The Peralta Hacienda, site of an early California rancho, sponsors innovative cultural exchange projects for its neighbors.
The following list of grants are those made or renewed in the
Jewish life program
area through November 2009. Click on any grantee to view the details.
Future funding [denoted in italics] for multi-year projects is contingent upon fulfillment of the terms of the grant and review by the Fund. The list is divided into sections by category.
Expand All |Close All(Click on any grantee to view details.)
Building Partnerships To foster rich partnerships and build secure bridges between the Jewish community and other communities.
Bay Area Organizing Committee -
$50,000
To support the participation of synagogues and Jewish organizations in congregation-based community organizing-a process that develops leadership within congregations, allows members to identify issues of concern, teaches them to research these issues, and connects congregations of different religions and denominations through publications to hold elected officials accountable to communities. The Bay Area Organizing Committee is a coalition of interfaith congregations that has, over the last five years, engaged Sonoma, Napa, and Marin county synagogues in this work. This grant supports efforts to expand this work to synagogues in the North Bay and the East Bay. Grant Amount:
$50,000 [2008],
$50,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 07/11/2008 through 07/11/2010
Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice - California -
$50,000
This grant supports the expansion of Bay Area programs that engage clergy in economic justice and immigration rights campaigns. Funding will enable CLUE to expand its local work, train an additional 60 religious leaders, and create new affiliate groups. Funding will also support CLUE's internal planning. This grant is a renewal of previous grants in 2006 and 2007. Grant Amount:
$60,000 [2008],
$50,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 11/21/2008 through 11/21/2010 Project Web Site:www.cluela.org
Facing History and Ourselves National Foundation, Inc. -
$30,000
A number of Bay Area schools already use Facing History's Holocaust education curriculum. The grant will expand that number of schools, and also will enable the Bay Area to participate in a national evaluation of the effectiveness of teaching about racism and prejudice as a way to create greater educational engagement of teachers and students. Grant Amount:
$70,000 [2007],
$50,000 [2008],
$30,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 03/29/2007 through 03/29/2010 Project Web Site:www.facing.org
Interfaith Youth Core -
$60,000
The Interfaith Youth Core empowers young people from different religions to work together. By building an interfaith youth movement and supporting it, through institutions and leadership training, the program aims to strengthen civil society. Interfaith Youth Core operated more than a dozen service projects in the Bay Area last year. This year, with the Fund's assistance, it seeks to provide more mini-grants for service projects, ten conference scholarships, and increased training. Grant Amount:
$60,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 06/30/2009 through 06/30/2010 Project Web Site:www.ifyc.org
Islamic Networks -
$65,000
The Islamic Networks Group (ING) fosters dialogue and cooperation between Jews and Muslims in the Bay Area. Its panel presentations highlighting the values shared by those of different religions reached 4,500 high school and university students over an 18-month period. The ING also addresses religious discrimination with community leaders and organizes joint Jewish-Muslim religious services. The Fund's grant helps ING's Interfaith Speakers Bureau promote religious tolerance in Bay Area high schools and colleges. Grant Amount:
$65,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 06/30/2009 through 06/30/2010 Project Web Site:www.ing.org
Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties -
$1,250,000
The Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, and Sonoma Counties supports agencies throughout the region that connect individuals with Jewish life, culture, and social services. It also is responding to the recession with "JCatalyst," an effort to fund a $7 million Jewish safety net. The Fund made a three-part grant: $1 million supports the Federation's annual campaign; $220,000 is directed to JCatalyst to support Jewish Family and Children's Services of San Francisco, Jewish Family and Children's Services of the East Bay, the Jewish Community Free Clinic, Hebrew Free Loan, and Shalom Bayit. Lastly, the Fund provided support for "A Year of Civil Discourse," a project of the Jewish Community Relations Council designed to heal growing rifts in the Jewish community over disparate viewpoints about Israel. Grant Amount:
$1,250,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 11/23/2009 through 11/23/2010 Project Web Site:www.sfjcf.org/
Jewish Community Relations Council of San Francisco, Marin and the Peninsula -
$75,000
The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) strives to improve relations between Jews and other religious and ethnic communities, particularly Latinos and Muslims. The JCRC uses anti-poverty and social justice efforts, for example advocating for marriage equality, as a tool to build inter-community connections. The Council's literacy program volunteers worked with 1,450 disadvantaged public school students, many of whom had never met a Jew before. The Fund's grant helps JCRC to support interreligious cooperation in San Francisco. Grant Amount:
$75,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 06/30/2009 through 06/30/2010 Project Web Site:www.jcrc.org
Jewish Family and Children's Services of the East Bay -
$75,000
Jewish Family and Children's Services (JF&CS) of the East Bay is the largest provider of services to immigrants and refugees in its area of operation. Last year, JF&CS delivered food to the homebound, helped clients prepare for citizenship, and offered life skills tutoring. These services build trust between Jews and other communities, particularly with Muslims. This year, with help from the Fund, JF&CS plans to increase its services to further aid immigrants and to continue to build connections between communities. Grant Amount:
$75,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 06/30/2009 through 06/30/2010 Project Web Site:www.jfcs-eastbay.org
Jewish Funds for Justice -
$85,000
To strengthen the role of Bay Area synagogues in faith-based community organizing. JFJ has been working with Bay Area synagogues since 2005 to encourage Jews to work with other communities of faith to pursue policy and legislative solutions to social inequities. Grant Amount:
$85,000 [2008],
$85,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 03/31/2008 through 03/31/2010 Project Web Site:www.jewishjustice.org
Jewish Music Festival -
$35,000
Fiscal Sponsor: Jewish Community Center of the East Bay
Each year, the Jewish Music Festival presents multicultural music with Jewish roots at venues throughout the Bay Area. In 2009, the Festival's 25th anniversary year, the Fund's grant supports the Festival's continued commitment to representing Jewish diversity and its work to build connections between Jews and other communities. Grant Amount:
$35,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 10/30/2009 through 10/30/2010 Project Web Site:www.jewishmusicfestival.org/
Jewish Vocational Service -
$150,000
The mission of JVS is to strengthen the Bay Area community and fulfill Jewish values by helping people, particularly those with barriers to employment, acquire the skills and resources they need to secure meaningful employment and advance toward self-sufficiency. JVS builds its programs around specific industry sectors and works closely with employers to design and deliver training and job placement services. Several programs within JVS address the needs and aspirations of immigrants and, as a Jewish organization, JVS is well positioned to build bridges between Jewish and non-Jewish communities. Thus this core support grant is jointly funded by the Fund's Economic Security and Jewish Life programs. Grant Amount:
$150,000 [2006],
$150,000 [2007],
$150,000 [2008],
$150,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 12/07/2005 through 12/07/2010 Project Web Site:www.jvs.org
Progressive Jewish Alliance -
$125,000
This grant supports local Jewish social justice programming and transition costs for the Bay Area work of Progressive Jewish Alliance. PJA will pilot a Jewish-Muslim service program, create programs with Muslim partners to foster mutual understanding, and continue to offer leadership and programming around marriage equality, economic justice, and immigration reform. PJA is currently undergoing a search for a new Executive Director; a portion of this grant covers costs incurred in the transition. Year Two is conditioned on a $75,000 match for new funding. This grant is a renewal of previous grants in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2006. Grant Amount:
$125,000 [2008],
$50,000 [2009] $75,000 conditional Project Dates: 11/21/2008 through 11/21/2010 Project Web Site:www.pjalliance.org
San Francisco Hillel -
$50,000
Fiscal Sponsor: Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
San Francisco Hillel serves 3,200 Jewish students at 12 college campuses, with a major presence at San Francisco State University. This grant supports outreach to diverse Jewish students and efforts to connect them with other ethnic and affinity organizations on the campuses. This grant is supported by the Fund's Other Grantmaking Interests and Jewish Life programs. Grant Amount:
$50,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 03/03/2009 through 03/03/2010 Project Web Site:www.sfhillel.org
San Francisco Interfaith Council -
$20,000
The San Francisco Interfaith Council works with clergy of all faiths to aid members of the City's diverse religious communities. Currently, the Council focuses on disaster response preparedness, navigating the economic downturn, and deepening interfaith understanding. The Fund's grant helps the San Francisco Interfaith Council prepare community members to confront the issues that jointly concern them, regardless of their religious affiliation. Thus grant is jointly funded by the Fund's Jewish Life and disaster-preparedness programs. Grant Amount:
$20,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 05/20/2009 through 05/20/2010 Project Web Site:www.sf-interfaith.org
The Working Group -
$50,000
The Working Group harnesses the power of documentary filmmaking and online multimedia to help communities respond to and prevent hate violence. Its Not in Our Town project will include a website with a resource map of the Bay Area groups that are the first-responders to hate violence, documenting their stories. Its third Not in Our Town film will air on PBS in 2010. The Fund's grant supports constructing The Not In Our Town website, which will offer citizens, civic leaders, and activists best practices in preventing and responding to hate crimes in their schools, organizations, and communities. Grant Amount:
$50,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 06/30/2009 through 06/30/2010 Project Web Site:www.workinggroup.org
Creative Expression
To foster creative expression of the American Jewish experience as a distinct community within a multi-cultural and open society.
Institute for Jewish Spirituality -
$35,000
This grant will support local programs for clergy and social justice activists seeking a spiritual dimension to Judaism. IJS will offer a four-day retreat for leaders from Jewish and secular social justice organizations. It will also develop curriculum and provide teaching for synagogues involved in community organizing and will sustain and grow its rabbinic leadership program. The Fund has been a supporter of IJS since 2005. Grant Amount:
$65,000 [2008],
$35,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 11/21/2008 through 11/21/2010 Project Web Site:www.ijs-online.org/
KlezCalifornia, Inc. -
$10,000
To support programs in the Bay Area that present klezmer music and Yiddish language to a contemporary audience. KlezCalifornia works with local Jewish Community Centers to engage the public through workshops and concerts. Grant Amount:
$15,000 [2008],
$10,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 05/30/2008 through 05/30/2010 Project Web Site:www.klezcalifornia.org
Pew Charitable Trust -
$35,000
The Cultural Data Project was created in Pennsylvania by collaborating grantmaking agencies that wanted consistent, reliable information on the state's cultural sector and to reduce nonprofits' burden in applying for grants. Its founder designed a sophisticated Web-based system for collecting and organizing data about finances, staffing, volunteers, and audiences. The Fund's grant supports costs associated with bringing the Data Project to California-modifying the system to meet local funders' needs, providing extensive online and in-person training, and supporting applicants with a robust help desk. By 2010, an estimated 1,000 San Francisco and Alameda County organizations are expected to participate. This grant is supported by the Fund's Arts program at the level of $25,000 and $10,000 from Jewish Life. Grant Amount:
$35,000 [2007],
$35,000 [2008],
$35,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 11/27/2007 through 11/27/2010 Project Web Site:www.pewtrusts.org
Legacy
American Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel -
$65,000
The American Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel works to fight development efforts that could impact the pristine beauty of the Haas Promenade and adjacent areas in Jerusalem. The Fund provides support so that the Society can continue to influence Jerusalem's master plan, protecting the city's historically significant beauty over the next 20 years. Grant Amount:
$65,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 11/23/2009 through 11/23/2010 Project Web Site:www.aspni.org
Promoting Diversity
To promote a Jewish community accepting of its diversity and better able to harness the strength that results from a diverse population.
Bay Area Jewish Healing Center -
$40,000
Fiscal Sponsor: Institute on Aging
The Bay Area Jewish Healing Center provides spiritual care and support services to people who are living with physical or mental illness, caring for the ill, or experiencing bereavement. The Healing Center provides free or low-cost assistance to anyone in need, with an intention to be responsive to the needs of the LGBT community and other diverse groups of Jews. The Fund supports the Healing Center's efforts to inclusively create and care for its community. Grant Amount:
$40,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 10/30/2009 through 10/30/2010 Project Web Site:www.jewishhealingcenter.org
Jewish Community Center of San Francisco -
$100,000
The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco is a hub of Jewish life and a gathering place where the entire community is welcome. It offers cultural, educational, athletic, and spiritual programs as well as community service projects. With general operating support from the Fund, the Center is widening its focus to increase LGBT-friendly programming and more inclusively serve the Jewish community. Grant Amount:
$100,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 11/23/2009 through 11/23/2010 Project Web Site:www.jccsf.org
Jewish Community Center of the East Bay -
$60,000
Since 1978, the Jewish Community Center of the East Bay (East Bay JCC) has provided Berkeley and Oakland's diverse Jewish communities with services and support. It serves 10,000 individuals each year, including intermarried, LGBT, and multiracial Jewish families who take advantage of its preschool and other family programs. Approximately 600 seniors rely on the East Bay JCC for Jewish cultural programming, hot lunches, and other services. The Fund's grant helps the East Bay JCC to reinvigorate the Jewish and cultural programs it provides to strengthen the community. Grant Amount:
$60,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 06/30/2009 through 06/30/2010 Project Web Site:www.jcceastbay.org
Jewish Gateways -
$30,000
Fiscal Sponsor: Jewish Funds for Justice
Jewish Gateways aids Bay Area Jews who face barriers to exploring Jewish life. The organization sponsors gatherings suitable for families with young children, and hosts weekly Shabbat dinners and other holiday celebrations. Jewish Gateways attracts a large numbers of LGBT Jews, Jews of color, and other Jews who are more comfortable exploring their religion outside of synagogues and agencies. The Fund's grant helps Jewish Gateways in creating welcoming opportunities that encourage religious participation. Grant Amount:
$30,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 05/20/2009 through 05/20/2010 Project Web Site:www.jewishjustice.org
Jewish Milestones -
$65,000
Jewish Milestones assists individuals not connected to synagogues or Jewish institutions-including many intermarried Jews, Jews of color, and other diverse segments of the Jewish community-in marking major life transitions from birth to death. Milestones provides professional development for independent ritual facilitators and helps individuals to find a facilitator who meets their needs. Grant Amount:
$65,000 [2008],
$65,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 03/31/2008 through 03/31/2010 Project Web Site:www.jewishmilestones.org
Jewish Mosaic: The National Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity -
$70,000
Fiscal Sponsor: Jewish Funds for Justice
To support the expansion of Bay Area program on gender diversity. Jewish Mosaic is the first national organization dedicated to helping the Jewish community become more open, accessible, and welcoming to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Jews and their families. This grant follows two previous years of support to launch Mosaic in the Bay Area. Mosaic will implement a social service initiative that aims to improve service to LGBT Jews in clinical settings. It will offer training workshops for professionals and will assess the human service needs of LGBT Jews. Grant Amount:
$70,000 [2008],
$70,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 07/11/2008 through 07/11/2010 Project Web Site:www.jewishjustice.org
Jewish Welcome Network -
$30,000
Fiscal Sponsor: Congregation Sherith Israel
The Jewish Welcome Network (formerly Project Welcome) is an outreach program designed to encourage Bay Area synagogues, schools, and agencies to offer interfaith couples and unaffiliated Jews a warm reception. With support from the Fund, the Network provides consultations with rabbis, organizes public events, and facilitates workshops all aimed at ensuring that interfaith couples feel welcome in the community and that the community is stronger for their involvement. Grant Amount:
$30,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 10/30/2009 through 10/30/2010 Project Web Site:www.jewishwelcomenetwork.org/
Neherim -
$40,000
Neherim, Hebrew for "brilliant lights in the rainbow," devotes its efforts to creating a welcoming community for LGBT Jews nation-wide. Its weekend retreats unite unaffiliated LGBT Jews so that they can explore Jewish texts in a comfortable setting. The Fund's grant supports Neherim's Bay Area work including a third Marin retreat and continuing programs to promote acceptance and diversity within the Jewish community. Grant Amount:
$40,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 10/30/2009 through 10/30/2010 Project Web Site:www.nehirim.org
Osher Marin Jewish Community Center -
$25,000
The Osher Marin JCC celebrates, sustains, and strengthens Jewish life and works to build cross-cultural understanding. It offers a comprehensive fitness center, gymnasium, 400-seat theater, and after-school and senior programming to serve more than 35,000 individuals each year. The Fund's grant supports the JCC in providing free Jewish holiday and theme programs designed for intermarried, LGBT, and minority Jewish families. These events provide added opportunity for the community to strengthen and grow together. Grant Amount:
$25,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 10/30/2009 through 10/30/2010
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival -
$75,000
The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival operates a 12-week summer festival and presents year-round programming to provide an inclusive and dynamic forum for exploring the Jewish experience. The Fund supports the Festival's role as a touchstone for a large number of Jews, as a welcoming environment for non-Jews, and as a forum for conversations about challenges facing the Jewish community. Through its programming, the Festival helps San Francisco celebrate its welcome diversity. Grant Amount:
$75,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 11/23/2009 through 11/23/2010 Project Web Site:www.sfjff.org
A Traveling Jewish Theatre -
$50,000
The Traveling Jewish Theater interprets the Jewish experience through drama. Its productions reflect cultural and social rifts, bringing together audiences disparate in age, sexual preference, ethnicity, and religion. Last year, the Theater entered into a formal relationship with the San Francisco Jewish Community Center. Now entering its 30th year, the group is changing its name to the Jewish Theater: San Francisco, rebranding itself, and planning to add more commercially appealing productions. The Fund's grant supports these efforts, its current season, and its mission to unite audiences. This grant is supported by the Fund's Jewish Life program at the level of $40,000 and $10,000 from the Arts. Grant Amount:
$50,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 06/30/2009 through 06/30/2010 Project Web Site:www.atjt.com
Upstart Bay Area -
$40,000
This grant will expand a program that serves fledgling Jewish organizations in the Bay Area. UpStart will provide up to three years of support and mentorship to 10 Jewish organizations at early stages of their development. Participants will gain knowledge in business fundamentals, Jewish ethics, and the non-profit community. UpStart seeks to provide young adults with new opportunities for learning and meaningful expression of diverse Jewish identity and social justice by expanding the field of Jewish organizations. Previous support for Jewish UpStart (formerly named the Jewish Professional's Coop) totaled $192,000 from 2004 - 2007. Grant Amount:
$100,000 [2008],
$40,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 11/21/2008 through 11/21/2010 Project Web Site:www.upstartbayarea.org
Capital
The Contemporary Jewish Museum -
$340,000
The Contemporary Jewish Museum is building a new facility that will allow it to expand educational and artistic programming and engage a diverse audience in the arts and Jewish Life. Its campaign goal encompasses construction, transition costs, and endowment growth. Among the 50 Jewish museums in the United States, San Francisco's is the only one that focuses on contemporary perspectives on Jewish culture, history, art, and ideas. With programs that celebrate the diversity of the Jewish people and work to build relationships across cultures, the museum's mission fits two Fund program areas, which share the grant equally, the Arts program's cultural commons emphasis and Jewish Life's creative expression and promoting diversity goals. Grant Amount:
$330,000 [2007],
$330,000 [2008],
$340,000 [2009]
Project Dates: 11/27/2007 through 11/27/2010 Project Web Site:www.thecjm.org
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