The Chicago Jewish community has, over nearly a decade, used a highly successful method of funding in support of more than a dozen local day schools. Under Chicago’s “front-loading” model, large donors are asked to make pledges of designated sums up front, which can then be used as collateral for bank loans to support major projects. The model continues to sustain Jewish education, providing a total of some $14 million since 2006 through an endowment known as the Jewish Day School Guaranty Trust Fund. This amount supplements funding from other sources, designated for administrative and infrastructure-building needs, within the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.
In 2015, the Jewish Day School Guaranty Trust Fund benefited 16 schools, representing several denominations and educational philosophies.
Joan Dachs Bais Yaakov/Yeshivas Tiferes Tzvi, established in 1959, is an Orthodox school that has graduated thousands of distinguished alumni, many of whom now work in community service careers and in the rabbinate. The Solomon Schechter Day School of Metropolitan Chicago, working with a Conservative religious orientation, serves families of all backgrounds, including the unaffiliated. Its prekindergarten through eighth-grade curriculum focuses on producing well-rounded individuals committed to their communities and possessing a full complement of 21st-century skills. And Therapeutic Day School, part of Chicago’s Jewish Child and Family Services, works to offer a high-quality, immersive educational experience to children with behavioral and emotional challenges.
These three institutions represent the full range of programs that benefit from the vigorous support of the Jewish Day School Guaranty Trust Fund.
In 2015, the Jewish Day School Guaranty Trust Fund benefited 16 schools, representing several denominations and educational philosophies.
Joan Dachs Bais Yaakov/Yeshivas Tiferes Tzvi, established in 1959, is an Orthodox school that has graduated thousands of distinguished alumni, many of whom now work in community service careers and in the rabbinate. The Solomon Schechter Day School of Metropolitan Chicago, working with a Conservative religious orientation, serves families of all backgrounds, including the unaffiliated. Its prekindergarten through eighth-grade curriculum focuses on producing well-rounded individuals committed to their communities and possessing a full complement of 21st-century skills. And Therapeutic Day School, part of Chicago’s Jewish Child and Family Services, works to offer a high-quality, immersive educational experience to children with behavioral and emotional challenges.
These three institutions represent the full range of programs that benefit from the vigorous support of the Jewish Day School Guaranty Trust Fund.