P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds

What P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds does

P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, Inc. (PEF) is a 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 1922 by Justice Louis Brandeis, Rabbi Stephen Wise, and Robert Szold to enable US donors to make tax-deductible contributions to approved Israeli charities (amutot). Headquartered in New York with a lockbox operation in Newark, Delaware, the organization is run by approximately five paid staff plus volunteers and operates with a roughly 2% overhead ratio funded by administrative charges on endowed funds rather than deductions from regular gifts. PEF serves two primary constituencies: US individual donors and foundations seeking a tax-advantaged cross-border giving vehicle, and Israeli charities seeking access to US philanthropic dollars disbursed in NIS.

PEF's product surface combines a donor-advised fund recommendation engine with a multi-channel donation processing stack (checks via Deluxe lockbox, wire/ACH transfers, credit cards via Stripe with CauseMatch integration, and stock transfers) and a weekly grant issuance workflow that converts USD contributions to NIS and delivers them to charity bank accounts via Clearshift on the MASAV direct deposit system. Supporting infrastructure includes a searchable database of over 1,000 approved Israeli charities, an online ledger and dashboard for charity account holders, a WordPress-based website built by Sabramedia, and a new state-of-the-art portal being rolled out in 2026 to replace the legacy granting platform. The organization does not charge donors processing fees on regular contributions and covers overhead through an administrative charge on endowed funds and special contributions.

Historically, PEF has distributed over $2 billion in grants since founding, with $69 million disbursed in 2013 alone. Recent activity has been punctuated by the October 2023 launch of a $1 million PEF Emergency Fund following the October 7 attacks, the 2020 co-creation of the Ogen Social Loan Fund for COVID-impacted Israeli nonprofits, and the 2018 introduction of credit card donation processing via Stripe. Key partners include Clearshift (Israeli disbursement), CauseMatch and Stripe (US credit card processing), Deluxe (lockbox), Sabramedia (web platform), and major donor foundations such as the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

Name

P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds

Legal name

P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, Inc.

Website

https://pefisrael.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1922

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds (PEF) is a 501(c)(3) public charity, founded in 1922, that operates a donor-advised giving platform enabling US donors to make tax-deductible contributions to over 1,000 approved Israeli charities with weekly grant disbursement in NIS.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Donor-Advised Fund and Charitable Grant Administration

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAKAE

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Philanthropy, Foundations & Grantmaking

SECONDARYBPAGAKAH

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Philanthropy, Foundations & Grantmaking

SECONDARYFSAEAKAH

Charitable Giving & Philanthropic Trust Advisory

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Fiduciary, Trust & Estate Advisory

SECONDARYBPADAOAB

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors)

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Donor Coordination, Grantmaking & Development Finance Programs

Keywords

• Donor-advised fund services
• Charitable grant administration
• Nonprofit fundraising platform
• International philanthropy services
• Israel charity giving

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Administrative Charges on Endowed Funds: PEF covers overhead (approximately 2% of grants) through administrative charges on endowed funds and special contributions. No administrative deduction is made from regular contributions.
2. Grant Processing Services: As a public charity, PEF facilitates donor-advised grants to Israeli charities. The organization does not charge donors fees for processing regular gifts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, Inc. is a US 501(c)(3) public charity that accepts tax-deductible contributions from US donors and foundations, retains full discretion over fund allocation, and processes weekly grants in NIS to a curated list of over 1,000 approved Israeli charities (amutot) via direct deposit. The platform supports multiple donation channels including check, wire/ACH, credit card (via Stripe/CauseMatch), and stock, while offering a donor-advised fund service, an online charity database and search, and charity account portals for ledger access.

Product overview

P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds operates a unified philanthropy platform enabling US donors to make tax-deductible contributions to Israeli charities. The core offering combines a multi-channel donation processing system (accepting checks, wire/ACH, credit cards, and stock), a searchable database of over 1,000 approved Israeli charities (amutot), a weekly grant issuance system with direct deposit to beneficiaries in NIS, and online account portals for both donors and charities. The platform is built on WordPress with internal systems for ledger management and charity registration. PEF charges approximately 2% overhead on grants, with no administrative deduction from regular contributions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Service
• Multi-Channel Donation Processing
• Weekly Grant Management and MASAV Disbursement
• PEF Charity Database and Search
• Charity Online Account Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $2 billion in grants distributed since 1922
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CauseMatchcoreTechnology or IntegrationOnline fundraising platform enabling credit card donations through PEF gateway. Integrates with Stripe for payment processing. Sends bulk payments weekly to PEF.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment gateway hosting credit card processing with specially discounted rates for 501(c)(3) organizations: 2.2% + 30 cents for non-AmEx, 3.5% for AmEx.
• Deluxe Financial ServicescoreTechnology or IntegrationLockbox processing service for check donations at Newark, DE facility. Upgraded from prior Philadelphia office handling.
• Ogen Social Loan FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPEF participated in creation of Ogen Social Loan Fund for Israeli nonprofits affected by coronavirus crisis. Ogen is PEF's first not-for-profit social bank.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America: Hadassah is a US-based public charity channeling member and donor contributions to Israeli institutions (hospitals, schools, youth programs). Comparable as a donor-advised US-to-Israel grantmaking organization with similar overhead-recovery economics.
• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC): JDC is a 501(c)(3) public charity with a near-identical mission: facilitating US donor support for Jewish communities globally, including Israel. Operates a parallel donor-advised grantmaking model with similar overhead economics and beneficiary vetting infrastructure.
• New Israel Fund: New Israel Fund is a US-based public charity that makes grants to Israeli civil society organizations, with a donor-advised component. Directly comparable as a US-to-Israel grantmaking intermediary serving similar donor and beneficiary populations.
• Jewish National Fund (JNF-USA): JNF-USA is a public charity that channels US donor contributions to Israeli projects and institutions. Directly comparable as a US-based Jewish grantmaking intermediary with similar donor base and Israel-focused giving programs.
• The Jewish Agency for Israel: Jewish Agency operates as an international grantmaking and program-delivery organization connecting diaspora donors to Israeli causes. Comparable in cross-border grantmaking flow, donor-advised features, and US-to-Israel mission orientation.
• American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: AFIPO is a US 501(c)(3) supporting Israeli cultural institutions via donor-advised giving. Directly comparable in mission, structure, and donor base to PEF as a niche US-to-Israel intermediary.
• American Friends of Magen David Adom: AFMDA is a US 501(c)(3) that raises funds for Israeli humanitarian causes through donor-advised giving. Operates in the same US-to-Israel philanthropic corridor with similar donor bases and gift-processing infrastructure.

Emerging players

• Fidelity Charitable: Fidelity Charitable is the largest US donor-advised fund sponsor and increasingly facilitates grants to international and Israeli charities directly. Represents a structural disintermediation risk for niche intermediaries like PEF as DAF sponsors expand permissible international grantmaking.
• National Philanthropic Trust: NPT is a major US donor-advised fund sponsor that enables giving to international and Israeli causes. Represents a competing infrastructure for US philanthropists seeking tax-advantaged cross-border giving, with growing coverage of Israeli recipient charities.

Broad incumbents

• Jewish Federation of North America: Jewish Federation is a broad umbrella federation system aggregating donor contributions across hundreds of communities and dispatching grants to Israeli and Jewish organizations globally. Serves overlapping donor populations and competes for the same philanthropic dollars, though with a broader community-based structure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pefisrael
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/p-e-f-israel-endowment-funds-inc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds