Published
May 20, 2026
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You may have seen the headlines—so let’s be clear: DOROT is not shutting down.
A recent eJewishPhilanthropy article highlights how confusion between DOROT and the similarly named Dorot Foundation—a grantmaker focused on social justice organizations—caused concern among members of our community.
In fact, we’re here, we’re strong, and our work continues.
Read an excerpt from the article, below:
There’s Jeffrey R. Solomon, the former president of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, who’s not to be confused with Jeffrey M. Solomon, board chair of the Foundation for Jewish Camp. There’s David A. Harris, the former CEO of the American Jewish Committee, who’s not to be confused with the other David A. Harris, the former CEO of the National Jewish Democratic Council.
There’s also Daniel Septimus, the outgoing CEO of Sefaria, who’s not to be confused with Rabbi Daniel Septimus, the inaugural director of the Center for Jewish Peoplehood of the JCC Association of North America. And for that matter, there’s also the JCC Association, which is not to be confused with the other JCCA, the nonprofit formerly known as the Jewish Child Care Association.
This reporter is even aware of an insurance outfit based out of New Jersey run by brothers Judah and Ari Gross.
Ordinarily, these kinds of duplicate names and abbreviations are good for a chuckle or an easily rectified miscommunication, but for DOROT, a New York-based nonprofit focused on combating loneliness through cross-generational programs (hence the name, which means “generations” in Hebrew), sharing a name with another North American Jewish organization has been something of a nightmare over the past few weeks.
Last month, the Rhode Island-based Dorot Foundation — a grantmaker focused on social justice — announced that it was shuttering, spending down its endowment by 2034.
Soon after eJewishPhilanthropy reported on the Dorot Foundation’s plans to “sunset,” people began to reach out to the New York nonprofit DOROT, believing that it was the one closing down (never mind that it is not a foundation and operates in a different sector entirely). To clarify the matter, eJP added a note explicitly saying that the shuttering foundation had “no connection to the New York-based social service agency of the same name.”
But alas, even with this note, the calls kept coming, Mark Meridy, DOROT’s executive director, told eJP.
“We are still getting a disconcerting number of phone calls,” Meridy said last week. “So we’re just looking to try to alleviate some of the concerns, particularly with our vulnerable older adults, that we’re not going anywhere. We’re financially strong, we’ve got great programming, and we’re not phasing out.”
