AVI CHAI is a private foundation endowed in 1984 by Sanford Bernstein

Sanford Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., also known as Bernstein, is the sell-side research unit of AllianceBernstein L.P.Sanford C. Bernstein was founded in 1967 as an investment-management firm for private clients. In October 2000, Alliance Capital acquired Sanford C...

, a well-known successful investor who become a Modern Orthodox Baal teshuva

Baal teshuva

Baal teshuva or ba'al teshuvah , sometimes abbreviated to BT, is a term referring to a Jew who turns to embrace Orthodox Judaism. Baal teshuva literally means, "repentant", i.e., one who has repented or "returned" to God...

 (a returnee to Orthodox observance) and who had wanted to further the cause of outreach to alienated and assimilated Jews worldwide. Avi-Chai functions in the United States and in Israel with such programs as Neta Hebrew

Neta Hebrew

Lama'NETA is a Hebrew language curriculum for students created by curriculum specialists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. NETA is funded by The AVI CHAI Foundation and partnered with the Hebrew College in Newton Centre, Massachusetts...

 and Babaganewz

Babaganewz

BabagaNewz was a full-color Jewish [values] classroom magazine that was published from 2001-08. In 2009 a scaled down version was published online. The publication was for kids in 4th through 7th grade that presents current events, science, Torah, Israel, holidays and traditions through a Jewish lens...

. Till 2003 Avi-Chai functions in Russia and other former Soviet Union countries with such programs as Eshkol

Eshkol

Eshkol is a Hebrew language word meaning Raceme, a region of a flowering-plant's anatomy. Figuratively, Eshkol means rich collection of knowledge, e.g. in the phrase ish-eshkolot , literally "man of racemes", which is the Hebrew term for polymath...

, Eshkolot

Eshkolot

Eshkolot is a secular Israeli communal settlement in the southern Hebron Hills of the West Bank. It is located about five kilometers from Lahav, and falls within the jurisdiction of the Har Hebron Regional Council. In 2006, it had a population of 225...

 and Booknik

Booknik

Booknik, Jewish Texts and Themes is an Internet publication in Russian on Jewish literature and culture. Its Editor In Chief is Sergey Kuznetsov. Prominent authors, journalists, literary translators, philologists, Hebraists, historians, etc...

.

It is "preparing to spend-down its nearly $600 million endowment by 2020."

AVI CHAI site