FAQs

If your child is a first-time camper, s/he may qualify for a community, regional, or camp co-sponsored One Happy Camper program. See community, regional, and camp-sponsored program eligibility requirements here.

Eligibility requirements are defined by your local sponsoring organization in partnership with the Foundation for Jewish Camp, but basic requirements adhered to by the majority of partners are as follows:

Campers must have never previously attended a nonprofit Jewish overnight camp for 19 consecutive days or longer (or 12 consecutive days if attending a camp in one of the 13 Western states) before applying for the grant. (Note: select programs will not allow any past camp experience). Please check with your local program provider for details.

Campers must be attending and registered for a camp listed on the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s website. Please check with your local program provider for exceptions and restrictions.

First-time campers must not currently be enrolled in a daily immersive Jewish experience like Jewish day school or yeshiva. (Some programs may have funding for day-school campers. Please contact your local provider).

For more information on your community or camp’s specific criteria, please contact your local program provider.

Apply now to find out if your child is eligible.

The PJ Library and Foundation for Jewish Camp have partnered to offer One Happy Camper incentive grants under the name PJ Goes to Camp. PJ Goes to Camp is designed to serve as an extension of The PJ Library experience, inviting PJ families to consider overnight Jewish camp. Since each child can only receive one One Happy Camper incentive grant, the PJ Goes to Camp program is available to any PJ Library family member (member, alum, or sibling) not currently being served by a community-based program (federation-sponsored program). Children fortunate to live in communities whose federation sponsors a One Happy Camper program will receive a grant from their community sponsor.

In communities that have both programs, professionals are encouraged to work together to promote One Happy Camper grants and Jewish camp in general. By working together, you can make an even bigger impact in the community.

To learn more about The PJ Library and/or the PJ Goes to Camp program, click here.

The first step is to register your child at camp. In order to be eligible for a grant, your child must be registered at a Jewish summer camp listed on the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s website. While some community and regional-based programs limit the list of eligible camps only to camps in their region, most programs allow campers to attend any camp listed on the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s website. For more information, please contact your local program provider. Once campers are registered for camp, parents should apply for the grant using our online application. Once your child’s registration at camp has been confirmed and the grant application has been approved, funds will be paid directly to the camp listed on your application and will be credited to you in the form of a tuition deduction. If you cancel your child’s registration at camp, the funds will be returned to FJC and the partnering organization.

You must register your child at an approved overnight Jewish summer camp in order to complete your online application. If you have questions about your camper’s eligibility or need help selecting an appropriate camp, please contact your program provider.

Based on the information you provide using our online application, such as where you live (zip code), your child’s grade (after camp), and school, the system will determine the program that is best suited for you.

The PJ Library PJ Goes to Camp regional program is a partnership between the Foundation for Jewish Camp and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, and offers grants to first-time campers who are members, alums, or have a sibling who is a member or alum of The PJ Library Program. For more information please contact Kirsten Gadiel, the PJ Goes to Camp coordinator, at kirsten@hgf.org or 413-439-1968.

The Foundation for Jewish Camp partners with national camp movements (such as Ramah, Young Judaea, Habonim Dror and the Union for Reform Judaism) and individual camps across North America to offer grants to children attending those specific camps. If you are planning to attend any of these camps, and do not qualify for any of the other grant programs, you may be eligible for a grant through your camp. For a list of camp and camp movement partners, click here. Important: You are not permitted to receive more than one One Happy Camper grant that the Foundation for Jewish Camp is sponsoring/co-sponsoring or is supporting in any manner.

Yes.

Yes. One Happy Camper program grants are non-needs based grants. This is not a scholarship. As such, receiving a grant does not preclude you from receiving scholarship aid from another source. To view an online directory of over 80 scholarships, please visit www.jewishcamp.org/scholarships.

Note: You are not permitted to receive more than one One Happy Camper grant that the Foundation for Jewish Camp is sponsoring/co-sponsoring or is supporting in any manner.

No. You are not permitted to receive more than one grant that the Foundation for Jewish Camp is affiliated with or supporting in any manner. This includes grants provided by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation for residents of Western Massachusetts and Southern Vermont.

There is no official deadline, but a limited number of grants are available and once they’re gone, they’re gone!  Register for camp and apply for the grant as soon as possible.

For One Happy Camper grant deadlines, please contact your local community or camp.

Please allow four to eight weeks for your child’s camp to receive confirmation of the grant approval. Once your child’s camp registration has been confirmed, starting in late spring continuing through the summer, funding will be sent directly to the camp.

To track the status of your grant, return to the application log-in page, sign in, and click the "Check Application Status" link.

There are a number of Jewish camps with programs for children with special needs. The full list is available on the Foundation for Jewish Camp's website.

The JWest Campership Program, sponsored by the Jim Joseph Foundation, provided grants to first-time campers in the 13 Western US states between 2008-2011. The program will continue to fund returning campers who were previously part of the program.

If your child is a first-time camper from the Western US, there are community or camp co-sponsored One Happy Camper programs for which your camper may qualify.

Send them to www.onehappycamper.org to learn more about a grant program that may be available in their area, and to apply for a grant.

If you are interested in bringing a grant program to your camp or community, please contact Seth Cohen at seth@jewishcamp.org.

If you have more questions, please contact the person administering your community or camp program. If you live in a community that is not listed or your camp is not co-sponsoring a One Happy Camper program, please contact us at the Foundation for Jewish Camp: campgrants@jewishcamp.org.