In late September, weeks before his death, Home Depot co-founder and philanthropist Bernie Marcus presented a $60 million donation to RootOne, which subsidizes trips to Israel for Jewish teenagers, in one of the megadonor’s final acts of philanthropy, eJewishPhilanthropy has learned.

This latest donation brings Marcus’ total support for RootOne to more than $140 million, beginning with an initial seed donation of $20 million in 2020 to launch the initiative, which provides $3,000 vouchers to help cover the costs of sending teenagers to Israel.

According to Simon Amiel, executive director of RootOne, Marcus felt strongly about investing in Israel trips for teenagers because he saw them as a scalable educational experience that can appeal to a broad audience, depending on the trip. RootOne also requires hours of educational programming before and after trips, which must last a minimum of three weeks in order to qualify for the full $3,000 subsidy. 

This gift will help the organization expand its efforts, and its impact, Amiel told eJP. 

“Bernie, even after his passing, is still having a significant impact on what he saw as our future. He decided, before he left this Earth, to ensure that he was doubling down, again, at a time where people may be doing exactly the opposite,” he said.

For many years Marcus was a consistent and heavy donor to Birthright Israel and other Jewish and Zionist causes. According to Jay Kaiman, president of The Marcus Foundation, in recent years Marcus wanted to ensure that students had the chance to travel to Israel, develop relationships with their Israeli peers, and build a strong sense of Jewish identity prior to setting foot on a college campus. 

According to Kaiman, Marcus has been worried about the rise in antisemitism on college campuses for the better part of the last 20 years, but this past year it intensified. “[It] was hard for him to watch. It was hard for him to see this happen, because he did see around corners, and he was afraid that this would happen,” Kaiman told eJP.

Marcus viewed Israel trips for Jewish high schoolers as a core part of the solution, according to Amiel. “We’re not going to solve antisemitism and Bernie knew that, but we can ensure that the future of the Jewish people, our young people, don’t wilt in its presence,” Amiel said.

The program, housed at The Jewish Education Project, already partners with organizations including BBYO, USY, Ramah, Union for Reform Judaism, NCSY and the JCC Association of North America. The funding will help the organization find new partners, develop special-interest trips, offer more comprehensive training to staff and reach and support teens who are not yet affiliated with a youth group or synagogue. 

This past year, in light of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon, travel to Israel dropped precipitously — with participation on RootOne-supported trips down 90% this summer. But in the next five years, RootOne hopes to support 15,000 students each summer, a lofty goal, according to Amiel, but intentionally so, in order to push the organization to expand.  

According to Kaiman, Marcus planned this gift in the midst of turmoil in Israel, both because he believed in RootOne, and because he wanted to send a message to those who respect his philanthropy that Israel education, and especially immersive Israel education, is critical, especially now. 

“He wanted to educate our teens, but he also wants other philanthropists to join in doing things that will make a difference, because he did feel that Israel is under attack and threat, and he didn’t feel like there was enough being done, especially in the area of Israel education,” said Kaiman.