Meet Your Match Nets $10 Million for Jewish Camps!
June 30, 2006 marked the end of the Meet Your Match Program for 26 Jewish nonprofit overnight camps.
Significant results of Meet Your Match include:
- $7.5 million raised in pledges from 26 participating camps
- $2.5 million matched by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation
- Total of $10 million going toward Jewish camping
- 292 individual gifts to camps
- 95% of the gifts came from first-time donors
- Range of pledges: $10,000 - $750,000
Through Meet Your Match, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation offered an initial $2 million to the 26 camps to stimulate camps to find new donors. The program matched at 50% all gifts between $10,000 and $50,000 or more (up to $25,000 per gift and $200,000 in matching funds per camp). The donor response was so enthusiastic that the camps depleted the matching pool of funds by March - at which point the Foundation allocated additional funds. By June, $10 million was generated for capital improvements to Jewish camps.
Camps began putting the new funds to work immediately. Among the capital improvements are:
- New sports facility with fitness center and skating rink at URJ Greene Family Camp, Bruceville, TX. The camp is also building a comprehensive performing arts center.
- Waterfront upgrade and new dining hall at Camp Yavneh, Northwood, NH
- New pool slide at URJ Goldman Union Camp Institute (GUCI), Zionsville, IN
- Studio Center for the Arts at Camp Young Judaea Sprout Lake, Verbank, NY
- Guest house at Camp Ramah New England, Palmer, MA
- New pool at Camp Moshava Wild Rose, Wild Rose, WI
- A vineyard at URJ Camp Newman, California