Making Camp Affordable

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outside scholarships

The Foundation for Jewish Camp maintains a database of need-based scholarships you can apply for. Please check with your congregation and your local branch of the Jewish Federations of North America.

The WRJ Southwest District has established the Soozi Waxman Camp Scholarship. It is a $1000 scholarship for a camper to attend GUCI. You can find the application here.

You may also apply for a loan through your local chapter of the International Association of Jewish Free Loans.

campership + referrals

GUCI has some scholarship funds available. Please contact the office for a copy of our Campership Application and we will send it to you once it is available.

Referral Program Is Back!: Refer a family and get an automatic $50 tuition credit when they meet with us and $100 for each camper that registers. Learn more here.

by location

We’ve done our best to compile a list of financial resources for families in our region.  This list is not meant to be exhaustive; if you are aware of other resources that are available to other families in the GUCI region, please contact us at camp and we will add them to this list (see below).

 

Cincinnati, Ohio

A first-year and second-year grant from The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati are available to all Cincinnati Jewish youth attending GUCI.

FIRST-YEAR GRANTS: A first-year grant of up to $2,250.00 will be awarded to campers who attend GUCI for a 4-week Kallah session; or, a first-year grant of up to $1,125.00 will be awarded to campers who are doing the “Taste of Garin” or “Taste of Shoresh”. If campers extend their stay at camp from two weeks to four weeks, they will be rewarded a grant for up to the additional amount.

SECOND-YEAR GRANTS: A second-year grant of up to $1,250.00 will be awarded to campers who attend GUCI for a 4-week Kallah session or $625.00 for a two week session.

In addition, all Cincinnati youth, ages 16 to 26, are eligible for two separate grants for travel to Israel. The first use of the Israel grant is $8,000, and the second use would be $6,250 for travel on an approved peer educational program. Israel travel grant applications are available online at www.cincyjourneys.org.

Louisville, Kentucky

The Jewish Community of Louisville offers several scholarship opportunities.

One Happy Camper – One Happy Camper grants are open to all Louisville-area residents under the age of 18 identifying as Jewish and attending an approved camp (GUCI is one)

First-year campers: Youth attending camp for the first time are eligible to receive up to $2,500 for a session of 19 days or more, and up to $1,500 for an 11-18-day session.

Second-year campers: Louisville campers who received a One Happy Camper grant in Summer 2021 may be eligible to receive up to $2,000 for a session of 19 days or more, and up to $1,250 for an 11-18-day session.

Third-year campers: Campers may be eligible to receive up to $1500 for a session of 19 days or more, and up to $1000 for an 11-18 day session.

You can apply for One Happy Camper grants here.

Camp Financial Assistance – If additional financial assistance is needed beyond the One Happy Camper grants, or for children past year 3 of camp, we want to help. Please note, all applications and inquiries are confidential. Funding is provided through the generosity of individual donors, the Jewish Foundation of Louisville, the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence and the Federation’s Annual campaign. Apply here. 

For additional information on financial assistance from the Jewish Community of Louisville here.

Columbus, Ohio

he Jewish Federation of Columbus offers need-based scholarships to qualified families for new and returning families.

The Israel Experience Program of the Columbus Jewish Federation offers Israel Experience grants for up to $2,000 to any teen who is a resident of Columbus & central Ohio.

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland campers are eligible for a second year of funding through One Happy Camper. Contact Helen Wolf at hwolf@jecc.org or 216-371-0449.

The Jewish Family Service Association also provides need-based scholarships for children age 10-15 who are not day school students or members of a synagogue. Please contact Lerna Chernomorets at 216.378.3478 or lchernomorets@jfsa-cleveland.org.

Indianapolis, Indiana

The Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis offers several scholarship opportunities.

One Happy Camper – The Federation in cooperation with the Foundation for Jewish Camp provides incentive grants to encourage youth in grades 3-11 to participate in Jewish overnight non-profit summer camps for 12 days or longer. Scholarships will be awarded to first time campers who are members of the greater Indianapolis Jewish community; at least one parent/guardian must be a member in good standing and contribute to the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis in the year the grant is awarded. Youth who receive an intensive Jewish experience during the school year are ineligible for the Foundation for Jewish Camp Incentive grant.

Joe and Sylvia Rothbard Family Jewish Summer Camp Program – This program provides financial need based grants to encourage youth in grades 3-12 to participate in Jewish overnight summer camps. Applicants must be members of the Greater Indianapolis Jewish community. The need-based grants are made by a committee that meets in March, and all grants are confidential. The application deadline is March 1st.

To find out more information and apply for these scholarship opportunities, check out The Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis’ scholarship page.