P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, Inc.

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PEF was established in 1922 by Justice Brandeis, Rabbi Stephen Wise, Robert Szold and a group of distinguished Americans to enable the direct distribution of funds to selected and approved charitable organizations in Israel. PEF invites gifts, bequests and contributions for specific purposes and institutions. As specifically requested by contributors, PEF grants (now totaling over $2 billion) have touched almost every facet of Israeli life. Areas of support include, but are not limited to: primary and secondary education; supporting scientific research; promoting greater tolerance and understanding between religious and secular communities and between Arabs and Jews; the special needs of women, children and families in distress; special education and education for the gifted; veterans programs; drug abuse; promotion of the arts; and relief for the handicapped.

Public Charity

PEF is a tax exempt public charity, not a private foundation, under Code 501(c)(3). Our tax ID number is 13-6104086. To assure optimum effectiveness of our grant-allocating process and a better understanding in Israel of our function and mission, PEF benefits from site visits in Israel by its Trustees. No administrative deduction is made from contributions. Overhead is approximately 2% of grants, and is met by an administrative charge on endowed funds and special contributions for that purpose. No fund-raising organization is maintained or engaged.

Contributions 

All contributions must be in US dollars payable to “PEF Israel Endowment Funds, Inc.” and may carry a recommendation for the use of the funds. Mininum check contribution is $25. Recommendations for PEF registered charities must include BOTH the charity’s full name and their 9-digit Israeli Tax ID number (“amutah number”). You can find currently registered charities and ID numbers here.

PLAN YOUR END-OF-YEAR GIVING EARLY!! ALL contributions must ARRIVE by December 31, 2025 in order to be credited for the 2025 tax year.

To donate by credit card:  Please click the Donate Now button. It’s the easiest way to donate.

To send an ACH or wire transfer:  Send us an email at for our latest instructions. All donors sending ACH or wire transfer gifts MUST send us a notification email with all the information listed in our instructions in order for the gift to be processed. ACH or WIRE contributions must be RECEIVED in our account by Dec 31, 2025 in order to be credited for 2025. Sometimes it takes a day or two for the funds to arrive. It is not safe to assume that the funds will be credited on the date that you send them so you should aim for December 30th arrival if you want us to receive the contribution in time. If the funds arrive in our account in January they will be credited for the year 2026.

To send checks: Checks take a VERY LONG TIME TO ARRIVE. We suggest mailing them no later than December 10th if you want them to arrive before Dec 31st.. Checks must be made payable to “PEF Israel Endowment Funds” –no other words may appear on the “Pay to” line. We can receive checks via the US Postal Service regular or Priority Mail or UPS, or other courier deliveries only if they DO NOT require a signature or personal delivery (so you CANNOT use FedEx anymore). It takes about 2-3 weeks for us to receive check donations. Please mail your check and recommendation (including charity name AND 9-digit Israeli Tax ID# and any specific purpose on a separate note or on the memo line of the check) to: PEF Israel Endowment Funds, Inc. 630 Third Ave, RM 1500 New York NY 10017 USA  Any checks that arrive after December 31st will be acknowledged for the year 2026 regardless of the postmark or date on the check.

To send stock: Please email us at for instructions. Stock contributions must ARRIVE in our brokerage account by December 31, 2025 in order to be credited for 2025. Please send the shares ahead of time since it can take a few days for shares to be credited to our brokerage account. The arrival date in our account is the only date we can acknowledge.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

By making a donation to PEF, the donor thereby agrees and acknowledges as follows:
(1) PEF has the sole and absolute discretion to use the donated funds as it sees fit in accordance with its tax-exempt charitable purpose. Although PEF considers a donor’s advice with respect to grant recommendations, PEF at all times retains the sole and absolute discretion over the use and disbursement of all donated funds. PEF, not the donor, will be the legal grantor of any funds granted in accordance with a donor’s recommendation.
(2) To the extent a donor wishes to make a grant recommendation and PEF is willing to consider the recommendation under the circumstances, the donor represents that (a) such recommendation (i) will be solely for tax-exempt purposes described in Section 170(c)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and not for lobbying (including any direct or grassroots lobbying communications that support or oppose specific legislative proposals) and (ii) will not be for the benefit of an organization that is owned, controlled or managed by, and will not be for or redound to the benefit of, any persons listed on the Specifically Designated Nationals and other blocked persons list maintained by the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) or organized or resident in a country or region subject to comprehensive U.S sanctions, and (b) neither the donor nor any of its affiliates, nor to the knowledge of the donor, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the donor, is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.
(3) A donor making a grant recommendation further represents that (a) neither the donor nor any family member¹ or affiliate will receive more than an incidental benefit² as a result of PEF making the recommended grant and (b) the recommended grant, if made by PEF, would not satisfy any legal obligation, including a pledge to make a gift, of the donor or any family member or affiliate.
(4) New York law shall govern the terms and conditions of the donor’s grant made to PEF, without regard to conflict of law provisions.

¹ A donor’s family members consist of the donor’s spouse, ancestors, siblings, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and the spouses of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
² An “incidental benefit” is a token item of tangible personal property, such as a coffee mug, key chain or similar item given by a grantee to the donor in appreciation of the donor’s funding of a grant to the grantee.

Terms and Conditions in Hebrew (תנאים והתניות)

Contact

Email:

Tel: 212-599-1260

Geoffrey Stern, President