Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre (OJA)

The Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre (OJA) is the central repository for records documenting Jewish life in Ontario. As a department of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, it acquires, preserves and makes accessible photographs, documents, oral histories and other materials that illuminate the social, religious, political and cultural history of the province’s Jewish communities. Through exhibitions, educational resources and partnerships with universities and community organizations, the OJA supports both public history and academic research.

Beyond its curatorial and educational work, the OJA administers the Dr. Stephen Speisman Bursary, a targeted funding program that offers financial support to individuals preparing a thesis, paper, scholarly article or book on Ontario Jewish history. To be eligible, projects must rely substantially on records held by the OJA, ensuring that the bursary directly stimulates use of the archives’ collections and contributes to new scholarship.

According to the bursary description, applications are assessed on several factors: the importance of the proposed research to the field of Ontario Jewish history, the applicant’s plan for disseminating the final work, the costs the researcher will incur, and the nature and extent of Ontario Jewish Archives sources to be consulted. A bursary of up to $500 is awarded each year to selected recipients, and the website lists past bursary holders, including graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, professors and community organizations.

The OJA’s funding and support activities primarily target researchers at various stages—undergraduate and graduate students, early career scholars, established academics and community historians—whose work advances understanding of Ontario’s Jewish experience. Through the bursary, collaborative programs with York University and other partners, and its open research services, the archives helps lower financial and logistical barriers to archival research. The cumulative impact is a richer, more diverse body of publications, exhibits and teaching materials grounded in primary sources from the province’s Jewish communities.

Established in 1973 and named in honour of the Blankenstein family, the Ontario Jewish Archives emerged under the founding direction of Dr. Stephen Speisman, whose legacy is reflected in the memorial bursary program. Over time the OJA has expanded its collections and public programs, mounting on-site and online exhibitions and responding to contemporary events through initiatives such as the “Bearing Witness” documentation project. Its combination of archival stewardship and modest but targeted research funding makes it a key institution in the Canadian Jewish studies and public history landscape.