Long viewed as the “junior partners” of Jewish organizations that helped them emigrate from the Soviet Union in the 1970s and ’80s, now-wealthy Russian Jews are making their presence felt in American Jewish philanthropy, the Forward news organization reports.

Organizations started by Russian immigrants, such as the Nadav Fund and Genesis Philanthropy Group, are pumping money into efforts aimed at building Jewish identity, such as summer camps, trips to Israel, and Jewish-studies departments at universities.