...our purpose has never been clearer. For more than 100 years, UJA has had a big-picture view of our community’s largest and most pressing issues. We are at the forefront of change, adapting constantly to meet the evolving needs of our dynamic and passionate community.
Our purpose is simple: We’re bringing the community together to think differently. To innovate. To engage. The future of our community depends on it—and together, we can build the community we want for ourselves and for generations to come.
We’re fashioning new approaches to solve the most pressing challenges of our day. To care for people in need. Respond to growing antisemitism close to home and far away. Make Jewish day school more affordable. And strengthen our connection to Jewish identity and to Israel.
But we can’t do it alone. We need motivated, forward-thinking people like you to join us. To help realize our purpose. To give generously.
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We are BIG. Unabashedly
Jewish Poverty. A crisis of affordability in the Jewish day-school system. Hatred and antisemitism. A growing chasm between Israel and the Diaspora. Big issues demand big solutions. Our size is our strongest asset. We stand at the core of a network of more than 100 partner agencies, which means we have hundreds of experts who can collaborate and innovate to find the best solutions to tackle every challenge. And we can be a loud voice in the halls of power, advocating for Jewish life and for Israel.
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We bring the community together
In times of crisis. When hatred and murder struck in Pittsburgh, UJA mobilized more than 5,000 Torontonians of all faiths and political backgrounds. Together, we all took an emotional and powerful stand against antisemitism.
In times of celebration. When every year, more than 20,000 members of the community Walk with Israel, in a breathtaking display of unity and pride for Jewish life and for our spiritual homeland.
At all times. We care about building and growing our diverse community. We’re Jews of every religious denomination; every race and sexual orientation. We’re Canadian. Israeli. Russian. But we all share a common bond and a belief that when Jews of all backgrounds come together, we are at our strongest.
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We make your dollars go further
For every $1 you give to UJA, we attract an additional 46¢. We have the gravitas to partner with governments, philanthropists, and corporate sponsors to leverage significant financial investments, allowing us to stretch your dollars further and be as efficient as we are effective in helping people.
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Poverty & WellbeingThe Challenge
An aging population, including thousands of Holocaust survivors. The rising cost of living. There is tremendous strain on the support services required to care for our most vulnerable. Despite our community’s collective wealth, too many people are going hungry. In Toronto, in Israel, and in global Jewish communities, there are seniors, families, and children who lack basic needs—such as access to food, rent, warm clothing, and employment—and who suffer from social isolation.
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Your Impact Through UJA
UJA’s Annual Campaign supports a network of social service agencies that provide vital support. Rent subsidies, emergency financial assistance, free loans, integration support for newcomers, assistance with Holocaust reparation applications, provision of food, employment services, and more. We take an innovative approach to how we deliver these services, reflecting the changing landscape and needs of the community.
This is especially evident with our collective impact initiative, DoorToDoor. We are using collaboration and technology to streamline care for seniors, providing life-changing wraparound services by connecting seniors to multiple social service agencies with one central access point. Language, lack of transportation, and limited mobility are no longer barriers to care. We believe that the cycle of poverty can be broken, and that we can help break it.
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Jewish Education & IdentityThe Challenge
How do we ensure our children’s children will live meaningful Jewish lives? How can we nurture future generations to not only continue the traditions of their parents and grandparents, but also grow Jewish life in our city so that it develops and thrives?
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Your Impact Through UJA
We invest in life-changing identity programs, like March of the Living and Birthright Israel, that build a love of Israel and Jewish life. We are fostering Jewish identity at an early age with the delivery of free Jewish-themed books through PJ Library. We are investing in Jewish summer experiences through our support of Jewish camps, where immersive experiences are transforming young Jewish lives. UJA is also working hard to make Jewish day school more affordable. One of our key strategies involved working diligently to secure two generous donations that totaled $14 million, so we could launch the TanenbaumCHAT Affordability Initiative and lower tuition from $28,000 to $18,500 per year. On the horizon, we are working on a breakthrough campaign to solve the middle-income affordability crisis and make Jewish education more affordable for everyone in the community.
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AntisemitismThe Challenge
On average, an antisemitic crime takes place every week in Toronto. Police data shows that the Jewish community is the most targeted group in Canada when it comes to hate crimes. We are not immune to the alarming rise of global antisemitism nor the threat of anti-Israel rhetoric.
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Your Impact Through UJA
Together with our advocacy agent, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), UJA is fighting BDS campaigns on university campuses. We are advocating for Israel in the halls of government. We are championing stronger hate crime legislation. We are exposing and holding antisemites accountable in the courts. We are making our community safer by providing free security services to synagogues, day schools, Jewish institutions, and community centres. And, through UJA’s Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre, we are teaching future generations about the horrors of the Holocaust and the lessons it teaches about the dangers of hate.
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IsraelThe Challenge
Seventy years after its founding, Israel is thriving. But too many of its citizens are on the margins, unable to access the promise of the “start-up nation”. Many communities are living under daily threat of terror attacks. In other communities on the periphery of Israeli society, seniors, children, and at-risk youth suffer from lack of financial and educational opportunities.
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Your Impact Through UJA
We’re investing in programs that promote economic sustainability, educational excellence, and social inclusion. In Bat Yam, we’re financing scholarships and training for aspiring nurses who will have the capacity to lift themselves out of poverty and alleviate the severe nursing shortage in Israel. In Eilat/Eilot, we’re fostering a more resilient economy and nurturing leaders in cyber research. In Sderot, a city under constant rocket attack from Gaza, we’re building a state-of-the-art science centre as part of a Regional Development Plan for the entire northwest Negev. We are supporting a vibrant Jewish state, because our destiny is tied to Israel’s destiny.
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Through an integrated approach to fundraising—which includes UJA’s Annual Campaign, The Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto, and the Tomorrow Campaign—UJA Federation of Greater Toronto raised more than $153 million in 2018. These funds are invested into the community, strengthening every facet of Jewish life.
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Annual Campaign
Funds raised, with the help of more than 500 volunteer canvassers, support more than 100 partner agencies that help to strengthen Jewish life and assist those in need in Toronto, in Israel and around the world.
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The Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto
The Jewish Foundation makes charitable giving easy and rewarding, so that individuals, families and organizations can fulfill their philanthropic goals. Through legacy gifts, we can keep UJA’s endowment strong, allowing us to respond to the community’s needs quickly and effectively.
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Tomorrow Campaign
Since 2000, UJA Federation’s Tomorrow Campaign has raised $300 million to create three hubs of Jewish life—downtown, mid-town and in York Region—to ensure there is sufficient infrastructure to support the needs of the vibrant and thriving Jewish population of Greater Toronto.
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The work of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto rests upon three strategic priorities. These priorities represent the biggest issues facing the Jewish community today. Our approach to community investments and grants is finding the most innovative and effective programs and services that will have the biggest possible impact on moving the needle on these priorities:
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Fighting Poverty and Improving Wellbeing
As a community, we are defined by our generosity and compassion for the most vulnerable among us. UJA Federation addresses this priority through collaborative efforts with multiple social service agencies, to ensure the most financially disadvantaged members of our community can access the help they need to live with hope, meaning and dignity.
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Growing Jewish Education and Preserving Jewish Identity
Our investment in both formal and informal Jewish education ensures Toronto is home to one of the world’s strongest and most diverse Jewish day school systems and a wide array of Jewish identity programs designed to provide high-impact Jewish experiences and foster lifelong Jewish journeys.
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Strengthening Connections to Israel and Empowering Global Jewish Communities in Need
Nowhere is the concept of Jewish unity and mutual responsibility felt more strongly than in the relationship between UJA Federation and Jewish communities in Israel and around the world. We support Israel and Jewish communities globally through our work with our valued partners, including the Jewish Agency for Israel and the American Joint Distribution Committee, as well as the Centre for Israeli and Jewish Affairs, which advocates for Israel and Canadian Jewry.
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Maybe your aging parents need assistance? Perhaps you’re worried about your child who is battling anxiety? Or your university student is facing BDS. Sometimes it’s not just about helping the world. Sometimes it’s also about helping your family. UJA serves as a backbone, providing services and programs that benefit every member of our community. We’re there for you, at every stage of life.