Family & Education
New funding campaign launched as Jewish schools face £18 million shortfall
The Vision is asking charity givers to earmark at least 20 per cent of their contributions for local Jewish education
July 10, 2025 14:55
The Vision is asking charity givers to earmark at least 20 per cent of their contributions for local Jewish education
July 10, 2025 14:55A new initiative is launching on Sunday to subsidise Orthodox Jewish schools in north-west London as they struggle to cope with rising deficits.
Called The Vision, it follows a survey of 29 local schools across the Orthodox spectrum which has revealed that their shortfalls are projected to leap from £12 million last year to a massive £18 million by the end of 2025.
Its message is simple: if members of the Jewish community can guarantee that 20 per cent of their charitable contributions go towards Jewish schooling, it should keep the schools afloat.
Many schools, The Vision’s launch statement warns, “are being forced to make painful cuts: reducing staff, limiting Jewish studies provision, and scaling back support for students with additional needs. Several schools are already at breaking point.”
Eli Katz, co-chair of the initiative, said, “This is a collective crisis.”
But the response did not involve “asking people to give more,” he explained. “It’s about giving differently. Each person retains full control of where their money goes — what unites us is the shared commitment to prioritising our schools.”
Around a decade ago, he co-founded a project called Chomesh L’Chinuch (meaning “a fifth for education”) to encourage charity-givers to earmark 20 per cent of their contributions for Jewish schools. It was adopted by a number of local synagogues at a time when the schools’ annual shortfall stood at an estimated £7 million.
He has now teamed up with another education-supporting charity Best: a charity company Delapage: and the Achisomoch Aid Company - which he co-chairs - which helps donors distribute tens of millions of pounds each year to charitable causes.
The Vision has secured the endorsement of 50 local rabbis from the United Synagogue, Federation, Sephardi and Charedi communities.
Katz said the shortfall — which will average around £400,000 a year for each school — is rising because of four government policies: the imposition of VAT on fees and the removal of business rates relief in independent schools along with the increase in employers’ national insurance and the minimum wage.
Yossi Halberstadt, trustee of the Hasmonean High Schools, said: “We are facing unprecedented financial pressure. Government funding doesn’t cover the Jewish elements of the school — it’s putting everything we stand for at risk.”
According to research done by The Vision, around £100 million is donated to charitable causes each year from the Jewish community in north-west London.
Around 10 per cent of that is thought to go to schools - which would cover just over half of the projected shortfall. If contributors redirected a further 10 per cent of their giving towards schools, that should cover the deficit.
Co-chair of The Vision, Aryeh Melinek, said, “Through early conversations with major donors and foundations, we’ve already secured over £2 million in new funds for school operations this coming year.”
Katz said one practical innovation is a new tool which will enable those using Achisomoch to track donations so they can check that they are allocating 20 per cent of their money to schools.
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