One community, one shared responsibility.
Jewish Federation of San Diego raises and allocates funds, convenes partners, and leads on the issues that matter most to our community. Our strategic roadmap organizes that work into four pillars.
The central address for Jewish San Diego.
No single organization can build a Jewish future, connect a community to Israel, protect its institutions, and care for its most vulnerable all at once. Together, we can. Federation exists to do the work that only the whole community can do, pooling resources, convening partners, and directing them where they matter most.
Our strategic roadmap organizes that work into four pillars. Each one has its own team, its own partners, and its own page. What holds them together is a single idea: that every part of Jewish life in San Diego is stronger when none of it stands alone.
Our Four Pillars
The strategic roadmap that guides every dollar, program, and partnership.
Building a Vibrant Jewish Future
Nurturing Jewish life at every stage, from a child's first Shabbat to a lifetime of leadership. Federation invests in children and families, teens, young adults, and the leaders who carry the community forward, through PJ Library and One Happy Camper, the Global Ambassador Program and Student-to-Student, Mosaic for adults 25–40, and leadership programs including the Pauline Foster Women's Leadership Institute, National Young Leadership Cabinet, JPro San Diego, and Leadership Circles. The Belonging Initiative, our flagship effort to create more ways to be part of Jewish life, runs through all of it.
Israel & Global Peoplehood
Connecting San Diego to Israel, our partnership region of Sha'ar HaNegev since 1998, and Jewish communities worldwide. Since October 7, Federation has directed more than $9.3 million to Sha'ar HaNegev ($11.4 million including the Rady Match) including the $1.75M Beit Melacha therapeutic arts center now underway. This year brought missions on four continents, nine ShinShinim placed across 19 San Diego sites, the inaugural Giborim leadership cohort, and the Gesher Project pairing our largest agencies with counterparts in Israel.
Building a Resilient and Secure Community
Safeguarding Jewish life through security, advocacy, and education. Federation distributed more than $300,000 in security grants and led roughly 250 consultations this year, and the Security Roundtable now convenes 17 Jewish organizations alongside SDPD, the Sheriff's Department, and the FBI. The Finest Community Coalition, 49 member organizations strong, has presented a strong unified Jewish community voice around significant incidents of antisemitism in San Diego. The Legacy of Light Goldberg Institute reached 3,000 students in year one, and its mobile Holocaust museum, Spark Interactive, launched in May 2026.
Caring for Jews in Need
Standing beside community members in times of crisis and vulnerability. Rabbi Ralph Dalin, our Jewish Community Chaplain, served more than 78 individuals through 246+ interactions this year, including 13 funerals and 167 volunteer visits, and arranged roughly $41,000 in donated burial plots for families who could not otherwise afford them. The New Life Club gathers 22 Holocaust survivors monthly, and more than $278,000 in targeted local grants sustains Jewish life across San Diego.
How Your Gift Works
Federation turns individual generosity into collective impact.
You Give
Thousands of donors contribute to the Annual Campaign, creating one powerful communal fund.
We Allocate
Volunteer committees study community needs and direct funds where they do the most good, locally, in Israel, and around the world.
Community Thrives
Partner agencies deliver services, programs launch, families are helped, and Jewish life in San Diego grows stronger.
Latest news
Recent stories from across all four pillars.
Be part of the work.
Whether you give, volunteer, or lead, there is a place for you in this community.
Questions? We're here.
For questions about any of our four pillars, how we allocate funds, or how to get involved, reach out to the Federation team.