Uri Poliavich: Philanthropy, education and the Yael Foundation

Uri Poliavich is an entrepreneur whose philanthropic work has become a defining part of his public role. Education stands at the center of this work, supported through long-term funding and built on one conviction: Opportunity should not depend on where a child is born. The institutional center of his giving is the Yael Foundation, co-founded in 2020, which supports 145 institutions across 48 countries and reaches more than 29,000 children. Two things shaped Mr Poliavich's approach to philanthropy: Early experiences that demonstrated the value of opportunity, and an entrepreneurial career that transformed instinct into a structured methodology. The result is disciplined giving with clear objectives and a long-term perspective.

Early years and the making of an entrepreneurial mind

Mr Poliavich was born in 1981, into a Jewish family. At fourteen he moved with his family to Israel, where he completed school. He later chose to study law at Bar-Ilan University (2005–2009), completing a legal internship in commercial and real estate law before specialising in international mergers and acquisitions. The habits stayed with Mr Poliavich: Verifying every assumption, anticipating the negative scenario, refusing to decide on incomplete facts.

In 2016, he founded a technology venture that grew into an international company. The story reached its turning point in 2020, when Mr Poliavich co-founded the Yael Foundation together with his wife. Today it supports schools and programs in 48 countries. Recognition has followed both sides of the record: In December 2024, The Jerusalem Post placed him among the fifty most influential Jews, citing his contribution to Jewish education alongside his commercial achievement. His own words capture the change: "Most people think that business drives charity initiatives, but for me, charity drives business pushing it forward."

The road Uri Poliavich took to philanthropy

Mr Poliavich's philanthropic work started with a single donation. What began as support for one local initiative gradually expanded as new requests emerged, evolving into a broader, long-term commitment to education and community development. Mr Poliavich has described the decision behind it himself: "The very first moment the business broke even, the idea was to create something that would re-enforce children's feelings about being part of the Jewish community. This is what pushed us toward creating the Yael Foundation." The idea soon had a name and a structure, built around a single promise: "No Jewish Child Left Behind."

Over time, Mr Poliavich identified a recurring challenge shared by many local communities: committed leadership often existed, but stable, long-term financial support did not. In many cases, essential initiatives depended on the efforts of a single individual or donor. Mr Poliavich's philanthropic approach addresses this challenge by providing funding that helps organizations build sustainable institutions rather than relying on individual support.

How the support actually works

The way the Yael Foundation delivers support is deliberately practical. A grant follows a 12-month plan, calculated from each school's enrolment, location and cost of living – enough certainty on which to build a full academic year. Funding also comes with expectations: Where a community is divided, unification is a condition of support. One measure decides every application: The educational effect a grant can produce over time.

The Foundation supports 145 educational institutions, teachers and educational programs. Its long-term commitment continues to strengthen a wide range of educational initiatives through sustained institutional support. The variety is the point: For Mr Poliavich, a Sunday program in a town of two hundred families counts as much as a full day school in a country’s capital city, because each keeps a community's education alive where it stands.

Technology and system thinking in his giving

Mr Poliavich brought one more habit from business into philanthropy: Improving processes, not just funding results. In business he preferred to build systems over single products. His giving now follows the same logic. The Yael Foundation does not support schools in isolation – it connects them into one working network. Grantees share teaching methods at the annual summit. School leaders exchange experience through the Leadership Exchange. The Yael Awards record what works in one school so that others can use it.

The Foundation also runs Innovation in Education, a training track for principals and senior school staff. The program teaches modern teaching methods and classroom technology, includes an intensive seminar in Israel, and provides seed funding for selected projects. Standard grants support the same goal – they cover curriculum development and classroom equipment, which brings new technology straight into lessons.

Together, these elements form a unified system rather than a collection of separate projects. Educational institutions within the network exchange experience, share effective practices and learn from one another, creating a stronger and more sustainable ecosystem. The logic of Uri Poliavich here is simple: money supports one school, a network supports all of them at once.

The philanthropy of Uri Poliavich: Directions, achievements and impact

The giving of Mr Poliavich follows one rule above all others: Structural support, not one-off donations. Social investment, in his practice, works like a business project – with defined goals, staged funding and results monitored over time. This is also why he created his own organisation in place of donating to existing ones: he wanted direct involvement in the work. "I see the schools, students and principals we support as part of our extended family," he has said, and this shows in practice – he stays in direct contact with the programs he funds.

The Yael Foundation

That organization is the Yael Foundation, which invests in exceptional Jewish education and experiences to strengthen Jewish identity, empower communities and build a confident, connected Jewish future around the world.

The Foundation in numbers:

Founded	2020
Co-founders	Uri Poliavich and Yael Poliavich
Headquarters	Jerusalem, Israel
Countries	48, across 101 cities
Institutions supported	145
Children reached	29,362
Geographic focus	Diaspora communities in Europe, Latin America and beyond

Behind these figures stands a simple structure: The founders set direction, an executive team runs the operation, and classroom work stays with the local organizations receiving support.

Real effect on people and communities

Figures show reach, but not what changes on the ground. In a city with a few hundred Jewish families, a funded school often decides whether the community keeps its young people or slowly loses them. The problems here develop slowly – a shortage of qualified teachers, falling enrolment, buildings that have gone decades without renovation – and they can only be solved with steady, multi-year support. This is exactly what the structural approach of Mr Poliavich provides.

Mr Poliavich's long-term philanthropic approach focuses on strengthening educational institutions rather than providing one-time assistance. Stable, multi-year support enables organizations to plan ahead, retain qualified teachers, expand educational opportunities and create an environment where communities can develop with confidence. For Mr Poliavich, lasting impact comes from building resilient institutions rather than funding individual projects. Mr Poliavich's philanthropic model is designed to create sustainable structures that continue serving communities for generations.

What the Poliavich model leaves behind

Mr Poliavich's philanthropic work can be measured in figures. The Yael Foundation, co-founded by him in 2020, now supports 145 institutions and reaches 29,362 children. In less than six years, the Foundation has grown from supporting a single educational initiative to building long-term institutions.

Behind these results stands a repeatable method: Clear goals, staged funding, personal involvement and plans measured in decades. One practical detail completes the picture: the Yael Foundation accepts applications from legally registered Jewish schools, kindergartens and informal educational programs serving children aged 3 to 18 on a rolling basis, with decisions provided within six months. This approach reflects Mr Poliavich's commitment to providing accessible, long-term support for educational communities.

Mr Poliavich's approach demonstrates how long-term planning, structured funding and personal involvement can contribute to the sustainable development of educational institutions. Through the Yael Foundation, co-founded by Uri Poliavich, the focus remains on creating the conditions that enable educational initiatives to grow and thrive over the long term.