About the Foundation
Maurice Amado established the foundation that bears his name in 1961. Mr. Amado was a descendant of Sephardic Jews who settled in the Ottoman Empire after their expulsion from Spain in 1492. He immigrated to New York from Izmir, Turkey in 1903 and moved to Los Angeles in 1940.

A successful financier, he was committed to sharing his wealth with the Jewish community. During his lifetime, Mr. Amado supported organizations that perpetuated Sephardic heritage and culture. Since his death in 1968, Mr. Amado’s nieces, nephews and their descendants have carried on his charitable work. Three generations of the Amado family currently direct the Foundation’s activities.
A major focus of the Maurice Amado Foundation is to ensure that Sephardic heritage is woven into the fabric of American Jewry. The Foundation has a special interest in integrating information about the religious life and culture of Sephardic Jews whose ancestors originated in the Iberian Peninsula into the education of all American Jews, with a special emphasis on reaching leaders, both present and future, of American Jewry. The heritage of Sephardic Jews includes a) the history and contributions to Jewish thought of the Spanish Jews before the Inquisition, b) the effects of the Inquisition on Jewish religious, cultural and intellectual life, c) the history of the Sephardim in the lands of their dispersion after the Expulsion, and d) modern Sephardic cultural and religious contributions to Jewish life. Our Grantmaking Focus
A major focus of the Maurice Amado Foundation is to ensure that Sephardic heritage is woven into the fabric of American Jewry. The Foundation has a special interest in integrating information about the religious life and culture of Sephardic Jews whose ancestors originated in the Iberian Peninsula into the education of all American Jews, with a special emphasis on reaching leaders, both present and future, of American Jewry. The heritage of Sephardic Jews includes a) the history and contributions to Jewish thought of the Spanish Jews before the Inquisition, b) the effects of the Inquisition on Jewish religious, cultural and intellectual life, c) the history of the Sephardim in the lands of their dispersion after the Expulsion, and d) modern Sephardic cultural and religious contributions to Jewish life. Institute for Sephardic Studies at the Graduate School of the City University of New York
The Foundation has funded the Sephardic Education Initiative, a three-year effort to train approximately 1,000 teachers in Jewish day schools, supplementary schools and Hebrew Teacher colleges. Previously, the Foundation funded a National Summer Teacher Training Institute in Sephardic Studies. For more information contact Jane Gerber, Director, Center for Jewish Studies and Institute for Sephardic Studies at The City University of New York
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. The Foundation is funding a major initiative to integrate Sephardic Studies into the curricula of HUC-JIRs professional schools to expand students’ knowledge and develop students’ capacity to incorporate the Sephardic experience into their view of Jewry and Jewish identity.

Middle East Institute Columbia University

The Foundation provided funds for both the book and a CD to accompany the text, The Jews of the Middle East and North Africa in Modern Times. The book, edited by Reeva Spector Simon, Assistant Director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University, Michael Manachem Lasker, Department of Middle East History at Bar-Ilan University and Sara Reguer, chair Department of Judaic Studies of Brooklyn College of the City University of New York was published in 2003. This book is geared to a varied audience; scholars, teachers in secondary schools as well as college and university professors who wish to teach about all cultures that once existed in the Middle East, and to teach about all Jews, to study them comparatively. The book is available through Columbia University Press.
Jewish Publication Society The Foundation is provided assistance for the publication of the book Folktales of Joha: Jewish Trickster by Matilda Koen-Sarano. The Sephardic folk character know as Joha is a combination of trickster, villain and fool. The nearly 300 stories in the volume are from Sephardic oral literature and ethnic culture. It is the first collection of these tales to appear in English. The target audience for this book is storytellers, teachers, folklorists and Jewish educators. The book was published in February 2003 and is available through the Jewish Publication Society
Judéo-Espagnol A Auschwitz The Foundation provided funds for the distribution of the booklet, The Judeo-Spanish People: Itineraries of a Community. The edition is in English and Judeo-Spanish. Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) Press. The Foundation provided funds for The Atlas of Great Jewish Communities: A Voayage Through History by Sondra Leiman. This full-color book uses colorful mapa, timelines, photographs and art to bring Jewish history alive for young people. There is also A Teacher’s Guide that includes a music CD. For more information contact Rabbi Hara Person, Editorial Director, UAHC Press

Out of Spain

Out of Spain is a new curriculum for 10-12-year-old students. Out of Spain takes students on a journey through history from the earliest arrival of Jews on the Iberian Peninsula to the present day. The series consists of three class books, a video, an audio tape and a teacher’s guide. For more information go to
Folk Literature of Sephardic Jews The Foundation has provided funds for a web-based digital archive titled “The Folk Literature of the Sephardic Jews.” This collection, called the Armistead-Silverman archive contains 1500 Judeo-Spanish narrative ballads, together with other genres, including lyric poetry, folktales, proverbs and riddles. You can access the site at

Stanford University Libraries

The Foundation provided funds for the Library to purchase the Rifat Bali collection of 20th century Sephardic Judaica published in Turkey. This collection consists of 700 monographic and serial titles, mostly in Turkish but also in French, English, Hebrew and Judeo-Spanish. Subject areas covered include history, social issues, politics, literary publications, religious books and Turkish-Jewish authors. Lower East Side Tenement Museum The Foundation provides ongoing supporting of the Confino apartment. The Confino apartment is an interactive exhibit designed for children and families. This exhibit explores and celebrates Sephardic culture through the story of the Confino family who immigrated to America from Kastoria.The Rhodes Jewish Historical Foundation. The Foundation has supported the work of The Rhodes Jewish Historical Foundation which is dedicated to preserving the Jewish history of Rhodes. The Foundation’s support has helped to expand and improve the Jewish Museum of Rhodes, restoration of the Kahal Shalom synagogue as well as the preservation of the Jewish cemetery.
Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California. The Foundation provided support for the exhibit, Myer Myers, Jewish Colonial Silversmith in Colonial New York (see). The exhibit closed May 26, 2002. The Foundation also provided support for the exhibit, “The Jewish Wedding,” which closed in February 2002. For more information about the Skirball go to theAutry Museum of Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, California. The Foundation supported an exhibition titled The Jewish West. This show explored the Jewish presence and influence in the region from the late 16th century through the early 20th century.

“A Portion of the People” Three Hundred Years of Jewish Life in South Carolina

A cooperative venture of the McKissick Museum, the College of Charleston and the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina, this exhibition was at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston in September 2002.
“They Came for Good: A History of the Jews in America” is a two-set video series that tells the story of Jews in America. The film highlights the experience of the Sephardic Jews who arrived in 1654. Contributions Sephardim made to American history are woven throughout the film. This film has been widely distributed on PBS stations and is available for purchase. For more information contact the Isaac in America Foundation at 212-643-1717.

Flory Jagoda video

The Foundation made a grant for the film, “The Key from Spain: The Songs and Stories of Flory Jagoda. The film focuses on the life of Flory Jagoda, a survivor of World War II from Sarajevo, Bosnia. Ms. Jagoda is a well-known composer of modern Ladino songs. This film documents her life and her music.

“The Optimists”

The Foundation provided support to produce this award-winning documentary which is the story of the rescue of Bulgarian Jews from the Holocaust. For more information about the film go to the Sephardic Education Center. The Foundation helped underwrite the 6th Annual Los Angeles Sephardic Film Festival that took place in November 2002.Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 17th Annual Jewish Music Festival The Foundation underwrote two concerts by the Gerard Edery Ensemble, a Sephardic music group, in a program entitled, Music in the Land of Three Faiths. Winner of the 1997 Sephardic Heritage Award, Edery and his group presented a program of songs from the Golden Age of Spain. The program features 12th and 13th century songs in Ladino, Hebrew, Arabic, Galician-Portuguese and Latin and provided a historical content for the interwoven influences of each culture upon the other during this pre-Expulsion era. For more information go to
Brandeis-Bardin Institute The Foundation helped underwrite a weekend arts festival, Bezalel 2002: A Weekend of Jewish Arts. This festival celebrated Jewish music, dance, drama and art. The festival took place March 15 – 17, 2002 at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute located in Simi Valley, California (a 45 minute drive from West Los Angeles). Bezalel 2002 comprised of a 3-day residential experience for Jewish artists and arts educators as well as an arts festival open to the entire community. Master artists will explore Sephardic and Ashkenazic cultures on equal footing. For more information go to.

Applying for a grant

Applicants should send an initial email letter of inquiry to the Foundation at inquiry@mauriceamadofdn.org. This email should include:

1. Background and purpose of your organization
2. Short description of the specific program or project for which the organization is requesting funds
3. Dollar amount of the request
4. The subject line of the email should read: “Grant Inquiry”
If the Foundation is interested in your project, you will be sent instructions on how to submit a grant proposal.
Program/Project Description
If requesting support for a project or program the following is also required:
1. Project goals
2. Description of specific project activities
3. Intended audience
4. Timeline
5. Project budget
6. Staff and their qualifications
7. Evaluation plan

Deadlines:

The Foundation awards grants in the spring and the fall. The deadline for an email letter of inquiry to be considered for the spring meeting is March 15; the deadline for the fall meeting is August 31. Note: Grants are made only to qualified tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations. The Foundation does not make grants directly to individuals.

CDs/Videotapes/Books

The Foundation receives many requests for grants to produce CDs, videotapes, films and books with Sephardic themes. These projects will be considered, but in addition to the required information, the proposal must also include a distribution plan. If you are submitting a sample CD, videotape, or book, please send the Foundation 5 copies. Note: the Foundation is unable to return these items. Center for Jewish Studies at UCLA for the Maurice Amado Foundation Research Fund in Sephardic Studies. The Foundation supports scholarly research in Sephardic Studies through a fund administered by the Center for Jewish Studies at UCLA. For more information please visit their website. At this site you will find detailed information about who is eligible to apply in addition to how and when to apply.
Out of Spain
Out of Spain is a brand new curriculum for 10-12-year-old students. Out of Spain takes students on a journey through history from the earliest arrival of Jews on the Iberian Peninsula to the present day. The series consists of three class books, a video, an audio tape and a teacher’s guide. For more information go to.
The Rhodes Jewish Historical Foundation
The Foundation has supported the work of The Rhodes Jewish Historical Foundation which is dedicated to preserving the Jewish history of Rhodes. The Foundation’s support has helped to expand and improve the Jewish Museum of Rhodes, restoration of the Kahal Shalom synagogue as well as the preservation of the Jewish cemetery
Skirball Cultural Center
The Foundation provided support for the exhibit, Myer Myers, Jewish Colonial Silversmith in Colonial New York (see). The exhibit runs through May 26, 2002. For more information contact the Skirball at
The Foundation also provided support for the exhibit, “The Jewish Wedding,” which closed in February 2002.
Yale University Art Gallery
The Foundation provided support for the exhibition Myer Myers, 1723-1795: Jewish Silversmith in Colonial New York. This exhibition is on view at Yale from September 14, 2001 to January 5, 2002 before traveling to the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles from February 19 to May 26, 2002 and to the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur in Delaware in the summer of 2002. Myer Myers was the most productive silversmith working in New York during the late Colonial period and his ritual and secular silver is the largest body of work by a Jewish silversmith from anywhere in Europe or America prior to the nineteenth century.
Autry Museum of Museum of Western Heritage
The Foundation is supporting an exhibition titled The Jewish West which opens in Los Angeles in February 2002. This show will explore the Jewish presence and influence in the region from the late 16th century through the early 20th century.
“A Portion of the People” Three Hundred Years of Jewish Life in South Carolina
A cooperative venture of the McKissick Museum, the College of Charleston and the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina, this exhibition will be at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston in September 2002.
Jewish Book Council
The Foundation sponsors the Maurice S. Amado Foundation Award in Sephardic Studies. The 2001 award was given to Reluctant Cosmopolitans by Daniel M. Swetschinski. This book details the growth of the 17th century Sephardic community in Amsterdam in the wake of explusions and immigration of Jews from Spain and Portugal.
“They Came for Good: A History of the Jews in America” is a two-set video series that tells the story of Jews in America. The film highlights the experience of the Sephardic Jews who arrived in 1654. Contributions Sephardim made to American history are woven throughout the film. This film has been widely distributed on PBS stations and is available for purchase. For more information contact the Isaac in America Foundation at 212-643-1717.
Flory Jagoda video
The Foundation made a grant for the film, “The Key from Spain: The Songs and Stories of Flory Jagoda. The film focuses on the life of Flory Jagoda, a survivor of World War II from Sarajevo, Bosnia. Ms. Jagoda is a well-known composer of modern Ladino songs. This film documents her life and her music.
“The Optimists”
The Foundation provided support to produce this award-winning documentary which is the story of the rescue of Bulgarian Jews from the Holocaust. For more information about the film go to
Institute for Sephardic Studies at the Graduate School of the City University of New York
The Foundation has funded a National Summer Teacher Training Institute for each of the last three years. Approximately 20 teachers participate in an intensive two-week course of study developed by Jane Gerber of CUNY and Reeva Simon of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University. This interdisciplinary institute explores the history, culture, life styles, popular religion, cuisine, and customs of the Sephardim. The Foundation underwrites tuition costs and teachers receive a $1,000 honorarium.
Middle East Institute Columbia University
The Foundation provided funds to produce a CD to accompany the text, History of the Jews in the Middle East and North Africa. This book will be published by Columbia University Press.
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
The Foundation is funding a major initiative to integrate Sephardic Studies into the curricula of HUC-JIRs professional schools to expand students’ knowledge and develop students’ capacity to incorporate the Sephardic experience into their view of Jewry and Jewish identity.
University of California at Davis
The Foundation has provided funds for a web-based digital archive titled “The Folk Literature of the Sephardic Jews.” This collection, called the Armistead-Silverman archive contains 1500 Judeo-Spanish narrative ballads, together with other genres, including lyric poetry, folktales, proverbs and riddles. You can access the site at
Stanford University Libraries
The Foundation provided funds for the Library to purchase the Rifat Bali collection of 20th century Sephardic Judaica published in Turkey. This collection consists of 700 monographic and serial titles, mostly in Turkish but also in French, English, Hebrew and Judeo-Spanish. Subject areas covered include history, social issues, politics, literary publications, religious books and Turkish-Jewish authors.
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
The Foundation provided funding to underwrite a program of Sephardic cinema at the film festival.
Los Angeles Jewish Symphony
The Foundation underwrites a Sephardic Music Education for students in Jewish Day Schools in Los Angeles. This program educates these students about Sephardic Jewish music and helps cultivate a greater understanding of Sephardic music in relation to Sephardic Jewish history, heritage and culture.
Lower East Side Tenement Museum
The Foundation was instrumental in supporting the development of the Confino apartment. The Confino apartment is an interactive exhibit designed for children and families. This exhibit explores and celebrates Sephardic culture through the story of the Confino family who immigrated to America from Kastoria.
Jewish Publication Society
The Foundation is providing assistance for the publication of the book Djoha Tales: Sephardic Trickster and Fool. The Sephardic folk character know as Djoha is a combination of trickster, villain and fool. This book will be translated from a bi-lingual Italian-Hebrew edition that is a collection of 200 pieces gathered from 82 storytellers in 17 countries. It will be the first collection of these tales to appear in English. The target audience for this book is storytellers, teachers, folklorists and Jewish educators.
Sephardic Education Center
The Foundation helped underwrite the 5th Annual Los Angeles Sephardic Film Festival that took place in November 2001.
Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 17th Annual Jewish Music Festival
The Foundation underwrote two concerts by the Gerard Edery Ensemble, a Sephardic music group, in a program entitled, Music in the Land of Three Faiths. Winner of the 1997 Sephardic Heritage Award, Edery and his group will present a program of songs from the Golden Age of Spain. The program will feature 12th and 13th century songs in Ladino, Hebrew, Arabic, Galician-Portuguese and Latin and provide a historical content for the interwoven influences of each culture upon the other during this pre-Expulsion era. For more information go to
Brandeis-Bardin Institute
The Foundation helped underwrite a weekend arts festival, Bezalel 2002: A Weekend of Jewish Arts. This festival celebrated Jewish music, dance, drama and art. The festival took place March 15 – 17, 2002 at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute located in Simi Valley, California (a 45 minute drive from West Los Angeles). Bezalel 2002 comprised of a 3-day residential experience for Jewish artists and arts educators as well as an arts festival open to the entire community. Master artists will explore Sephardic and Ashkenazic cultures on equal footing. For more information go to