About the Wolchok Family and the story behind our Foundation
The Wolchok Family Foundation has been recognized as one of the leading philanthropies dedicated to providing seed and follow on funding for cutting edge initiatives designed to disrupt the existing social order of Jewish communal life. Since its founding, the WFF has seeded initiatives that have now raised collectively more than $170 million dedicated to supporting initiatives including Jewish outreach, authentic Torah learning, post college academic scholarships, subsidized wedding initiatives, and food drives.
We are dedicated to supporting causes that have significant impact on Jewish continuity. Among these are initiatives to bring in-depth traditional Jewish learning to unaffiliated Jews, promoting Jewish community development across the world, and encouraging the dissemination of Torah learning and Jewish values. We seek to emulate the biblical partnership of the two Jewish tribes of Yissachar and Zevulun: in which Zevulun used his strengths in commerce and business acumen to support Yissachar’s abilities in spiritual growth and Torah study.
This symbiotic relationship resulted in a material and spiritual partnership which benefited each tribe, and continues to resonate with Jewish life even into our modern age. We focus on supporting the dissemination of Torah in many formats, from cutting edge outreach programs geared towards college students and young professionals, all the way to individual grants for outstanding individual Torah scholars. We feel strongly that wealth is a tool that can be wisely used to better oneself only by bettering the world, and that the blessing of wealth carries with it the innate responsibility to help those in need at the individual, communal, and national level.
“As one who has made several requests for funding to the Wolchok Family Foundation in recent years, I can say that there are several things that set the Foundation apart. The first is the effort made to investigate every request thoroughly and to be open to new suggestions. But most notable in my mind is the eagerness to give. Those making requests are never made to feel like beggars, but rather as if they are providing a valuable opportunity to the Foundation with their request. Even when the request cannot be granted in whole or part, the one soliciting funds is also made to feel that there is a desire to give more, not that the request was found unworthy. ”
— JONATHAN ROSENBLUM, DIRECTOR OF JEWISH MEDIA RESOURCES, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST, AND AUTHOR OF OVER A DOZEN BOOKS ON JEWISH LEADERS