History & Mission

The Righteous Persons Foundation is dedicated to supporting efforts that build a diverse and vibrant Jewish community in the United States.

Having been deeply moved by the experience of directing the film Schindler's List, Steven Spielberg decided to donate his portion of the film's profits to help support a flourishing and vibrant Jewish community. He consequently established the Righteous Persons Foundation in the fall of 1994.

At that time, at the edge of a new century, many in the Jewish community were optimistic about creating a true renaissance in Jewish life. The Oslo Accords had been signed a year earlier and research showing a declining Jewish population had led to calls to articulate identity in terms that were positive and relevant for a new generation of Jews. In response, the Righteous Persons Foundation decided to focus its giving on organizations and efforts working to build a Jewish community that was spiritually meaningful, Jewishly literate, and committed not only to its own transformation, but also to transforming the world.

Over a decade later, the Middle East is no longer on the brink of peace. September 11th woke up our nation to the impact of hate and terror. Events in Darfur remind us that the lessons of the Holocaust have indeed not been learned. Clearly, much work remains to be done. Yet, reasons for hopefulness still abound.

Much of our continued optimism comes from years of funding which have shown us that there is no dearth of good, passionate people committed to affecting change in the American Jewish community and in the larger world. From an educator who has impacted thousands by creating a national program based on an ancient text of Jewish values; to an activist who saved 1.5 million Yiddish books and has now digitized the entirety of Yiddish Literature; to a young journalist who launched Guilt and Pleasure, a new magazine for Jews interested in exploring their history and identity; to two graduate students (one Muslim, the other Jewish) who founded an organization to educate their respective communities about the "other" — people are working and dreaming about how to make a difference.

We have been privileged to help support many of these efforts over the years. To date, the Foundation has made grants of over $70 million. While the majority of those funds were from Mr. Spielberg's Schindler's List profits, the remaining funds have been part of an annual commitment on the part of Mr. Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw. This year, Mr. Spielberg decided to earmark his portion of the profits from his film Munich to charity. While some of those funds will be designated to support the general funding areas of the Foundation, a portion will be set aside for a Fund for Co-Existence.

For more information about the Foundation's funding, please see Funding Priorities and Grants Awarded