What We Fund

We identify visionaries, institutions and unsung heroes doing groundbreaking work, and we amplify their impact by providing financial and strategic support. We invest in areas that reflect our founder's passions and perspective, including diabetes care and research, Israel's cultural and economic vitality, interfaith bridge-building, elevating the profession of sales and strengthening community in New Jersey. 

Our Founder

Russell Berrie, founder, chairman and CEO of the celebrated gift company bearing his name, was one of the most innovative philanthropists of his generation. He approached philanthropy as a social investment, seeking out energetic leaders with a sense of urgency around their missions and infusing The Russell Berrie Foundation with an entrepreneurial spirit that continues to inspire our work. 

Featured
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The North of Israel can’t afford for us to wait for greater certainty

CEO Idana Goldberg writes that Israel won’t be able to emerge from current crises stronger and more resilient unless greater public, private, and philanthropic support is directed to the North.

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Israeli artists at HBCUs expose American students to diverse culture and creation

This spring, students and faculty at Xavier University of Louisiana, the only Catholic historically Black university in the U.S., are creating and learning together with two artists and musicians from Israel.

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"Community Calls" pursues stronger interfaith and community ties post-October 7th

At a February 25 “Community Calls” event hosted by the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades, Imam Abdullah Antepli from Duke University, Rabbi Hilly Haber from Central Synagogue, and Dr. Terrence L. Johnson, an expert in African American religious studies at Harvard Divinity School, engaged in a panel discussion exploring how to build relationships across faiths in a post-October 7 world.

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Q&A: Integrating the Haredim is Critical for Israel’s Economy and Society 

Program Officer Naomi Feiner explains why eliminating barriers to economic and civic participation among the ultra-Orthodox is so essential and how she, as a secular Israeli woman, navigates this work.

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Shine a Light unites communities in fighting antisemitism

Timed with Hanukkah, Foundation support of the Shine a Light campaign promoted dialogue among Black, Latino, and Jewish leaders and helped New Jersey organizations launch programs to counter antisemitism.

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Just-in-time simulation training proves critical to Israel’s military and humanitarian response 

From training IDF reservists in trauma medicine to preparing hospital staff to care for returned hostages, MSR, the Israel Center for Medical Simulation has seamlessly pivoted to meet urgent wartime needs.

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