Targum Shlishi is a philanthropic foundation devoted to supporting positive change. Effecting positive change in the world is a creative act, an often noble endeavor that deserves attention, imitation, and support. There are many daunting problems facing Jewry today, and those problems need to be addressed. At Targum Shlishi, we believe in working toward solutions. Our goal is to find and support organizations that are dedicated to innovative problem solving. We celebrate the art of positive change by funding initiatives we believe will make a difference in a variety of areas related to Jewish life.

Education. Women’s Issues. Israel. Justice for Nazi War Crimes. These are the areas of primary focus for Targum Shlishi. Although they belong to a diverse group of categories, the many causes we fund have one thing in common: They are dedicated to improving the quality of Jewish life throughout the world. Change is vital if Jewish life, culture, and traditions are to continue to flourish. Change is essential if we are to continue to grow, to learn, to aspire. To dream.

Targum Shlishi seeks innovative, unpublicized, and behind-the-scenes initiatives
working for meaningful change that otherwise might not attract funding. Such are the causes that need our support most, and it is where our funding can have the greatest impact. The projects we fund range in scope from local to international; our goal is not to fund the highest profile projects but to fund those that are creative and, when possible, replicable. We give strategically and we give knowledgeably, extensively researching the concepts and their supporting organizations. Many of the projects Targum Shlishi supports are initiated by us, and we then work with others to implement the ideas. In addition, Targum Shlishi has partnered with other funders in collaborative endeavors several times. One of our goals is to leverage our impact through meaningful partnerships with major philanthropic organizations.

Targum Shlishi thinks and acts both locally and globally. Several of the programs Targum Shlishi has funded are applicable in communities throughout the US and the world. Where practicable, Targum Shlishi promotes its ideas to other communities and distributes information and guidelines for establishing similar programs.

Targum Shlishi was founded in 1992 by Aryeh and Raquel Rubin and is based in Miami. To date, the foundation has supported more than 60 projects and organizations, ranging from a free-loan program for educators to promoting Jewish-Christian dialogue through a church in New Jersey to bringing to justice a Croatian Nazi war criminal. The majority of our funding initiatives have been remarkably successful. On some occasions, projects have not lived up to the promise we saw in them, but such situations are learning experiences; the insight generated is applied to future projects or shared with other organizations. On the "Lessons Learned" page, we discuss some of the projects we supported that did not get off the ground, and we explain what we have learned from them (see “Lessons Learned”).

There is no blueprint for the type of organization or the type of project we support. In a very meaningful way, our choices are subjective—we need, quite simply, to sincerely believe in the project and its ability to make a difference. And while there is no overriding formula that dictates our funding, successful projects tend to be a complex mix of vision and practicality. We invest in management. We look for strong, committed leaders with senses of purpose, realistic work plans, concrete goals, and abundant optimism. We look for the promise of creative change.