Like the familiar blue passports used by travelers, the Passport to Jewish Life opens the doors to new and exciting Jewish educational destinations - such as Jewish summer camp, congregation-based religious/Hebrew school, Jewish teen leadership programs like TALIT, and USY/NFTY conferences, as well as Israel experiences!  Passports are granted on the basis of both merit and need.  Please read through the eligibility and financial guidelines below, then proceed to the next page via the link at the bottom of this page.

Age Eligibility: 
* Rising 4th graders (for religious school and summer camp) through age 22.

Eligible Programs:
* Congregation-based religious/Hebrew school
* Jewish summer camp (day camp or overnight camp)
* Bureau of Jewish Education teen programs (TALIT Nation, TIES)
* Israel study programs (gap year, summer, etc.) including the TVT Poland-Israel Trip
* Panim el Panim, USY Conference, NFTY Convention
* Maccabi Games and Maccabi ArtsFest

Please note that Passport grants cannot be used for Jewish day school tuition.  Please apply directly to your Jewish day school.

Passport Financial Parameters:
* Rising 4th graders are limited to a request for $300
* Applicants for Maccabi Games and ArtsFest in the USA are limited to a request for $300. 
* For Maccabi trips abroad, up to $1,000 can be requested.
* There is a lifetime cap of $1,000 per applicant for all programs except congregation-based religious school and TALIT Nation.  Therefore, if an applicant receives $500 this year and $500 next year for summer camp (for example), they have no further eligibility for camp, Maccabi or Israel programs - but they can still apply for congregation-based religious school and/or TALIT Nation.

In addition, please note that you MUST apply first to your program provider (camp, congregation, JCC, etc.) for their own scholarship program.  You do not need to have received an answer from them when you apply for Passport, but you must be able to show that you have applied for support from your program provider. 

In addition to the Passport program, a limited number of Cohen Grants for College Students are available (maximum grant: $500).   Cohen Grants can be utilized toward tuition, student housing or books/supplies.  The Cohen Grant is a one-time, non-renewable grant.  Applicants cannot apply for both Passport and Cohen Grant. 

2013 Cohen Grant applications will be accepted from January 1st through May 6th and grant decisions will be made at the committee meeting on May 28th.    Before applying please read the technical guidelines on the Passport guidelines page, and the Recommendation Guidelines at the link below.  Then return to this page and proceed to Cohen Grant application here.

Please note that both your online application AND the recommendation letter (which you must request from a community professional and follow through on) must be received by deadline. 2013 deadlines are as follows:

* Friday, January 11th at 4pm (for meeting of 1/28/13)
* Monday, February 4th at 5pm (for meeting of 2/25/13)
* Monday, March 25th at 5pm (for meeting of 4/15/13)

* Monday, May 6th at 5pm (for meeting of 5/28/13) - please note that this is the FINAL deadline for summer 2013 Passport applications (camp, Maccabi, Israel, etc.) and is the ONLY deadline for Cohen Grant applications.

* Monday, August 5th at 5pm (for meeting of 8/26/13)
* Monday, September 9th at 5pm (for meeting of 9/30/13) - please note that this is the FINAL deadline of 2013.

Families are contacted by telephone, immediately after each meeting, with the committee's decision.

The 2013 Passport application form is now ready!  Click the link at the bottom of this page to continue to guidelines, checklist and application form. 

Recommendation letters are a key component of the Passport process.  Parents: you must request a letter from a community professional (rabbi, cantor, educator, teacher, coach, etc.) and follow through to ensure it comes in.  The letter must conform to the guidelines which you will find here:  Click here for the guidelines.