Rashi Foundation

The Rashi Foundation is an independent, private philanthropic foundation dedicated to assisting the underprivileged in Israel, particularly children and youth. We focus on the geographic and social periphery and on education and welfare solutions that create opportunities and advance social mobility. The Foundation was established by Gustave Leven (1914-2008), a French-Jewish businessman who came from a family strongly ingrained in philanthropic tradition and culture, and whose experience during WW2 was a key factor in his focusing on Israel. We have been working since 1984 to realize Gustave's vision of a stable and prosperous Israel that draws its strength from a society in which every individual has an equal opportunity to realize his or her full potential. After starting out as a typical grant-making foundation, Rashi has gradually evolved into a social entrepreneur that identifies needs and responds by initiating and building innovative education and welfare solutions. In the next stage, we developed our unique form of venture philanthropy further by going into direct operation of programs through affiliate associations, and by creating an extensive network of partnerships with other philanthropies, as well as with government agencies. This approach allowed us to increase greatly the scope of our work while remaining highly attuned to the field and responsive to its needs. In 2012, the Rashi Foundation was the first organization to recieve the Presidential Medal of Distinction for its contribution to Israeli society.