American Jewish World Service

What American Jewish World Service does

American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1985 in Boston and now headquartered at 45 West 36th Street, New York. It is the leading Jewish organization dedicated exclusively to fighting poverty and pursuing human rights in the developing world, operating across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Its programmatic model rests on three pillars: grantmaking to nearly 500 grassroots organizations across 19 countries, accompaniment and capacity-building of those grantees, and U.S. advocacy targeting Congress and the executive branch to advance laws and policies that benefit marginalized communities. Since founding, AJWS has invested more than half a billion dollars in advancing human rights globally and has supported outcome milestones such as Senegal's ban on female genital cutting, India's Supreme Court rulings on Triple Talaq and Section 377, and more than $400 million in new international food aid via the Reverse Hunger campaign.

AJWS generates revenue through individual donations (one-time and recurring monthly gifts at suggested tiers ranging from $18 to $1,080, plus Donor Advised Fund contributions) and institutional giving from foundations. It employs 251–500 staff and is governed by a Board of Trustees with no parent company, private equity owner, or institutional investor. The organization does not sell a product or service; its "products" are grants, capacity-building, and policy advocacy delivered free of charge to beneficiary organizations and communities. Its technology stack is conventional nonprofit infrastructure (Salesforce for CRM, Fundraise Up and Jackson River Springboard for donation/advocacy forms, Mobile Commons for SMS, Google and Meta for analytics and social, WordPress for web), with no proprietary software, API, or AI/ML capabilities disclosed.

The organization's go-to-market is relationship-driven rather than transactional: it mobilizes American Jewish donors, rabbis, and young professionals through its website (ajws.org and act.ajws.org), email, social media, an annual Policy Summit, galas, the Global Circle young professionals network, the Global Justice Fellowship for rabbis, and group travel programs. Distribution of programmatic services is conducted through in-country experts working directly with grantee organizations, supplemented by U.S. policy advocacy channels.

Name

American Jewish World Service

Legal name

American Jewish World Service

Website

https://ajws.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds, accompanies, and advocates for nearly 500 grassroots human rights organizations across 19 developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Human Rights Grantmaking and Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Management Services (8741), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Official Development Assistance (ODA) Program Management (BPADAOAC)

Keywords

• International human rights
• Humanitarian grantmaking
• Global poverty alleviation
• Grassroots capacity building
• Social justice advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Monica

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: AJWS raises funds from individual donors through its website (act.ajws.org), phone, email, and mail. Donors can give one-time or recurring monthly gifts at various suggested amounts ($54, $72, $108, $360, $540, $1080 for one-time; $18, $36, $126, $180, $324 for monthly), and can donate from Donor Advised Funds.
2. Institutional Giving: AJWS receives grants and contributions from foundations and institutional donors. Since founding in 1985, AJWS has invested more than half a billion dollars in advancing human rights. Margo Bloom oversees fundraising strategy supporting more than 450 social change grantees in 19 developing nations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

AJWS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds, accompanies, and advocates for grassroots human rights organizations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. It provides financial grants to nearly 500 social change organizations across 19 developing nations, builds their capacity through accompaniment, and lobbies the U.S. Congress and executive branch to advance policies that promote human rights for marginalized communities.

Product overview

American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is a nonprofit humanitarian organization, not a technology product company. AJWS operates as a grantmaking foundation and advocacy organization that funds grassroots human rights organizations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. AJWS does not offer technology products or software services—their core offering consists of grant programs, advocacy initiatives, humanitarian response efforts, and volunteer/travel programs. AJWS supports approximately 500 grassroots organizations through funding, capacity building, and policy advocacy rather than through technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individual Donation Program Charitable giving program enabling individual donors to make one-time or recurring monthly contributions to support AJWS's global human rights grantmaking. Donors can choose suggested gift amounts or give custom amounts, and can opt to cover processing fees.
• Donor Advised Fund (DAF) Giving

Quantifiable outcome

• Since founding in 1985, AJWS has invested more than $500 million in advancing human rights globally.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered notable.

• Save Darfur CoalitionnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerAJWS co-founded the Save Darfur Coalition in 2004 and organized national anti-genocide rallies in Washington, D.C. and throughout the country in 2006 to raise awareness about the Darfur genocide.
• InterActionnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 1991, AJWS President Andrew Griffel was elected to the Executive Committee of InterAction, a consortium of over a hundred international humanitarian organizations.
• UN World Food Program / Volcani Center (Israeli scientists)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 1988, AJWS partnered with Israeli scientists at the Volcani Center to develop technology and methods for safe grain storage, which were then adopted by the UN World Food Program.
• Y'en a MarrenotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerSince 2011, AJWS partner organization Y'en a Marre has been working to save Senegal's democracy, and in 2024 began saving lives as well as a political refugee support organization.
• Open Society FoundationsnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerAJWS has collaborated with Open Society Foundations on shared human rights goals, including Shari Turitz's prior role as director of programs for OSF's Public Health Program before joining AJWS.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• MADRE: Smaller feminist human rights organization that partners with grassroots women's groups in conflict-affected regions. Directly comparable mission and grassroots-partner model to AJWS, though at significantly smaller scale.

Direct peers

• Oxfam America: Major international development and human rights NGO with grantmaking, advocacy, and a U.S. donor base. AJWS's incoming CEO Tawanda Mutasah served as Oxfam America's VP of Global Partnerships, indicating direct organizational adjacency.
• Mercy Corps: Global humanitarian organization operating across multiple continents with emergency response and long-term development programming. Comparable scale, geographic reach, and dual grantmaking/advocacy approach to AJWS.
• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC): The other major American Jewish international humanitarian organization. Like AJWS, JDC operates globally with a Jewish-values-driven donor base, though it focuses more on Jewish community welfare and disaster response than on grassroots human rights grantmaking.
• International Rescue Committee (IRC): Leading humanitarian organization responding to the world's worst crises. Overlapping geographic footprint (Haiti, Africa, Asia) and similar programmatic areas including women's rights and civil society support.
• HIAS: Jewish-founded refugee resettlement and human rights organization with global operations and a U.S. advocacy footprint. Highly comparable constituency model and overlapping programmatic areas (LGBT rights, refugee protection, civil society support).
• New Israel Fund: Progressive Jewish grantmaking organization supporting civil society and human rights organizations. Shares AJWS's grantmaking model and Jewish-values constituency, though focused on Israel rather than the developing world.
• American Friends Service Committee (AFSC): Quaker-founded international humanitarian and human rights organization with similar grantmaking-plus-advocacy model, supporting grassroots organizations globally. Functions as the structural analogue to AJWS within a different faith constituency.

Broad incumbents

• Catholic Relief Services (CRS): Large faith-based international humanitarian organization with similar grantmaking-plus-advocacy model. CRS is structurally analogous to AJWS as a values-driven international development organization, though significantly larger and with Catholic rather than Jewish constituency.
• American Jewish Committee (AJC): Larger Jewish advocacy organization with significant global human rights programming. Shares the Jewish-constituency donor base with AJWS and overlaps on issues like global LGBT rights and Israel-related advocacy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ajwstv
• Facebookfacebook.com/AJWSLosAngeles
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-jewish-world-service
• Instagraminstagram.com/americanjewishworldservice
• Xx.com/ajws

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about American Jewish World Service