Eastern Europe, Jewish Zionist leaders seized the opportunity presented by the Balfour Declaration to mobilize towards the creation and settlement of a Jewish homeland.
On March 23, 1921 KH-UIA was registered as a British limited company, whose members, together with the Chairman of the Board of Directors, were chosen by the WZO's Executive Board. KH-UIA's founders included such luminaries as Chaim Weizmann, Aharon, and Isaac Naidich. The first Directors were Barth Berthold Feiwel, Georg Halpern, Vladimir Jabotinsky, Shlomo Kaplansky, Shemaryahu Levin, Issac Naidich, Israel M. Sieff (later Lord Sieff) and Hillel Zlatopolsky.
In 1926, KH-UIA's Head Office was relocated from London to Jerusalem. The Directors at the time were Arthur Hantke and Leib Jaffe. On March 11, 1948 a car bomb exploded in the courtyard of KH-UIA's building, tragically claiming the lives of Keren Hayesod - United Israel Appeal's Director, Leib Jaffe and 11 other Keren Hayesod - United Israel Appeal employees.
When the Jewish Agency for Palestine was founded in 1929, with equal representation for non-Zionists, Keren Hayesod - United Israel Appeal continued to be the main instrument for financing the Jewish Zionist Settlement Movement. From 1925, the fund began operating in the United States as the United Palestine Appeal (a partnership of Keren Hayesod and the Jewish National Fund). In 1939, it combined with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the National Refugee Service to form the United Jewish Appeal. Today, the UJA (now called UJC) operates in the US while KH-UIA's head office in Jerusalem coordinates operations in the rest of the world.
In 1956, Israel's Knesset passed the Keren Hayesod Law, confirming the unique fundraising status and special mandate of Keren Hayesod - United Israel Appeal. It remains the only such law ever passed in Israel for a fundraising organization.
In 1966, Keren Hayesod - United Israel Appeal was reregistered in Israel as a non-profit company.