: $570,152,807 [1]
Total giving in 2012: $35,535,000
Total Assets in 2005 (when spend-down was announced): $649,096,797 [2]
Prominent grants: Funding activity has included directing funds toward Jewish day- school education and summer camps in the United States, Jewish education projects in Israel and the Former Soviet Union, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America for teacher training, and the Jewish Community Day School Network to promote Jewish education.
Summary: AVI CHAI was established in 1984 by financier Zalman Chaim Bernstein, with the mission of strengthening Judaism, Jewish literacy, and Jewish tradition, promoting mutual understanding among Jews of differing religious orientations, and sustaining, enlarging, and enriching Jewish commitment to the State of Israel. avi chai makes grants in three regions: North America, Israel, and the former Soviet Union (FSU). [3]
Bernstein made his fortune as CEO of the investment management firm Sanford C. Bernstein & Company, which he established in 1967. Bernstein passed away in 1999, but the organization continued to grow. Its board — following a wish informally expressed by Bernstein — committed to a plan to spend down by 2020, which it announced in 2005.
[1] “AVI CHAI Foundation,” https://fconline-foundationcenter-org.proxy.lib.duke.edu/search/member-index
[2] http://avichai.org/knowledge_base/2005-annual-report/
[3] Joel L. Fleishman, “Sunset Approaching More Rapidly Than It Seems,” Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, Nov. 2013, p. i.