The Avi Chai Foundation is a private foundation endowed in 1984 by Zalman Bernstein, an investor and founder of Sanford Bernstein. Zalman Bernstein became a Modern Orthodox Baal teshuva (a returnee to Orthodox observance) who wished to further the cause of outreach to alienated and assimilated Jews worldwide. Avi Chai allocates resources in the United States and in Israel. Until 2003, Avi Chai functioned in Russia and other former Soviet Union countries. In 2019, the foundation completed its process of spending-down its remaining endowment which, in 2010, had a value of $600 million. Established by the AVI CHAI Foundation in 2007, Beit Avi Chai is housed, purpose-built facility located at 44 King George Street in Jerusalem, Israel and serves as a hub for the creation, development and expression of Jewish texts and ideas.