American Friends Organization
The 501(c)(3) workhorse that channels tax-deductible US gifts to Israeli institutions.
Definition. An "American Friends of" organization is a US 501(c)(3) charity established to channel tax-deductible American donations to a specific Israeli institution — a university, hospital, museum, or cause.
The structure exists because US donors can only deduct gifts to US charities, not directly to foreign ones. So nearly every major Israeli institution — from universities to hospitals — maintains an American Friends entity that receives US gifts, issues US tax receipts, and grants the funds onward to Israel under IRS rules on foreign grantmaking. It is the workhorse vehicle of diaspora capital, sitting alongside Keren Hayesod, the Jewish Agency, and JFNA in the architecture that moves money from American donors to Israeli ground. The model connects directly to the Dual-Qualified Charity concept and to broader Diaspora Bond and Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) flows — capital as economic infrastructure, not sentiment.
