The $19.5 million initiative will expand JCC Maccabi across North America and reestablish the JCC Maccabi Israel Games in 2028.
JCC Association of North America has launched the boldest expansion in the 44-year history of the JCC Maccabi Games: a four-year, $19.5-million growth initiative that will dramatically expand access for Jewish teens, deepen Jewish identity and Israel education, and position the program for long-term sustainability.
The initiative comes at a pivotal moment for Jewish communities responding to growing demand for meaningful experiences that strengthen Jewish identity, belonging and connection.
“JCC Maccabi is one of the most powerful expressions of JCC Association’s mission to strengthen Jewish identity, build community, and inspire lifelong engagement in Jewish life,” said Barak Hermann, the president and CEO of JCC Association of North America, in a press release. “As a cornerstone of our Center for Jewish Peoplehood, JCC Maccabi has shaped generations of Jewish teens through shared experiences, leadership and belonging. We’re deeply grateful to The Marcus Foundation, the Samueli Foundation, and our other philanthropic partners for making this bold vision possible for thousands more young people — and the coaches, delegation heads, families, volunteers and JCC professionals who experience JCC Maccabi alongside them.”
Further Details
With $12.45 million already committed — nearly two-thirds of the campaign goal — JCC Association has built momentum toward realizing this vision, powered by two landmark philanthropic investments that anchor the entire initiative. The Marcus Foundation is fueling the growth of JCC Maccabi across North America. Its $5-million investment will support the first two years of the initiative, helping expanding participation, strengthening Jewish and Israel educational programming, and building the organizational infrastructure needed to support the broader goal of increasing participation from approximately 2,650 to 4,000 teen athletes annually by the end of the four-year initiative.
The Samueli Foundation is bringing the Games home to Israel. Its $6.25 million commitment will make possible the return of the JCC Maccabi Israel Games in 2028 — a transformative, immersive experience that will bring together more than 1,000 Jewish teens and more than 500 coaches, delegation heads, volunteers, and JCC professionals from North America, Israel, and around the world through sport, Jewish peoplehood and direct engagement with Israel and its people.
JCC Association will partner with RootOne to enrich the experience through pre-trip educational programming and for eligible participants access to RootOne travel vouchers that help make the travel to Israel more accessible.
This summer’s JCC Maccabi Games in Kansas City and Toronto will launch this four-year growth initiative, bringing the first phase of the expanded vision to life as thousands of Jewish teens gather for one of the Jewish community’s most transformative experiences.
Since its founding in 1982, JCC Maccabi, a flagship initiative of JCC Association’s Center for Jewish Peoplehood, brings together more than 500,000 Jewish teens, coaches, host families, volunteers, and community members from North America, Israel, and around the globe through competition, community, and shared experiences of Jewish peoplehood.
The program’s effect is especially significant among teens who may otherwise have limited connection to Jewish life: 59% of JCC Maccabi teen athletes attend neither Jewish day school nor Jewish summer camp. Recent participant surveys found that 96% of athletes feel more connected to the Jewish community, 93% say being Jewish is an important part of their identity, and 91% report greater Jewish pride.
Additional Reaction
“Every summer, we see young people who love sports arrive to compete and leave with something much more enduring — a stronger sense of who they are, where they belong and a spark to seek out Jewish life,” said Samantha Cohen, the senior vice president and director of JCC Maccabi. “For over four decades, JCC Maccabi has built a community that extends far beyond the Games themselves. We’re now welcoming the children of former athletes and seeing thousands of alumni return as coaches, volunteers, professionals and lay leaders within JCC Maccabi and across the Jewish world. We’re proudly delivering on our motto: ‘Today’s Jewish athletes, tomorrow’s Jewish leaders’ — a powerful reminder that the relationships, connection, and Jewish identity fostered through JCC Maccabi endure across generations.”
Beginning with the 2026 Games, JCC Maccabi will pursue new opportunities to expand participation over the next four years, including additional host communities and college campus-based Games models with the goal of increasing the number of teen athletes from approximately 2,650 to 4,000 annually. This growth will also engage hundreds of coaches and delegation heads, along with thousands of parents, siblings, host families, volunteers and community members, extending JCC Maccabi’s reach far beyond the athletes themselves.
The initiative will establish the JCC Maccabi Israel Games, in partnership with Maccabi World Union, as a permanent, quadrennial experience beginning in 2028, creating new opportunities for Jewish teens from North America, Israel, and worldwide to connect through sport, shared experiences, and Jewish peoplehood.
Investments will expand year-round Jewish and Israel engagement opportunities; strengthen inclusion efforts, such as JCC Maccabi Access; and build the infrastructure needed for long-term sustainability.
“This is exactly the kind of investment that moves the needle — meeting teens who might otherwise have no connection to Jewish life, and giving them an experience powerful enough that they go looking for more,” said Jay Kaiman, the president of The Marcus Foundation. “JCC Maccabi’s growth, and its expanding partnerships across the Jewish communal world, make it one of the strongest gateways we have into a lifetime of Jewish engagement.”
With the initiative now underway, JCC Association will continue building philanthropic partnerships to realize its four-year vision. Together, these investments will ensure that thousands more Jewish teens experience the identity, belonging, leadership, and lifelong relationships that define JCC Maccabi.
“The opportunity to bring the JCC Maccabi Games back to Israel in 2028 beautifully weaves together four of our beliefs: that sports have a unique ability to unite people; that time spent in Israel as a young person is formative; that the imperative to invest more in proven Jewish identity-strengthening experiences for youth is huge; and the time to give generously is now,” said Lindsey Spindle, the president of the Samueli Foundation.
