Houston Jewish Community Foundation

What Houston Jewish Community Foundation does

Houston Jewish Community Foundation (HJCF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community foundation established in 1985 in Houston, Texas, that partners with individuals, families, and organizations to facilitate strategic, tax-advantaged charitable giving primarily within the Greater Houston Jewish community. Its core product is the Donor Advised Fund (DAF), with a $2,500 minimum to establish and a 1% annual administrative fee on the first $500,000 in assets (reduced above that threshold, with a $200 minimum annual fee). The foundation supplements DAFs with Legacy Funds (estate-planned giving), Designated Funds, and Agency Funds (endowment vehicles for nonprofits), and runs an annual competitive community grants program that awarded $227,000 to 30 organizations in 2024.

HJCF's operating infrastructure is built on third-party technology integrations rather than proprietary platforms. Donor-facing services run through Blackbaud DonorCentral (hjcf.donorcentral.com); investment management is outsourced to Fiducient Advisors, which offers five portfolio pools (Index, Growth, Aggressive Growth, Conservative, and Cash Management); donations and event registration are processed via 4agc (4aGoodCause); and educational video content is hosted on Vimeo. The foundation is led by Executive Director Roberta Herman Dietrich (in role since 2007) with a small staff of 1–10 employees, and it operates as an affiliate of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston. In 2025, HJCF marked its 40th anniversary with The Joys of Giving Celebration, and its executive director received the Hans Mayer Jewish Communal Professional Award.

The business model is essentially community-led philanthropy intermediation: revenue derives from recurring administrative fees on DAF assets, while go-to-market relies on a professional advisor referral network (with a dedicated Professional Advisors Committee and quarterly Lunch and Learn programming), direct donor cultivation via events (ENCORE! Donor Thank You Celebrations), and organic social media presence. Forward-looking activity includes the Support for Israel Fund (launched with the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, channeling $5M+ in recommendations to Israeli humanitarian partners) and the Parkans College Scholarship administered with Jewish Family Service. No AI/ML capabilities, acquisitions, funding rounds, or geographic expansion beyond the Greater Houston area are evident.

Name

Houston Jewish Community Foundation

Legal name

Houston Jewish Community Foundation

Website

https://hjcf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Houston Jewish Community Foundation is a 40-year-old Houston-based 501(c)(3) community foundation that manages Donor Advised Funds, Legacy Funds, and competitive grants for individual donors, families, and nonprofit organizations in the Greater Houston Jewish community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

Keywords

• Donor advised funds
• Charitable giving services
• Community foundation services
• Philanthropic fund management
• Planned giving programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Administrative Fees on Donor Advised Funds: The foundation generates revenue through annual administrative fees charged on Donor Advised Fund assets. An administrative fee of 1% per annum is assessed on the first $500,000 in assets, with reduced fees on assets above $500,000, and a minimum annual administrative fee of $200 applies to most funds.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Houston Jewish Community Foundation operates as a nonprofit community foundation that helps individuals, families, and organizations establish and manage charitable giving vehicles — primarily Donor Advised Funds, Legacy Funds, Designated Funds, and Agency Funds. It invests fund assets in partnership with Fiducient Advisors, processes grant recommendations to qualified charities, and awards competitive community grants to nonprofit organizations serving the Greater Houston Jewish community.

Product overview

Houston Jewish Community Foundation operates as a philanthropic foundation offering a family of charitable fund vehicles rather than a single unified software product. Its core offerings center on Donor Advised Funds — the primary product — supplemented by Legacy Funds (planned giving), Designated Funds, and Agency Funds. All fund types are managed through a common infrastructure including investment management via Fiducient Advisors (offering five portfolio options) and an online donor portal. HJCF also runs a competitive community grants program awarding annual funding to nonprofit organizations, and it administers specific initiatives including the Parkans College Scholarship and the Support for Israel Fund. The foundation provides professional advisor services and uses third-party platforms including Blackbaud DonorCentral (donor portal), 4agc (donations and events), and Vimeo (video content).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Donor Advised Fund

Quantifiable outcome

• $5,093,308 in Israel crisis support recommendations distributed to fundholders
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 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

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Jewish Federation of Greater HoustoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Jewish Federation of Greater Houston to coordinate Israel crisis support, including the Support for Israel Fund. HJCF fundholders can make grants to the Federation's Support for Israel Fund. HJCF's affiliate organization.
• Fiducient AdvisorscoreTechnology or IntegrationInvestment committee partnered with Fiducient Advisors to manage multiple investment options for fund holders. Provides four diversified portfolio options: Index Pool, Growth Pool, Aggressive Growth Pool, Conservative Pool, and Cash Management Pool.
• American Joint Distribution CommitteeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational Jewish humanitarian organization receiving HJCF fundholder recommendations for Israel crisis support and general humanitarian programs.
• American Friends of Magen David AdomminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmergency medical organization receiving HJCF fundholder recommendations for Israel crisis support.
• Friends of United HatzalahminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmergency response organization receiving HJCF fundholder recommendations for Israel crisis support.
• Jewish Agency for IsraelminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational organization facilitating connections between Jewish communities, receiving HJCF fundholder recommendations for Israel programming.
• American Friends of Soroka Medical CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical center in Israel receiving HJCF fundholder recommendations for healthcare support.
• American Friends of Leket IsraelminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood rescue and nutrition organization in Israel receiving HJCF fundholder recommendations.
• ZAKA Search and RescueminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIsraeli emergency response organization receiving HJCF fundholder recommendations for search and rescue operations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Fidelity Charitable: The largest DAF sponsor in the US with national brand and scale. Competes with HJCF for the same donor-advised-fund wallet share, especially when local professional advisors default to a national platform for HNW clients.
• Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP): Large Jewish federation serving Greater Boston with an integrated foundation offering DAFs and endowment services. Comparable community foundation model within a Jewish communal framework, though at materially larger scale.
• Jewish Federation of Greater Houston: HJCF's direct affiliate and parent ecosystem organization; operates the broader Federation fundraising and programming apparatus while HJCF specializes in structured giving vehicles. Highly comparable on mission, geographic focus, and donor base.
• National Philanthropic Trust: Independent national DAF sponsor serving donors across the US. Comparable DAF product offering and competes for the same Houston HNW donor segment with broader investment menu.
• Schwab Charitable: Second-largest national DAF sponsor; offers low-fee donor-advised funds with integrated brokerage distribution. Direct competitor for DAF establishment decisions by Houston-based financial advisors.
• Vanguard Charitable: National low-cost DAF sponsor affiliated with Vanguard; competes with HJCF for cost-sensitive DAF donors in the Houston market via Vanguard's investment advisor relationships.

Direct peers

• Jewish Foundation of Greater Philadelphia: Regional Jewish community foundation operating DAFs, legacy giving, and competitive grant cycles; closely comparable in mission, structure, and product mix to HJCF though in a larger market.
• Greater Houston Community Foundation: The dominant secular community foundation serving Greater Houston; operates DAFs and competitive grants with similar target market (Houston HNW donors) but without the Jewish-community specialization.
• Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego: Jewish community foundation offering DAFs, legacy planning, and competitive grants in a single metro. Closest direct analog to HJCF on product mix and operational scale.
• Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Hartford: Mid-sized Jewish community foundation offering DAFs, legacy giving, and competitive community grants in a single metro. Directly comparable to HJCF on product suite, organizational scale, and target donor segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/houstonjewishfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/houston-jewish-community-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/houstonjewishfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Houston Jewish Community Foundation