For 11 years, Alpha Epsilon Pi International Fraternity, the Jewish college fraternity, has held its annual Mensch Madness Bracket Challenge, raising more than $100,000 for select Jewish and Israeli causes. This year, Mensch Madness tips off the first-ever AEPi “Month of Giving,” encouraging AEPi undergraduate chapters and alumni to recommit to putting the fraternity’s Jewish values into action to strengthen Jewish communities.
This is the 12th year for Mensch Madness, which combines an annual NCAA college basketball tournament with the competitiveness of pitting campuses across the globe against one another. It also reinforces the Jewish ideal of tikkun olam, “repairing the world.”
In 2026, the three beneficiary organizations from AEPi’s “Repair the World Fund” are:
Tribe of Nova: Supporting the long-term recovery from trauma for the 3,500 survivors and 2,500 members of the bereaved families of those who were at the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7, 2023.
Gift of Life: Curing blood cancer through cellular therapy, Gift of Life works to raise awareness and get everyone involved, whether as a donor, a volunteer or financial supporter.
Save a Child’s Heart: Mending hearts regardless of race, religion, gender, nationality or financial status, Save a Child’s Heart saves the lives of critically ill children suffering from heart disease by bringing children to Israel for medical care, performing missions abroad and training medical personnel.
Prizes are available to participants. The winning bracket submission receives a $500 gift card, and the person raising the most money will also win a $250 gift card. Significant gifts will be awarded to the chapter that raises the most money and the most money per member. Anyone purchasing a bracket can designate a chapter to support in the 2026 Mensch Madness Challenge.
Everyone is eligible to purchase brackets and make donations to these beneficiaries, regardless of their AEPi affiliation. Brackets are open for purchase now (though the teams won’t be announced until Selection Sunday on March 15) until the tournament tips off at noon Eastern time on Thursday, March 19.
To purchase a bracket, go to: https://menschmadness.aepi.org. Bracket purchases and donations to AEPi’s Repair the World Fund are made through the Alpha Epsilon Pi Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and are deductible to the fullest extent of U.S. law.
Mensch Madness is just the beginning. AEPi’s Month of Giving will continue through April 15. Chapters throughout North America will be holding a variety of campus programs to raise awareness and money for AEPi’s beneficiaries.
“Mensch Madness is a fun way for AEPi undergraduates and alumni to raise funds for important Jewish and Israeli causes. We’re proud of the work that our chapters put into this annual event. Raising the funds is obviously great, but it is more crucial to our community that we are developing a framework for giving to Jewish causes,” said Rob Derdiger, CEO of Alpha Epsilon Pi International.
“AEPi’s Month of Giving is not simply a program: It is an expression of Jewish communal responsibility and AEPi brotherhood. Every dollar raised strengthens our communities and carries forward a proud legacy of Jewish leadership,” he said. “This month, we recommit ourselves to the principle that to wear our letters is to uphold our Jewish values.”
