A philanthropic initiative that launched in October 2023 has helped raise more than £43 million since the massacre on Simchat Torah last year.
In one year, The Merit Spread Foundation has raised millions from donors and delivered to various projects covering multiple social benefit causes relating to the war. The Foundation has also established an endowment with a unique “matching” programme to serve its donors’ long-term goals.
Having conducted extensive research into potential partners for its work and appreciating the involvement and commitment of the Jewish community in the UK towards Israel, Merit is now seeking to expand its activities in the UK.
A spokesperson said Merit will “focus on causes supporting both the State of Israel and Jewish causes, engaging with individual philanthropists, community organisations, and businesses that share the values of Zionism, Jewish heritage, and the safe existence of Jews, wherever they may be.”
Merit Spread Foundation founder Alon Tal said: “Since 7 October, many began to reevaluate the way in which and how to contribute to Israel and the Jewish world, but, unfortunately, public services and systems in Israel and around the Jewish Diaspora were found to be faltering, overwhelmed or had to quickly pivot towards meeting the extreme challenges that emerged.”
Alon Tal. Pic: Merit Spread
“There was a sense of urgency and emergency among donors across the globe. In an age when traditional structures have often faltered under the weight of inefficiency, outmoded business practices, and a desperate need for proficiency, a transformative vision emerged in the philanthropic world, which Merit Spread has sought to fill.”
Working with established philanthropists, family foundations, leading high-tech companies, and Israeli companies the Merit Spread Foundation became the leading channel for raising funds for the victims of the 7 October massacre and the war that followed.
Among many other initiatives, the Foundation has helped to support the hostages and their families, created an endowment for orphans of the war, formed a mental health support programme for the wives of combat soldiers, provided housing solutions to the evacuees from the Gaza envelop communities, offered a variety of solutions to soldiers and civilians suffering from PTSD, in cooperation with professional caregivers, and memorialising the heroes of the IDF.
One of the most successful campaigns managed by the Foundation for the hostages’ families was the selling of specially designed dog tags which resulted in over £4 million raised in less than two months from over 30,000 donors.
The management team at Merit Spread Foundation
Mr. Reuben Eblagon, head of the committee of the headquarters for the hostage families, says that Merit was a critical enabler of the campaigns and activities of the hostage families’ headquarters. He said that “without the efficiency and dedication of Mr. Alon Tal, the families would not have been able to start their operations so promptly after the devastating events of 7 October”.
Bring Them Home Now Dog-Tags
Since its inception, the Merit Spread Foundation has played a significant and leading role, serving as a bridge between donors in North America and needs in Israel. Based on mapping and analysis of the global Jewish philanthropic world and the relevant regulation in various countries, Merit is moving towards expanding this activity to Europe, beginning in Switzerland and the UK.
In addition, the foundation has launched the first-of-its-kind proprietary technology platform, enabling it to serve multiple high-scale projects in parallel.
