ARISON FAMILY FOUNDATION

What ARISON FAMILY FOUNDATION does

The Ted Arison Family Foundation (הקרן המשפחתית על-שם תד אריסון) is a private philanthropic foundation established in the 1980s in the United States and expanded to Israel in the 1990s. Founded by Ted Arison (the late founder of Carnival Cruise Lines), the foundation is now led by Shari Arison following her father's death in 1999, with Jason Arison serving as Chairman. The foundation has contributed over 1.6 billion shekels (approximately $467 million USD) to more than 1,600 organizations across education, sport, culture, art, health, welfare, and research. The foundation is part of the broader Arison Group, which operates across 40 countries on 5 continents with approximately 27,000 employees, though the foundation itself maintains a small team of 6 employees.

The foundation's portfolio encompasses several interconnected initiatives: Good Deeds Day (an annual international day of volunteering active in 100+ countries with millions of participants), Ruach Tova (a volunteer matching nonprofit in Israel), Goodnet (a digital social platform launched in 2011), Essence of Life (an awareness and inner peace organization with radio and visitor center), and The Doing Good Model (a values-based framework comprising 13 universal human values developed in collaboration with Harvard, Thunderbird, George Mason, and Babson College). The foundation also owns commercial-adjacent ventures including Miya (water efficiency), Salt of the Earth, and Arison Investments.

The foundation's business model is centered on family-funded philanthropy. The Ted Arison Family Foundation itself does not generate commercial revenue; it receives funds from the Arison family and disburses them as grants. Revenue mechanics for the broader ecosystem include potential commercial activity from the Doing Good Model Company (established 2017), Miya, and Arison Investments, but the foundation entity is structurally non-commercial. Distribution of value occurs through grants, volunteer matching (Ruach Tova), event-based engagement (Good Deeds Day), digital platforms (Goodnet), and educational content (8 published books by Shari Arison translated into multiple languages).

Name

ARISON FAMILY FOUNDATION

Legal name

The Ted Arison Family Foundation (הקרן המשפחתית על-שם תד אריסון)

Website

https://shariarison.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Ted Arison Family Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation that has contributed over $467M to 1,600+ organizations across education, health, culture, and welfare. It operates Good Deeds Day, Ruach Tova, Goodnet platform, and the Doing Good Model values framework.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking) (BPAGAKAD), Philanthropy, Foundations & Grantmaking Advisory (FSAAADAG)

Keywords

• Philanthropic foundation
• Charitable grants
• Values-based leadership
• Community volunteer programs
• Family foundation giving

Headquarters

HQ city

Tel Aviv

HQ country

Israel

HQ region

Middle East

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Donations: The Ted Arison Family Foundation is a privately-held family fund that operates through donations. To-date, it has contributed over 1.6 billion shekels (approximately 467 million dollars) to more than 1,600 organizations across various sectors.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Ted Arison Family Foundation is a private family foundation that provides philanthropic grants to Israeli civil society organizations across education, sport, culture, art, health, welfare, and research. The foundation operates community engagement initiatives including Good Deeds Day (annual global volunteer event active in 100+ countries), Ruach Tova volunteer matching, the Goodnet digital platform, and Essence of Life awareness and inner peace programs. To-date, it has contributed over 1.6 billion shekels (approximately 467 million dollars) to more than 1,600 organizations.

Product overview

The Arison Family Foundation operates as a portfolio of interconnected values-driven initiatives rather than a unified technology product. The core offerings include The Doing Good Model (a values-based framework for businesses and organizations), Good Deeds Day (a global volunteer initiative), Goodnet (a social platform for doing good), Essence of Life (awareness and inner peace programs), and The Ted Arison Family Foundation (philanthropic giving). These products work together under the philosophy of 'Think Good, Speak Good, Do Good,' with the Doing Good Model serving as the overarching framework that integrates across all initiatives. The foundation also includes Arison Investments for values-based investing and various published books as educational products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Good Deeds Day (יום מעשים טובים): International day of volunteering and good deeds, active in 100+ countries with millions of participants annually
• Ruach Tova (רוח טובה)
• Goodnet (גודנט)
• Essence of Life / Mahuti (מהות החיים / מהותי)

Products and services

• The Ted Arison Family Foundation A private family foundation that provides philanthropic grants to organizations across education, sport, culture, art, health, welfare, and research sectors. To-date, it has contributed over 1.6 billion shekels (approximately 467 million dollars) to more than 1,600 organizations.
• Good Deeds Day An annual international day of volunteering and good deeds, active in 100+ countries with millions of participants. Individuals and organizations participate by performing good deeds according to their heart's desire.
• Goodnet A social Internet initiative and digital platform that serves as a gateway for Doing Good, connecting people and initiatives worldwide and enabling people to share their good deeds with others.
• Essence of Life An organization aimed at raising awareness and providing tools for inner peace, including Essence of Life Radio, website, and Mahuti visitors center.
• Ruach Tova A nonprofit organization that connects organizations needing volunteers with those who want to volunteer, operating Good Deeds Day in Israel.
• The Doing Good Model A values-based model for creating positive change in the world, serving as a practical daily tool for embedding 13 universal values into the hearts of people, businesses, organizations, and communities. Developed in collaboration with Harvard, Thunderbird, George Mason, and Babson College.
• Books by Shari Arison Eight books published by Shari Arison covering spirituality, business, giving, art, and children's books. Many became bestsellers in Israel and worldwide, including Birth (2009) and Activate Your Goodness (2013), translated into numerous languages.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1.6 billion shekels donated to 1,600+ organizations
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Ruach Tova (Good Spirit)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003The Ted Arison Family Foundation partnered with Ruach Tova nonprofit in 2003 and adopted it in 2007. Ruach Tova encourages volunteer spirit in Israel and connects organizations needing volunteers with those who want to volunteer.
• George Mason UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished the Endowed Professor of Doing Good Values at George Mason University, which focuses on researching and creating academic curricula around the Doing Good Model to promote values-based leadership.
• Harvard UniversityflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Harvard as part of the universities (Harvard, Thunderbird, George Mason, Babson) that helped develop and research the Doing Good Model.
• Thunderbird School of Global ManagementflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Thunderbird as one of the leading American universities collaborating on the Doing Good Model research and development.
• Babson CollegeflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Babson College as part of the academic partnership for the Doing Good Model, focusing on values-based business education.
• Matan - Investing in the CommunitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished by Shari Arison in 1998 to create a culture of giving in Israeli business community. The foundation initially led and later supported this initiative.
• Design for ChangeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnables hundreds of school children to be social entrepreneurs and engaged in their communities, part of the foundation's youth empowerment initiatives.
• GoodnetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital platform for Doing Good, expanding the circles of good online. Social internet initiative and gateway for Doing Good launched in 2011.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Rockefeller Foundation: Historic US-based private foundation with similarly large endowment, global grantmaking footprint, and ambitious cross-sector initiatives; directly comparable structure and scale of operations.
• Ford Foundation: One of the world's largest private grantmaking foundations, with comparable model of long-horizon philanthropy, multi-sector grantmaking, and global program offices; directly comparable as a private foundation driving international social impact.
• Doris Duke Charitable Foundation: Mid-sized private family foundation funding multi-sector programs; comparable in scale, governance by family heirs, and programmatic diversity to the Arison Family Foundation.
• Points of Light: Global volunteer engagement organization running large-scale service days and corporate volunteer programs; directly comparable to the foundation's Good Deeds Day and Ruach Tova operations.
• VolunteerMatch: Digital platform that connects nonprofits needing volunteers with individuals wanting to volunteer—structurally analogous to the foundation's Ruach Tova volunteer-matching initiative.
• Kresge Foundation: US private foundation with comparable grantmaking scale and focus on cross-sector national impact, including through operating programs; structurally analogous to Arison as a multi-issue private foundation.
• Bloomberg Philanthropies: Family-funded philanthropy that pairs grantmaking with operational programs across multiple sectors globally; comparable as a privately-funded multi-initiative philanthropic vehicle with strong branding.
• Open Society Foundations: Large private foundation with global grantmaking, focus on democratic values and civil society, and decentralized programs—directly comparable as a values-driven private foundation operating across many countries.
• Walton Family Foundation: US family-controlled private foundation with multi-decade track record and structured giving across defined causes; very close structural analog to the Ted Arison Family Foundation.

Emerging players

• B Lab (B Corporation): Certifies and convenes values-based businesses globally through a standards framework; closely analogous in mission to the Doing Good Model as a values-embedding framework for organizations outside Arison Group.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCzXvVJRSpFD5fvQbJAoBu0w
• Facebookfacebook.com/ShariArisonOfficial
• Instagraminstagram.com/shariarison
• Xx.com/ShariArison
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arison-family-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ARISON FAMILY FOUNDATION