New Jersey

Since laying roots in New Jersey as a young businessman, Russ felt tremendous gratitude towards his home state. He continually sought to improve the quality of life in New Jersey by supporting major cultural, educational and medical institutions and by celebrating everyday individuals transforming their communities through civic action. Our foundation has invested in institutions such as Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, Holy Name Medical Center, and helped to address food insecurity during the COVID pandemic by funding the Community Food Bank of New Jersey.  Our substantial investments to help ensure a thriving Jewish community in Northern New Jersey  include ongoing support of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, support for the Jewish Home’s Second Century Campaign, and the Berrie Fellows Leadership Program, which galvanized the next generation of Jewish community leaders by building their skills and deepening their knowledge of Jewish text and values. To learn more about the Russ Berrie Making a Difference Awards, which shine a spotlight on the state’s most extraordinary unsung heroes, please click here.

Selected Recent Grants

Unity Health Partnership To enable uninsured and underinsured people and families access a coordinated set of health and social services in one convenient location, including a supermarket-style food pantry, top-quality health and diabetes care, behavioral and mental health services, and coordinated social services.

Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey To support this cornerstone philanthropy in its efforts to build a strong, collaborative, caring and vibrant Jewish community in northern New Jersey, Israel and abroad, and to deliver programming shaped by data to meet the needs of the region’s Jewish residents.

Liberty ARC Health Space 2030 To support a collaboration between Liberty Science Center’s SciTech Scity and Israel’s Sheba Medical Center that will connect Israeli start-up and health companies with New Jersey businesses, hospitals and academic institutions, thereby generating economic development and heath care innovations within New Jersey.

Russ Berrie Making a Difference Award To honor New Jersey’s most exceptional unsung heroes by publicly recognizing their efforts to transform their communities and bestowing them with cash prizes of up to $50,000.  

Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation To engage a cohort of forward-thinking Rabbinic leaders in relationship‐driven Jewish community building and fostering a culture of innovation, inclusivity, and collaboration within Bergen County, while changing the role of local rabbis as community connectors who help to deepen people’s engagement in Jewish life. 

Jewish Home Foundation of North Jersey To expand and renovate the Rehabilitation Care and short- and long-term nursing senior care space at the Russ Berrie Jewish Home for Senior Living in order to continue providing optimal care and support for the older adults they serve and their families.

Moishe House To pilot a program in which part‐time rabbis who are not based in synagogues work to forge relationships and build community that helps to create a pathway for young adults and families in Northern New Jersey to find the right home for their continued Jewish spiritual connection and growth needs.