New York · Nonprofit
Central Fund of Israel
Central Fund of Israel (New York) receives grants from 652 organizations whose IRS filings report $283,233,704 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($90,334,744). 352 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 61% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $97M
- Funders on record
- 652
- Grants received
- $283M
- Net assets
- $47M
What Central Fund of Israel does
Mission
Established in 1979 as a volunteer charity with the motto what you give is what you get, CFI was designed by its founders, Arthur and Hadassah Marcus, to enable one hundred percent of donations to reach charities in Israel. Over the years, CFI has received the Jerusalem Prize for volunteerism, accolades from the Chief Rabbinate, an award from PM Menachem Begin and accolades from hundreds of charities in Israel. We do not solicit or advertise. By word of mouth alone we have grown into a significant charitable force in Israel. Aiding over 400 charities and institutions each year we help the nation of Israel to thrive.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Community projects:The organization undertakes community projects which benefit the welfare of the citizens and the land of Israel. During this past year we witnessed another significant increase in Anti-Semitism in all its forms. The threats to the nation of Israel, the land of Israel, the people of Israel and the supporters of Israel all around the world continues to rise daily. All media, but particularly social media continues to see an explosion of classical Anti-Semitism and many new modern forms of hatred. Voices of demonstrations, boycotts, divestment, and even total destruction of the state and its people are heard in classrooms, university campuses, newspapers, parliments all over the world and i'm sorry to say even in the halls of congress of our majestic country. The enemies of the Jewish nation constantly search for new ways to harm us. There are many who have not given up on their dream to destroy us physically. The venom heard throughout is reminiscent of the 1930's and its disastrous consequences to humanity. CFI continues supporting those charities which are combating Anti-Semitism, the BDS movement and threats of annihilation of the Jewish people.Our community…
$52,562,414 spentof which $52,562,414 as grants59% of program spendingSocial services, humanitarian aid, aid to the poor:Helping those in need is at the core of the organization. Charity means helping those in need whether it be in education, building structures, security or medicine. Our humanitarian aid is targeted to those people in need, whether it be monetary, physical or emotional. This category includes aid to food kitchens, children at risk, aid to terror victims and their families, aid to refugees and new immigrants, special education, after school programs, womens health programs etc.Due to the war which insued after Israel was attacked on Oct 7th, 2023, the need for these social services increased by many millions of dollars as the needs were so great for refugees. The traumas from PTSD in Israel today is a major issue and we have multiple organizations dealing with this from many different angles.
$15,359,530 spentof which $15,359,530 as grants17% of program spendingSupport of educational programs and institutions: As in the past, there is a great overlap of humanitarian services as many educational programs service the humanitarian aspects of education as in scholarships and special education. There is also an overlap with community projects as there is a constant need to expand existing, and build new schools as the population increases.This category witnessed a large increase last year due to the war and this year has maintained that increased need.
$12,640,519 spentof which $12,640,519 as grants14% of program spendingSecurity ProgramsSecurity is built into every aspect of Israeli society. All programs whether they be communal, educational or religious, have security concerns as an integral part of their being. The programs included in this category refer specifically to programs involved in security.
$3,250,841 spentof which $3,250,841 as grants4% of program spendingSupport of religious institutions:Provided grants that are primarily for the support, maintenance and construction of synagogues and other religous institutions and religious programs.
$2,912,776 spentof which $2,912,776 as grants3% of program spendingMedical ServicesMedical services are a large part of community and humanitarian programs due to the war . Listed in this category would be only services who specifically deal with medical issues and maintenance and construction of medical facilities
$1,618,531 spentof which $1,618,531 as grants2% of program spending
The 6 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $88,344,611.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2019, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2019, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $26M to $39M (+49%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
98% of Central Fund of Israel’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (96% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 of the last 7 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 96 funders to 267 funders, grant income rose $12M → $50M.
89 of 652 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 61% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $10M from one payer (an institutional transfer, not a grant programme, largest Silver Valley Research Foundation). These are real filings, and they are not money Central Fund of Israel raised.
From the IRS filings of Central Fund of Israel’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 652 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
Central Fund of Israel has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 32% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
66% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund Central Fund of Israel.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 29% · 2018 27% · 2019 29% · 2020 51% · 2021 22% · 2022 46% · 2023 34% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
38% of Central Fund of Israel's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 54% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
61% of Central Fund of Israel's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $109M that is directly attributable, 73% of it comes from funders outside New York, across 30 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $173M arriving through sponsors registered in 31 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
Central Fund of Israel runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 190 international nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 190 international nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Organizations like Central Fund of Israel
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In New York
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
100% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
96%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Central Fund of Israel: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds Central Fund of Israel?
- Central Fund of Israel (New York) receives grants from 652 organizations whose IRS filings report $283,233,704 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($90,334,744). 352 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 61% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does Central Fund of Israel have?
- IRS filings report 652 organizations giving $283,233,704 in grants to Central Fund of Israel, 352 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Central Fund of Israel?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $90,334,744 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Central Fund of Israel find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2019–2025), and the filings of 652 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing