Deadline: 09-Jul-2026
The Professional Development for Camp Leadership Grant supports not-for-profit organisations in Europe to strengthen Jewish camp leadership and improve educational programming in residential camp settings. Grants range from £10,000 to £20,000 per year for up to three years and may cover up to 85% of total project costs. The programme focuses on training camp leaders, strengthening Jewish learning, supporting peer exchange, and improving the Jewish experience of campers.
Overview
The Professional Development for Camp Leadership Grant supports projects that help Jewish camp leaders deliver meaningful and engaging educational programming.
The grant is designed for residential Jewish camps and organisations that want to strengthen the Jewish learning experience of campers through better-trained camp leaders.
Funding may support new initiatives or improvements to existing programmes, as long as the grant is used for new activities that strengthen Jewish education and leadership development.
Purpose of the Grant
The purpose of the grant is to build the skills, confidence, and Jewish knowledge of camp leaders.
Residential Jewish camps provide immersive environments where young people can explore Jewish identity, values, traditions, and community life.
This grant helps ensure that camp leaders are prepared to use Jewish content, resources, and educational methods effectively during camp and throughout the year.
Key Focus Areas
The grant focuses on Jewish camp leadership, madrichim training, chanichim education, Jewish learning, residential Jewish camps, Jewish identity development, experiential education, peer learning, camp leader mentoring, expert-led training, curriculum enrichment, Jewish educator roles, cross-camp exchange, learning visits, peer shadowing, and year-round Jewish-content activities.
What the Grant Supports
The grant supports projects that strengthen professional development for Jewish camp leaders.
Supported activities may include:
- Camp leadership training programmes
- Jewish learning sessions for madrichim
- Training on how to use Jewish texts, values, and resources
- Curriculum development for camp education
- Expert-led workshops by Jewish education specialists
- Mentoring for new camp leaders
- Peer learning between camp leaders
- Learning visits to other European Jewish camps
- Peer shadowing across camps or institutions
- Development of dedicated Jewish educator roles
- Jewish-content activities during camp sessions
- Year-round activities that reinforce camp learning outcomes
Projects should focus primarily on learning, training, and educational capacity building.
Funding Amount
Funding is available from £10,000 to £20,000 per year.
Grants may be awarded for up to three years.
The grant may cover up to 85% of total project costs.
Applications requesting funding below or above the stated funding range will not be considered.
Co-Funding Requirement
The grant can cover up to 85% of total project costs.
Applicants must show how the remaining project costs will be covered through other funding sources, organisational contributions, partner support, or other eligible income.
A clear co-funding plan strengthens the application and shows that the organisation can deliver the project sustainably.
Grant Duration
Projects may receive support for up to three years.
Multi-year support is intended to help organisations build stronger leadership training systems, improve Jewish educational delivery, and create lasting benefits for camp communities.
Applicants should explain how the programme will develop over time and how outcomes will continue beyond the funding period.
Who Is Eligible?
Applications are open to not-for-profit organisations operating in Europe.
Eligible applicants may include:
- Registered charities in the United Kingdom
- Recognised non-profit entities in other European countries
- Jewish communal organisations
- Jewish camp organisations
- Organisations delivering residential Jewish camp programmes
- Not-for-profit bodies supporting Jewish education and youth engagement
Organisations based in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus are not eligible.
Not-for-Profit Status Requirement
All applicants must demonstrate confirmed not-for-profit status before any payments can be made.
If an organisation cannot secure or confirm the required not-for-profit status within the required timeframe, the award may be withdrawn.
Applicants should prepare relevant legal, charitable, or non-profit registration documents before applying.
Who Benefits from the Programme?
The main direct beneficiaries are Jewish camp leaders, including madrichim and educators working in residential camp environments.
The wider beneficiaries include chanichim, or campers, who will experience stronger Jewish educational programming.
The programme may also benefit:
- Camp staff
- Youth educators
- Jewish education coordinators
- Volunteer leaders
- Camp communities
- Partner institutions
- Young people participating in Jewish residential camps
Why It Matters
Jewish camps are powerful spaces for identity formation, community building, and experiential Jewish learning.
Campers often connect deeply with Jewish values, culture, traditions, and community through informal and immersive experiences.
This grant matters because strong Jewish programming depends on confident and well-trained camp leaders. By investing in madrichim and educators, the programme helps camps create richer educational experiences for young people.
Jewish Learning at the Core
Projects must place Jewish learning at the centre of leadership training.
This means the programme should go beyond general leadership development and include meaningful Jewish educational content.
Training may include:
- Jewish values
- Jewish texts
- Jewish history
- Jewish traditions
- Jewish vocabulary
- Jewish identity
- Experiential Jewish education methods
- Practical tools for leading Jewish-content activities
The goal is to help camp leaders bring Jewish learning into camp life in engaging and accessible ways.
Peer Learning and Camp Exchange
The grant encourages shared learning between camps and institutions.
Peer learning may include:
- Cross-camp workshops
- Visits to other European Jewish camps
- Peer shadowing
- Shared curriculum development
- Learning circles for madrichim
- Exchanges between camp educators
- Collaborative training sessions
These activities help leaders learn from different camp models, share practical ideas, and strengthen educational quality across communities.
Role of Expert Trainers
Projects may include specialist educators, trainers, or Jewish education experts.
Experts may support:
- Curriculum development
- Training design
- Jewish-content workshops
- Mentoring for camp leaders
- Educational planning
- Assessment of learning outcomes
- Strengthening year-round educational activities
Expert involvement should improve the depth, quality, and practical relevance of the training programme.
Eligible Project Activities
Eligible projects should focus mainly on learning and training.
Examples of eligible activities include:
- Training madrichim to lead Jewish-content sessions
- Creating a camp leadership curriculum
- Developing Jewish education toolkits for camp leaders
- Running pre-camp leadership seminars
- Providing mentoring for new camp leaders
- Organising expert-led Jewish learning workshops
- Supporting peer exchange between camps
- Creating year-round Jewish learning activities linked to camp
- Strengthening dedicated Jewish educator roles within camps
Projects should clearly show how the training will improve the Jewish experience of campers.
Activities Not Supported
The grant does not support:
- General operating costs for communal institutions
- Construction projects
- Restoration projects
- Artistic productions in the fine arts
- Artistic productions in the performing arts
- Academic publication work
- National memorial initiatives
- Large-scale cataloguing projects
- Retroactive activities
- Work that has already taken place
Applicants should ensure that all requested costs are directly linked to new training, learning, and camp leadership development activities.
How to Apply
Applicants should prepare a clear proposal explaining the training need, camp context, Jewish learning content, budget, and expected outcomes.
Step 1: Confirm Organisational Eligibility
Applicants should confirm that they are a not-for-profit organisation operating in an eligible European country.
They should also prepare documentation proving charitable or non-profit status.
Step 2: Define the Camp Leadership Need
The proposal should explain why camp leadership training is needed.
Applicants may describe:
- Gaps in Jewish knowledge among camp leaders
- Need for stronger madrichim confidence
- Lack of structured Jewish-content training
- Need to improve camper engagement
- Need for year-round Jewish learning continuity
- Need for peer learning between camps
Step 3: Design the Training Programme
Applicants should clearly describe the proposed training programme.
The plan should include:
- Training objectives
- Target participants
- Number of camp leaders involved
- Jewish learning topics
- Teaching methods
- Mentoring activities
- Peer exchange opportunities
- Expert trainer involvement
- Timeline
- Expected learning outcomes
Step 4: Explain the Jewish Education Content
The application should show how Jewish learning is central to the project.
This section should explain:
- What Jewish content will be taught
- What resources or materials will be used
- How madrichim will apply the learning
- How campers will benefit
- How the programme will strengthen Jewish identity and engagement
Step 5: Include Practical Camp Activities
Applicants should explain how training outcomes will be used in real camp settings.
This may include:
- Camp sessions led by trained leaders
- Shabbat or holiday programming
- Jewish values-based activities
- Peer-led discussions
- Creative experiential learning
- Year-round educational activities linked to camp
Step 6: Prepare the Budget
Applicants may request between £10,000 and £20,000 per year.
The grant may cover up to 85% of total project costs.
The budget should clearly show:
- Total project cost
- Grant amount requested
- Co-funding sources
- Training costs
- Expert trainer costs
- Travel or peer exchange costs
- Materials and curriculum costs
- Staff or coordinator costs linked to the project
Step 7: Explain Long-Term Impact
Applicants should describe how the project will strengthen camp education beyond the grant period.
This may include:
- Better-trained madrichim
- Stronger Jewish education curriculum
- Increased confidence among camp leaders
- Improved camper experience
- Ongoing peer networks
- Dedicated educator roles
- Year-round Jewish learning activities
Step 8: Submit the Application
Applicants should submit a complete application with the project plan, budget, organisational information, co-funding details, and evidence of not-for-profit status where required.
A strong application should be practical, Jewish learning-focused, and clearly connected to residential camp education.
Selection Considerations
Applications are likely to be assessed based on educational quality, relevance, feasibility, and long-term value.
Key assessment areas may include:
- Strength of Jewish learning content
- Relevance to residential Jewish camp settings
- Quality of camp leadership training
- Benefit for madrichim and chanichim
- Use of expert trainers or educators
- Peer learning and exchange opportunities
- Feasibility of the project plan
- Clear co-funding strategy
- Sustainability beyond the grant period
- Compliance with eligibility and funding rules
Tips for a Strong Application
A strong proposal should clearly show how the project will improve Jewish camp education.
Applicants should:
- Place Jewish learning at the centre of the programme
- Clearly define the camp leaders being trained
- Explain how campers will benefit
- Include practical camp-based learning outcomes
- Use expert educators where appropriate
- Build in mentoring for new camp leaders
- Include peer exchange or learning visits
- Provide a realistic budget within the funding range
- Show the required co-funding
- Explain how the programme will continue after the grant ends
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Applicants should avoid submitting proposals that are too general or weakly linked to Jewish camp education.
Common mistakes include:
- Requesting less than £10,000 or more than £20,000 per year
- Requesting more than 85% of total project costs
- Focusing only on general leadership training
- Not placing Jewish learning at the core
- Providing unclear benefits for campers
- Missing a co-funding plan
- Requesting funding for general operating costs
- Including construction or restoration costs
- Applying for work that has already taken place
- Not demonstrating confirmed not-for-profit status
- Providing weak plans for mentoring or peer learning
FAQ
1. What is the Professional Development for Camp Leadership Grant?
It is a grant that supports not-for-profit organisations in Europe to strengthen Jewish camp leadership training and improve educational programming in residential Jewish camps.
2. How much funding is available?
Funding ranges from £10,000 to £20,000 per year for up to three years.
3. What percentage of project costs can the grant cover?
The grant can cover up to 85% of total project costs.
4. Who can apply?
Not-for-profit organisations operating in Europe can apply, including UK registered charities and recognised non-profit entities in other eligible European countries.
5. Which countries are excluded?
Organisations based in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus are not eligible.
6. What types of projects are supported?
Supported projects include camp leadership training, Jewish learning programmes for madrichim, expert-led curriculum development, mentoring for new camp leaders, peer exchange, learning visits, and Jewish-content activities during camp and throughout the year.
7. What costs are not eligible?
The grant does not support general operating costs, construction or restoration projects, fine or performing arts productions, academic publications, national memorial initiatives, large-scale cataloguing projects, retroactive activities, or work already completed.
Conclusion
The Professional Development for Camp Leadership Grant helps Jewish camps in Europe strengthen the quality of leadership training and Jewish educational programming. With funding of £10,000 to £20,000 per year for up to three years, the grant supports projects that build the confidence, knowledge, and practical skills of camp leaders while improving the Jewish experience of campers. Applicants should present a clear training plan rooted in Jewish learning, supported by expert input, peer exchange, mentoring, and a realistic co-funded budget.
For more information, visit Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe.