Frequently asked questions

Thank you for your interest in the Chai Challenge! We've tried to answer any questions you may have, but if we've missed something, please contact us at info@ifcj.ca so we can help you.

What is the International Fellowship of Christians & Jews Chai Challenge?

The Chai Challenge is The Fellowship's one-of-a-kind fundraising adventure committed to feeding, caring for, and clothing Israel's most vulnerable people.

The Challenge is not a run, not a race, not an obstacle course. The Chai Challenge is about self. It is about challenging your personal faith journey. It is about challenging yourself, along with others, to make a difference in the lives of needy children and families. Are you ready to make a difference?

Where is the Chai Challenge location nearest me?

Take a look and see if there is a location near you. If not, register your location under the “Register a Location” button.

Can I participate on my own?

Yes, you can! If you don't have a team or would like to take the Chai Challenge all on your own, simply register as a Virtual Participant. If you decide that you'd like to participate and fundraise with a team after you register, you can always join or create a team later on.

How can my school, company, ministry department get involved?

Simply register your location and begin to register your teams online.



Chai pronounced "Hi"

The number 18 is significant in Judaism for many reasons:

  • On Friday night, candles are lit 18 minutes before sunset to symbolize the arrival of the Sabbath into a Jewish home.
  • It is the amount of time it takes to bake matzah (unleavened bread) any minute later, and the matzah is no longer kosher.
  • Most importantly, number 18 is the Hebrew word "chai", which means "life".

Every Hebrew letter has a numerical value and the Hebrew letters that make the word “chai” combine for a total value of 18, a spiritual symbol representing the celebration of life.

We’re grateful that you’ve joined The Fellowship and have pledged to make a difference to supporting the most vulnerable people and providing them with the gift of "life"!

Together, we can make a difference. LET’S CHANGE LIVES!

Building Bridges, Changing Lives

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) was founded in 1983 by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein to promote understanding between Jews and Christians, and build broad support for Israel and other shared concerns. This year marks our 35th year of global service, and 15th year in Canada.

Our ministry's vision is that Jews and Christians will reverse their 2,000-year history of discord, and replace it with a relationship marked by dialogue, respect, and cooperation.

A History of Helping

Over the years, The Fellowship has been leaders in Jewish-Christian relations, building bridges of goodwill that have led to greater understanding and cooperation between members of these two great faiths.

Globally, The Fellowship has helped hundreds of thousands of Jews escape poverty and anti-Semitism and return to their biblical homeland, and funded humanitarian assistance that has touched the lives of millions of Jews in Israel and around the world.

With thanks to God and our faithful global partners, The Fellowship is now the largest philanthropy for social welfare needs in Israel.

Learn more about our global outreach, Rabbi Eckstein, and our ministry programs.

Do I get a tax receipt for my donation?

If you made a donation online, we sent you your tax receipt right away to the email address you provided during the donation process. If it isn't in your email inbox, please check your spam folder.

If you want to make a donation offline, please contact contact us at info@ifcj.ca for details. They'll be happy to answer any questions you have.

How do I make a donation?

Thanks so much for your anticipated support! There are a few ways you can make a donation.

Sponsor A Participant Or Team Online: If someone you know is participating in the Chai Challenge, and you'd like to support their fundraising efforts, making an online gift is quick and easy!

Make A General Donation to the Chai Challenge: To make a donation to the Challenge, simply click the Donate button on the Chai Challenge website and select the team/individual who you would like to sponsor.

Make an Offline Donation: Talk to the person you want to sponsor and they'll add you to their Donation Form, handing you back a Donation Slip. Or you can call 1.855.311.4325 to make a donation by phone.

Why wasn't my credit card accepted?

It's usually the case that there was a little error when someone entered their credit card information. Please check that you've typed your credit card number correctly, that the expiry date is correct and that the name you've typed appears exactly as it does on the card.

If it's still not working, please call us 1.855.311.4325 so that we can help you get your donation processed.

I lost my tax receipt. How can I get another copy?

Please email info@ifcj.ca so that we can send you another tax receipt.

Why do I have to fundraise?

Through this lifesaving Challenge, you will be accomplishing the biblical mandate "to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe him…" (Isaiah 58:7).

Without your fundraising efforts, none of that would be possible.

How will you use the money that I raise?

Together, we are aiming to help children and families who are struggling and living below the poverty line with the following initiatives:
  • Distributing backpacks with school supplies and a clothing card for children who deserve dignity.
  • Helping Israeli youth with activities such as mentoring, soccer, and tutoring. Participants are from all neighbourhoods of Jerusalem, with different ethnic and social backgrounds and many are from economically disadvantaged families.
  • Providing food cards for families who cannot afford to put food on the table.

How much money do I need to raise to participate in the Chai Challenge?

It would be awesome if everyone who participates in the Chai Challenge would set a goal of at least $180. When you put your mind to it, you’ll be amazed at what you can do for a cause that’s so close to your heart - and we’ll be here to help you every step of the way! In addition to the helpful emails we’ll be sending to all Participants, you can check out fundraising tips and find detailed fundraising help in your Participant Centre.

I’m new to fundraising. Can you give me some tips?

Of course! Here are our top 3 tips:

Make the first donation to your Personal Fundraising Page. This will help other people choose how much to give to you, so make a donation that you’re proud of!

Send fundraising emails from your Participant Centre to everyone you know. This is the secret of our top fundraisers! Ask everyone because every donation adds up.

A few days after you send your first emails, send a reminder email to anyone you haven’t heard from yet. Experience tells us that most people need 2 to 3 reminders before they make a donation, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t hear from someone right away.

Can people other than my team see the results of our fundraising?

Yes. Team and individual fundraising pages - along with your results - are public, unless you opted to make them private when you registered. People will be able to see your fundraising totals, but they can’t see individual donation amounts. When someone makes a donation to your page, they can choose to do so anonymously. Having a public fundraising page allows people to search for you and make a donation easily.

If you’d like to make your personal fundraising page private, follow these steps:
  1. Log to your Participant Centre.
  2. Click manage your display name (on the right).
  3. Select “keep me anonymous and make my personal page private (not searchable).”
  4. Click submit

What do I do with the money I’ve collected offline?

For those who have given you cash or cheques—it would be best to submit to your church or school and have the church/school submit a cheque to“IFCJ Canada”, along with pledge form information. Any receipting questions please email info@ifcj.ca or call 1.855.311.4325

Do I need to enter the offline donations I’ve collected into my Participant Centre? How do I do it?

Adding your offline donations to your Participant Centre is a great way to keep track of your total fundraising amount! Follow the steps below to enter your offline donations and see your fundraising thermometer go up.

  1. Log in to your Participant Centre.
  2. From the progress tab, select enter a donation.
  3. Follow the prompts.

Receipts cannot be issued for cash or cheque donations entered through your Participant Centre. Cash or cheque donations that you collect must be handed in to your church or school. Receipts are generated when a credit card donation is entered in your Participant Centre.

I sent emails to my friends and family from my Participant Centre, but they haven’t received them. What can I do?

This isn’t your fault. It happens sometimes. Ask people to check their spam folder. If they use Gmail, ask them to check their promotions tab.

If you’re concerned they won’t receive your email, you can:
  1. Send yourself a fundraising email from your Participant Centre.
  2. Copy and paste it into a new email.
  3. Forward it to your friends and family from your personal email account.

Just remember that if you do this, your Participant Centre won’t be able to track who you’ve sent emails to.

I forget who I’ve sent emails to from my Participant Centre. Can I see a list of their names?

Yes, you can track who you’ve sent emails to, as long as you sent the email from your Participant Centre. Follow these steps:
  1. Log in to your Participant Centre.
  2. From the email tab, click sent.

What is a Participant Centre?

It’s where all the fundraising magic happens! Once you register for the Chai Challenge, you’ll automatically be given access to your Participant Centre. From there, you can:
  • Update your registration information
  • Customize your Personal Fundraising Page and team page
  • Import email contacts and send fundraising, recruitment and thank-you emails
  • Set your personal and team fundraising goals and track and manage your progress
  • Easily share your Personal Fundraising Page on social media
  • Add offline donations to your online total
  • Quickly access fundraising and Participant resources

What if I forgot my Username/password?

  1. Go to the login page.
  2. Click email me my login information.
  3. Enter the email address that you registered with.
Your username or password will be emailed to you. Sometimes these emails end up in spam or junk folders, so you might want to check there.

How do I change the photo on my personal fundraising page?

  1. Log in to your Participant Centre.
  2. From the personal page tab, click photos/video.
  3. Select choose file.
  4. Add a photo from your computer, then select open.
  5. Write a caption if you want.
  6. Click save/upload.

How do I add my story to my personal fundraising page?

  1. Log in to your Participant Centre.
  2. From the edit personal page tab, edit your page title and story as you’d like.
  3. Click save.

How do I import my email contacts into my Participant Centre?

Adding your contacts is easy to do, and it will help you track who you’ve sent emails to, so it’s well worth it! To import your contacts:
  1. Log in to your Participant Centre and go to the email tab.
  2. Click contacts.
  3. Click import contacts.
  4. Select your email provider and click next.
  5. Follow the instructions.
You can also add contacts one at a time from the email tab.

How do I update my fundraising goal?

  1. Log in to your Participant Centre and go to the progress tab.
  2. Click change, which is displayed next to your goal.
  3. Enter your new goal and click submit.

How do I send a fundraising email from my Participant Centre?

It’s quick and easy!

If you want to use a sample email, you’re welcome to use the sample email as is or personalize it as much as you’d like.
  1. Log in to your Participant Centre and go to the email tab.
  2. Enter email addresses in the “TO:” field.
  3. Click suggested messages and choose solicitation. You can personalize the message once it’s selected.
If you want to write your own email, you can save your custom message as a template so you can use it again later.
  1. Log in to your Participant Centre and go to the email tab.
  2. Enter email addresses in the “to” field.
  3. Enter your subject line in the subject field.
  4. Write your email.

What are my responsibilities?

Welcome! As a Chai Challenge Team Captain, you have a really important job. In addition to reaching your personal fundraising goal, it’s your responsibility to lead your team to Chai Challenge success!
You will:
  • Build your team by recruiting people
  • Motivate your teammates to meet their fundraising goals
  • Collect offline donations from your teammates and submit them to The Fellowship

How many teammates should my team have?

There isn’t a minimum number of people, but with more people, you will raise more money, you’ll help more people and you’ll have more fun!

What is the best way to recruit teammates?

You should start by sending recruitment emails to anyone you’d like to join your team. We’ve set up a sample email in your Participant Centre that you can use as is or personalize it as much as you’d like.
  1. Log in to your Participant Centre.
  2. From the email tab, enter the email addresses in the “TO:” field.
  3. Click sample emails and select recruitment.
  4. Click send.


*Don't forget the power of social media! Invite your firends through a Tweet or Facebook post that includes your email and a link to your personal fundraising page.

Do you have any resources that can help me encourage my team to fundraise?

Yes, we do! There’s a sample email in your Participant Centre that you can use to encourage your teammates to fundraise. You can use the email as is or modify it as necessary. We recommend sending out a team email once a week until your Chai Challenge Celebration, telling your teammates how the team is doing and how much more you need everyone to fundraise.

How do I enter a team donation or help others who want to make a team donation?

If you want to enter an offline team donation (only Team Captains can do this)
  1. Log in to your Participant Centre.
  2. From the progress tab, select Team progress.
  3. Click Enter a New Donation.
  4. Follow the prompts.
Make an Offline Team Donation

Option 1: Email them a link to your team page. That’s it. This is the easiest way, because they don’t have to search for your team.

Option 2: Pass these instructions on to them.

  1. Click Donate.
  2. Search for your team name.
  3. Click Make Donation on the team page.

I can no longer be captain for my team. How do we change our Team Captain?

You can easily change your team’s captain by following these steps:
  1. Log in to your Participant Centre.
  2. Click Manage Team Roster (on the right).
  3. Select Manage Captain.
  4. Follow the prompts.

What are my responsibilities?

An Ambassador is becoming the lead of your youth group, school, home group, worship team, seniors team, or women's/men's team. You register the location and then have other leaders become Team Captains. This person has the responsibility of recruiting people to sign up on your team. You are the leader of the Champions! This is an exciting role of a true change agent!

You’ll:
  • Select your Team Captains
  • Encourage your Team Captains to motivate their teams to meet their fundraising goals
  • Collect offline donations from your Team Captains and submit them to The Fellowship
  • If you need assistance, please call us at: 1.855.311.4325
  • Plan/delegate the planning and delivery of the Chai Challenge Celebration

Purimis the most fun-filled, action-packed day of the Jewish holidays! It is a celebration that commemorates the way God used Esther in the miraculous saving of the Jewish people over 2000 years ago.

Purim involves giving to those less fortunate and celebrating with feasting, music, and masquerade.

Appropriately, we've chosen this joyous festival of Purim on March 2nd, 2018 to collectively celebrate our Chai Challenge achievements across the country. We encourage you to organize your own festive celebration with your church, school, family or workplace teams on or close to Purim.

Click here for more information on the Chai Challenge Celebration.

Thank you again for choosing to support the vulnerable in The Fellowship's Chai Challenge.

Below you'll find all the resources you'll need to make the biggest impact possible for people in desperate need.

Chai Challenge Kit


More to come!

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