2018 Discretionary Grants
2018 Fund for Jewish Philanthropy and Field of Interest Fund Grant Recipients
Click here for information on 2017 grants from the Fund for Jewish Philanthropy and Field of Interest Funds
Click here for information on 2016 grants from the Fund for Jewish Philanthropy and Field of Interest Funds
The Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix announced its 2018 discretionary grants, totaling $224,312, including $16,000 in small grants, to benefit the Jewish community locally and in Israel, through its unrestricted endowment funds, the Jewish Women’s Endowment Fund, and other ‘field of interest’ endowments
New this year, the Foundation added two funding categories: existing programs that address an unmet need; and in Israel, programs that specifically aim to improve relations between Jews and Arabs.
2018 Fund for Jewish Philanthropy Grants – Local Community
Anti-Defamation League, A World of Difference, $5,000
Train the Trainer: ADL’s A World of Difference Institute recognizes that attitudes and beliefs affect actions, and that each of us can have an impact on others, and ultimately the world in which we live. Train the Trainer will serve 10 Arizona trainers, which will increase their team of facilitators by thirty percent.
Arizona Jewish Historical Society, $2,500
Midcentury Jewish Phoenix Exhibition, 1945-1975: Creation of an original exhibition and accompanying programs on Jewish life in Mid-Twentieth Century Phoenix. The exhibit will run from January 2019 to June 2019 and will be made available to other local Jewish organizations.
Congregation Lev Shalom, $7,334
Shabbat/Program Streaming: To enable Flagstaff’s Congregation Lev Shalom to reach Jews across Northern Arizona and contiguous areas, with video streaming, via the Internet.
East Valley Jewish Community Center, $12,500 (includes $2,953 from the JCF’s Max Schlissel Education Fund)
Jewish Life and Learning Center: The program will include three components: (1) open Beit Midrash: 40 weekly adult and senior education classes; (2) a monthly Israeli movie series with Q&A; and, (3) a monthly series featuring nationally-acclaimed speakers.
Jewish Community Foundation, $19,000
Discretionary Reserve: Funding from the discretionary reserve may be used for requests that are cultivated by the Foundation outside of the annual grant cycle, or for responses to emergencies, man-made or natural disasters affecting the Jewish community.
Jewish Family & Children’s Service, $8,500
Creative Aging: A series of participatory arts workshops across the Valley, designed to engage Boomers and seniors in arts-based learning, to promote social engagement and increase quality of life. Led by professional teaching artists, the class offerings are designed to bring older adults together in a welcoming, nurturing and creative environment with the focus on reducing social isolation.
Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, $7,500
Violins of Hope: Violins of Hope tells the remarkable stories of violins that were played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust. Israeli violin maker, Amnon Weinstein, has devoted the last 20 years to locating and restoring the violins of the Holocaust as a tribute to those who were lost, including 400 of his own relatives. The four-week program includes lectures, education programs at schools, teacher training on the Holocaust, and at least one major orchestral concert featuring the violins.
Jewish Genetics Diseases Center, $7,500
2018 Genetic Diseases Screening Program: To increase the number of screenings and provide screenings in at least two cities outside of Scottsdale in 2018. The JGDC will provide screenings every other month, with a goal of screening between 150-200 individuals in 2018.
Phoenix Hebrew Academy, $18,150
Success for All: Utilizing the services of Gesher Disability Resources, this program will provide reading and math intervention to under-resourced underserved students who do not live in a Title I eligible school attendance area.
2018 Fund for Jewish Philanthropy Grants– Israel
Be-Atzmi, $10,000
Mifne (“Turning Point”) for underprivileged Jewish Women in Nazareth Illit: Each twelve-month cycle of the Mifne program consists of 40 participants, who take part in group workshops, individual mentoring sessions, and vocational training. The program serves economically dependent women who live in Nazareth Illit, a town in Israel’s northern periphery. Many of the program’s participants are single mothers including immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union, as well as veteran Israelis.
Bina: The Jewish Movement for Social Change, $10,000
Mifgashim (“Encounters”:): Arab-Jewish Encounters: Mifgashim brings together students and teachers from Arab, Druze and Jewish schools to learn about each other’s customs and traditions, and to explore possibilities for joint ventures. Each teacher takes part in two 2-hour training sessions where they get to know one another and start to build the educational toolkit they will need to lead the program in their classrooms. Students and teachers travel to each other’s communities to share their cultures, narratives and personal stories. The students work together in mixed groups to launch social action initiatives in their communities.
Economic Empowerment for Women (EEW), $7,500
A Business of One’s Own: Business development training for low income Jewish and Arab women: The program provides low-income Jewish and Arab women with entrepreneurial and empowerment tools to establish and advance their own small businesses, as a means to economic independence . Participants receive business training and undergo a process of personal empowerment. After completing the course, the women continue to receive business support services from EEW for at least five years.
Eretz Ir, $5,000
Café Ringelblum: Vocational and therapeutic Program for Youth At-Risk: This holistic therapeutic and economic empowerment program combines vocational training at Café Ringelblum, where participants receive training to become cooks with counseling and social services. An alumni program focuses on job placement and community building, maintaining contact with seventy-five percent of graduates, forty of whom are in regular, close contact with a social worker. 93% of Café Ringelblum alumni continue into army or national service and 85% hold steady jobs.
Greater Baka Community Council, $12,500
Good Neighbors Abu Tor: The neighborhood of Abu Tor straddles the seam between West and East Jerusalem, and the residents of the two neighborhoods have minimal contact due to the political conflict and differences in culture and language. The objective of this project is to create positive relations between Jews and Arabs in Abu Tor, as a counterbalance to the acts of violence and counter-violence which have erupted in Jerusalem. The program includes: (1) a database of Jewish and Arab residents with marketable services; (2) monthly “Language Café” events, (3) women’s forums, and (4) an organic community garden maintained by the residents.
IT Works, $7,500
Hi-Tech Vocational Training and Placement for Single Mothers: This pilot program, in partnership with the Friedberg Family Foundation (Yedidut Toronto), will serve 60 single mothers to help upgrade their education and training in order to acquire suitable employment, increase their income, and elevate their financial future. The program encompasses recruitment, vocational training, soft skills training, graduation, placement, and follow-up and career development.
Jasmine-Promoting Arab and Jewish Business Women, $7,500
Gender and Sector – Entrepreneurship Program: This unique program brings together Jewish and Arab women entrepreneurs who are interested in establishing a business. The program incorporates empowerment sessions, entrepreneurship and business training, personal mentoring, and business networking. Joint meetings of the various groups will be held to help the women establish further collaboration in the atmosphere of co-existence.
Job Katif, Achotenu, $10,000
Achotenu, an Ethiopian Nurses Training Program, assists young adults from the Ethiopian community gain acceptance into nursing studies on the basis of culturally compatible criteria, so they can find stable employment, break out of poverty, and integrate into Israeli society. Achotenu provides academic, emotional and financial assistance to empower students to succeed.
Kol Israel Haverim – Alliance (KIAH) – Sha’ar, $10,000
Gateway to Graduation (Shearim LeBagrut): The program targets schools in socio-geographic peripheries whose Bagrut eligibility rate (percentage of students who complete a full Bagrut diploma) is low – below sixty percent. The program is premised on a school level intervention, with the end goal being a Bagrut eligibility rate of at least eighty percent. Funding will be utilized to implement the program at a high school in Ashkelon.
Orr Shalom for Children and Youth at-Risk, $7,500
Economic Empowerment for Young Women at Risk: This program supports Orr Shalom’s most vulnerable female graduates as they leave Orr Shalom’s foster care or family group homes at age 18. This program supports and guides fifty of its most vulnerable young women as they enter independent life, post-army or National Service. Support includes one-on-one guidance via graduate coordinators, individual career and education counseling, workforce preparation classes, and financial management workshops.
Field of Interest Funds
Adva Center, $5,000
Greater Gender Equality in Israeli Local Authorities: This project was designed in response to the requests of mayoral advisors on the status of women from five local authorities who wish to step up their gender-equality work. It will increase their influence on local government affairs on behalf of women and girls and establish a support base of women change-agents in the community.
WePower, $5,000
Joint Leadership Program for Jewish and Arab Women: This program was designed to create dialogue and joint efforts to promote gender equality in those areas in which these two populations are integrated, such as in the Galilee and Negev. The program aims to promote Jewish and Arab women activists into local and national leadership positions through intensive training and by encouraging grassroots leadership experiences. The program will establish and nurture a leadership coalition of women who are keen to work at the local and national levels, and strives to create projects in the spirit of cooperation and shared society.
Women’s Spirit, Crossing the Street, $10,000 total (includes $3,384 from FJP)
This community-focused, long-term program provides women with tools, knowledge and support to help them break free from violence and build a safe and independent life. The program includes: employment skills workshops, mentoring and coaching by trained volunteers, small business training for independent business owners, professional skills trainings, computer and language courses, financial literacy, and job placement.
Paul Vermes Endowment for Disabled Youth in Israel
Shekel Community Services for People with Special Needs, $10,424
Medical Supervision at Hettena Day Center Shekel’s medical supervision program includes the crucial services of a half-time doctor who attends to the daily emergency and routine medical needs of children at Hettena, who have severe multiple disabilities, including life-threatening syndromes. The medical supervision program improves the quality of life of the children and acts to prolong their lives.
Physically Disadvantaged Children’s Fund
Gesher Disability Resources, $2,402
Summer Camp Inclusion Resources: To provide training and support for the successful inclusion of children with special needs in typical day camp programs.
Small Grants (August 2017 – March 2018)
In August 2017, the Foundation launched its new small grants process for one-time grants up to $5,000 for organizations whose program or project serve the Greater Phoenix Jewish community. Projects funded from August 2017 – March 2018 are listed below.
Schmooze, Young Adult & LGBT Programming, $1,500
To fund programs for singles and couples in their 30s and 40s and young families in their 20s to 40s, including ShabbatLuck monthly dinners, social and educational events, and LGBT programming.
Limmud AZ, Limmud AZ Ambassador, $750
To create a core of specially trained and designated volunteers to serve as ambassadors at Limmud.
Women’s Jewish Learning Center, Alumni Retreat, $3,500
Expanding on the continuing work of the Women’s Leadership Institute, graduates of the four leadership cohorts will gather for two days of Jewish study, community building, leadership best practices, and the consideration of a large community project.
Chabad of the East Valley, Cteen Kosher Food Club, $2,000
To reach teens that are not connected to the Jewish community, Chabad will create Jewish culture student clubs in various high schools such as Corona and Desert Vista.
Arizona Jewish Historical Society, 2018 Summer Music Series, $1,500
The Historical Society will launch the 2018 Summer Music Series, consisting of two or three concerts.
Jewish Genetic Diseases Center, ASU Education & Screening Event, $3,500
Funding for up to 50 student screenings at the ASU campus, where 9% of the students are Jewish.
Red Rocks Music Festival, In My Father’s Footsteps, $1,000
The program will include a piano performance and lecture about the influence of Jewish music on the life and career of pianist Sandra Shapiro, faculty at Cleveland Institute of Music and visiting artist, Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival, Expansion of film festival to Tempe, $1,000
To bring the Jewish Film Festival to the Tempe Marketplace 16. The GJFF anticipates reaching 800-1,000 patrons for its first year in the Tempe location.
J Sisterhood at ASU, JSisters at ASU, $1,250
Start-up funding to cover community building events for the first year of the JSisters Group, which was created to fill the void on the ASU campus in the absence of a Jewish sorority.
