“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”
– Mahatma Gandhi
Our Mission
The Alan B. Slifka Foundation is a private family foundation dedicated to healing, inclusion, and peace .
The Foundation supports organizations and programs aligned with our priorities:
To build a world safe for difference, the Slifka Foundation supports efforts to promote shared society principles, policies, practices and leadership in the U.S., Israel and globally.
To combat disease, particularly cancer, the Slifka Foundation supports cutting-edge biomedical research and treatments.
To ensure a vibrant and secure Jewish future, the Slifka Foundation supports programs to foster Jewish identity and community in the US, to connect American Jews to Israel, celebrate Israeli Jewish diversity, and combat antisemitism in all its forms.
To help heal, the Slifka Foundation responds swiftly to international disasters and crises.
These are troubling times that require inclusive shared societies, people-to-people interactions, respectful and productive dialogue, active listening, courageous and thoughtful leadership, and meaningful public policies. These strategies will help mitigate hatred, anger, and extremism and strengthen social cohesion. We participate in a number of international collaborations to pursue our Shared Society vision. We hope everyone will join in our call for civil dialogue, respect for differences and opportunities for all human beings.
A healthier world is comprised of healthier people. Reflecting Refua shlema, the Jewish commitment to healing the sick, the Slifka Foundation is dedicated to finding better research and treatments, ultimately leading to a cure for cancer and other diseases. Our specific focus is on sarcoma and melanoma — two cancers that have directly impacted the Slifka family, However, we sponsor other cancer research and collaborations that fall within our guidelines. We also look for innovative treatments for autism, the Foundation President’s area of expertise before she assumed primary responsibility for the Alan B. Slifka Foundation. We are very proud of our multiple international and national collaborating foundations and institutions who are an integral part of our effort.
We continue to participate in COVID relief and all international disaster relief efforts. We do not accept solicitations for this area of donation.
If you represent a Jewish non-profit interested in either the Federal Paycheck Protection Program or the Jewish Community Response and Impact Fund, please visit JFNA’s website to find important information and resources.
Israeli NGO’s can find information about financial resources here:
https://www.corona.migzar3.org.il/
https://ogen.org/
About Us
Our beloved founder and chairman, Alan B. Slifka, established this foundation in 1965 to support his passions for “a world safe for difference,” Judaism and Israel. In time, his interests expanded to include biomedical research and treatments for sarcoma and other cancers, and autism spectrum disorders. Today, the Alan B. Slifka Foundation board and staff continue to be guided by his passion and generosity. We seek to honor and expand his vision through thoughtful and informed philanthropic strategies.
Mr. Slifka was born in NYC in 1929. He graduated from the Fieldston School, received his B.S. from Yale in 1951, and his M.B.A. from Harvard in 1953. For his work in coexistence, he received honorary doctorates from Brandeis University in 2003 and from Haifa University in 2008. Mr. Slifka was the co-founder and co-chairman of Halcyon Asset Management LLC and had been a partner at L.F. Rothschild & Co.
