The award is
entirely additive to the teacher's regular salary and any normal
increments the teacher may receive and should not be in lieu of
teacher benefits or any other benefits.
Joseph S. and
Caroline Gruss Excellent Teachers Program - General Studies
Established in
2001, this program provides awards of $10,000 each to ten general
studies teachers to encourage continued excellent performance. The
award is granted on a one-time basis, and is disbursed over a two
year period in the amount of $5,000 per annum. Career educators of
general studies subjects in Jewish day schools and Yeshivot in the
New York metropolitan area are eligible for the award. An
additional award of $25,000 is made to the selected teachers’
schools to be used to upgrade their general studies program.
Eligibility
criteria include: minimum of three years teaching experience in
Jewish day schools or Yeshivot; minimum of 20 hours per week
teaching at the school; and teaching in the school should be the
educator's major source of income.
The award is
entirely additive to the teacher's regular salary and any normal
increments the teacher may receive and should not be in lieu of
teacher benefits or any other benefits.
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Joseph S. and
Caroline Gruss Scholarship Fund at FIT
Established in
1984, this Fund provides aid to FIT students who are graduates of
Jewish day schools or Yeshivot, or Jewish immigrants who are
graduates of secular or Jewish high schools. Students are selected
for the semester scholarships based on financial need, with
priority given to immigrants from Russia and Iran, or any other
country which suppresses religious freedom; students who have
demonstrated academic excellence; and immigrants who are secular
high school graduates. The scholarship includes the tuition
charged by FIT, as well as up to 20% of the tuition to cover
traveling and incidental expenses.
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Joseph S. and
Caroline Gruss Building Renovations Fund
Building
Renovation Grants are offered to Yeshivot and day schools to help
eliminate health and safety hazards and improve deteriorating
school facilities. Applications for Building Renovation Grants
always include contractor's detailed plans for the renovation work
which are reviewed by our consultant.
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Joseph S. and
Caroline Gruss Life Insurance Fund
This Fund was
designed as a supplement to the Cost Free Life Insurance Program
provided Jewish educators by the Fund for Jewish Education. With
this program the amount of cost free life insurance coverage for
each educator has been increased from $25,000 to $100,000.
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Joseph S. and
Caroline Gruss Medical Benefits Fund
Fund A of the Estate of Caroline Gruss (concluded 2002)
These two Funds
were designed as supplements to the Medical Reimbursement Program
originated by the Fund for Jewish Education. The Funds allow for
increased reimbursements to help schools and career educators pay
for the cost of medical insurance.
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Joseph S. and
Caroline Gruss Teacher Pension Fund -
Fund B of the Estate of Caroline Gruss (concluded 2002)
These two Funds
were designed as supplements to the Pension Reimbursement Program
originated by the Fund for Jewish Education. The Funds allow for
increased reimbursements to help schools pay for the cost of
pension plans for career educators. In the case of Fund B of the
Estate of Caroline Gruss, the Funds are deposited directly into
the educators' pension accounts.
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Caroline Zelaznik
Gruss and Joseph S. Gruss Life Monument Scholarship Funds
for Higher Education Fund C of the Estate of Caroline Gruss
(concluded 2002)
Established in
1987, these Funds include the Jewish Education Scholarship Fund
and the General Studies Scholarship Fund. Scholarships are granted
for up to four consecutive years of study to those high school
seniors who have records of outstanding academic achievement and
demonstrated financial need. The scholarships provide up to fifty
percent of the student's tuition cost, and include an additional
stipend for living expenses.
In 2003, this
Fund was succeeded by the Caroline and Joseph S. Gruss Life
Monument Funds Scholarship Program for Higher Education, which
provides scholarships to essentially the same types of students.
The Scholarship Program for Higher Education differs from its
predecessor in that the awards are based on flat rates and are not
based on percentages of annually changing college tuitions.
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Joseph S. and
Caroline Gruss Life Monument Interest Free Loan Fund
Established in
1986, this Fund was designed to provide interest free loans to
Jewish educational institutions for the expansion of their
facilities in order to provide for increased enrollment. The
loans, of up to $500,000, are contingent upon commitment of a
construction loan and subsequent permanent mortgage from an
approved lending institution. The proceeds of the loan are to be
used to Fund only hard costs of renovation or improvement. The
amount loaned by this Fund combined with the amount secured
through a first mortgage commitment is not to exceed the cost of
construction.
The borrowing
institution must collateralize the loan by providing either a
letter of credit from a recognized lending institution or by
having no more than two people set up a pledged collateralized
account in a major brokerage house. If securities are pledged, a
minimum of 120% of the amount guaranteed must be placed in the
account. The loan is repayable monthly over a period of five
years.
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Joseph S. and
Caroline Gruss Holocaust Teachers Fund
Established in
1989, this Fund enables teachers from the public school sector to
participate in the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Summer
Fellowship Program in Israel. The teachers spend three weeks in
Israel learning about the Holocaust and then stop in Poland to
visit and view the landmarks of the Holocaust. The goal of the
program is to give public school teachers a better understanding
of the Holocaust and thus enable them to share their knowledge
with the students in the public school system. In fact, each
participant is required to teach a Holocaust studies course in
their respective schools. The program is sponsored under the
auspices of the American Gathering/Federation of Jewish Holocaust
Survivors.
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Joseph S. and
Caroline Gruss Elementary School Scholarship Fund
Established in
1990, this Fund provides scholarship assistance on the elementary
school level for students with severe financial need and for
recently arrived immigrant students enrolled in Jewish day
schools. The scholarships are awarded to students enrolled in
grades one through eight and range from $1000 to $1500.
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Caroline and
Joseph S. Gruss Life Monument Funds
Mortgage Program for Soviet Immigrants
Established in
1990, this Fund was designed to help Israel meet the growing
housing crisis caused by influx of new olim. The loan Fund is
administered in Israel by Bank Tefahot, Israel's largest mortgage
bank. Loans are available to immigrants who arrived in Israel
after January, 1990. Each eligible oleh may apply for a loan for
the purchase of an apartment. The government of Israel, Bank
Tefahot and the Gruss Fund each provide a share of the total
amount borrowed. The maximum sum of the loan from the Mortgage
Program, depending upon the marital status of the oleh and the
location of the housing unit, is $40,000 above and beyond the
financing provided by the government.
The first $20,000
of the loan is funded 25% by the Gruss Fund and 75% by Bank Tefahot. The balance, any amount above $20,000 is
funded equally.
That portion of the loan funded by the Gruss Fund is given for a
period of twenty-five years, interest-free, with payment linked
solely to the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar. Through November
30, 1992 the borrower was exempt from payments during the first
ten years. After December 1, 1992 the borrower was exempt from
payments for the first three years and was required to repay the
loan over the remaining twenty-two years. The Bank's share of the
loan is granted for a period of twenty years at a fixed annual
interest rate; monthly payments and loan balance are linked to the
consumer price index.
The existing
Soviet Olim Mortgage Program (Gruss A) had been highly successful
and as a result had used up most of the Funds allocated to it.
Therefore, in 1994 Gruss Life Monument Funds expanded the Mortgage
Program. Under the terms of the program (Gruss B) both the Fund
Share and the Bank Share of each mortgage is made by Bank Tefahot
from its own Funds. Gruss Life Monument's share is in the form of
a $10 million loan. The Gruss share of each loan is one sixth of
the total and the loan is repayable over a period not to exceed
fifteen (15) years.
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About
the Foundation
