UJIA (United Jewish Israel Appeal): what they fund and how to apply

Funder Last checked 11 July 2026

"UJIA (United Jewish Israel Appeal) is a UK Jewish charity that connects young British Jews with Israel through education, Israel trips and gap-year programmes, and supports disadvantaged communities in Israel. It is not an open grant-maker for general UK charities; it funds its own programmes and specific partners."

What UJIA does and funds

UJIA’s stated mission is to inspire young Jews to forge their own relationship with Israel. In the UK, it develops the informal Jewish education sector, working with the youth movements and the Union of Jewish Students, and sends young people to Israel on rite-of-passage programmes such as Israel Tour, gap years and Birthright. In Israel, its work focuses on reducing disadvantage and increasing social mobility for the most disadvantaged communities — access to education, vocational training, employment and support for children at risk, chiefly in the Galilee.

UJIA also runs Si3, a social impact initiative that invests in projects in Israel, and it ran an emergency appeal following October 2023. Most of this money flows into UJIA’s own programmes and to named partners, not to open external applicants.

How much you can apply for

UJIA does not operate a standing open grants programme for the general charity sector, so there is no published grant range for external applicants. When it has launched time-limited funds for UK Jewish-community organisations in the past, awards have been modest — reported in the low thousands to around £10,000 per project — but these are occasional and specific. Treat any figure as indicative only.

Who can apply

General UK charities cannot apply to UJIA for a grant. Its funding is directed at: young British Jews taking part in its programmes (through financial assistance); UK Jewish-community organisations, but only when a specific fund is open; and projects and partners in Israel. If your work sits outside the UK Jewish community or its connection with Israel, UJIA is not a match.

Deadlines and rounds

There is no continuous open application round. Individual financial assistance (for example gap-year and Israel-trip support) follows the timetable of the relevant programme or youth movement. Any organisational fund is time-limited and announced by UJIA when it opens. There is no fixed annual deadline to plan around.

How to apply

For individual financial assistance, apply through your youth movement or the specific UJIA programme; see the Financial Assistance and Gap Year Scholars pages on ujia.org for current schemes and rules. For organisations, there is no open route — monitor ujia.org and UJIA’s communications for any time-limited fund, or contact UJIA directly to register interest. For projects in Israel, Si3 has its own process at si3.ujia.org.

Tips

  • Check first whether your work genuinely fits UJIA’s remit — young British Jews and Israel, or disadvantage in Israel. If not, look elsewhere.
  • For trips and gap years, apply through your youth movement; that is usually the correct route, not a direct approach to UJIA.
  • Do not assume an open grants scheme exists — confirm a fund is actually open before spending time on a proposal.
  • Israel-based project? Si3 (loans and equity) is a separate track from any UK grant activity.

Official source and last updated

Last updated: July 2026. Primary source: ujia.org and the Charity Commission register (charity no. 1060078). Always confirm current details on UJIA’s own site before applying.

Recent grants

[Theme renders recent grants automatically from 360Giving data where available — do not hand-write.]

Similar funders

  • Jewish Youth Fund — grants and loans for Jewish youth organisations in Great Britain (no CharityIQ funder profile at time of writing).
  • World Jewish Relief — UK Jewish humanitarian charity (no CharityIQ funder profile at time of writing).
  • Pears Foundation — UK foundation with Jewish community and Israel interests (no CharityIQ funder profile at time of writing).

Check if your charity is eligible for funders like this — CharityIQ’s free Grant Finder matches your charity to real, published UK funders and cites the source for each. → /grant-finder/

Frequently asked questions

No. UJIA is a fundraising and delivery charity, not an open grant-maker for the wider charity sector. It runs its own programmes and supports specific Jewish-community partners. It has occasionally opened time-limited funds for organisations serving the UK Jewish community, but there is no standing open grants scheme for general charities.

UJIA connects young British Jews with Israel. It develops the informal Jewish education sector with the youth movements and the Union of Jewish Students, sends young people to Israel on Israel Tour, gap years and Birthright, and funds work in Israel that reduces disadvantage and supports at-risk children and families, chiefly in the Galilee.

Yes, through financial assistance for young people taking part in its programmes. This includes Gap Year Scholars and Israel trip subsidies, usually applied for through a youth movement or the relevant programme rather than directly. Check ujia.org for current schemes, amounts and eligibility. [VERIFY: exact subsidy amounts and rules on ujia.org]

UJIA raises funds from the UK Jewish community through donations, events, appeals and legacies. For the year to 30 September 2024, the Charity Commission register shows total income of £12.80m and total expenditure of £11.32m, of which £9.74m was spent on charitable activities.

Si3 is UJIA's social impact initiative, which invests in projects in Israel through repayable finance rather than grants — investments must be repaid so the capital can be recycled into new projects — supporting education, employment and community development. It is aimed at organisations in Israel, not UK charities. Si3 is currently open for applications (Cycle 6, as at 11 July 2026), but this is a separate, Israel-focused investment track, not a UK grants programme. See si3.ujia.org.