Grants Listing: Jewish Life program

American Jewish World Service continues to encourage a generation of young American Jews to view community service as integral to their identity. AJWS leads service trips in which young adults, adults, and families work in developing countries. In the Bay Area, it creates meaningful programs on issues ranging from global hunger to ethical purchasing. AJWS’s new strategic plan refocuses efforts on communities, such as San Francisco, that offer the greatest possibilities for engagement. Locally, It will continue its programming and engage young Jews in making connections between domestic policy and international food aid.
Grant Amount: $60,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 11/18/2011 through 11/18/2012
Project Web Site: www.ajws.org

Increasingly, faith leaders find their local concerns shared regionally and statewide. The Bay Area Organizing Committee works with congregations to help them unite to become effective advocates for change. It has served as a powerful force for interfaith engagement on immigration reform issues in the North Bay, successfully bringing synagogues to the table. In October 2011, the Committee will host a meeting on the state’s current economic crisis for an expected 500 Bay Area faith leaders. In addition, the Committee will continue to work to strengthen relationships between Jews and Latinos to mitigate immigration concerns.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.bayareaiaf.org

In response to increased student demand, Berkeley Hillel has strengthened its social justice initiatives, helping students see community service as a defining part of American Jewish life. This grant from the Fund supports three service initiatives created in partnership with local organizations, provides continued support for Challah for Hunger, and funds the hiring of three service and social justice programming interns. Berkeley Hillel serves more than 3,000 Jewish students at the University of California at Berkeley.
Grant Amount: $40,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 09/30/2011 through 09/30/2012
Project Web Site: www.berkeleyhillel.org

The Contemporary Jewish Museum is among the most significant arts organizations in the Bay Area, presenting groundbreaking exhibits that demonstrate the diversity of Jewish life to audiences of all backgrounds. In the fall of 2011, the Museum launched California Dreaming: Jewish Life in the Bay Area from the Gold Rush to the Present. This is the first exhibition to examine 160 years of Jewish life in the region. The evolving, yearlong exhibition engages community members with an invitation to add their own images and stories. Striving to be accessible, the Museum offers free admission to those 18 and under, and is free to the public on Tuesdays.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 11/18/2011 through 11/18/2012
Project Web Site: www.thecjm.org

Facing History and Ourselves provides classroom strategies and resources to educators who, in turn, use these tools to inspire students to take responsibility in their communities. This grant supports a yearlong planning process, in partnership with the Oakland Unified School District, to provide in-depth professional development and curricular support in five Oakland high schools. In-service presentations developed through this process will use Facing History and Ourselves materials on the Holocaust and Human Behavior; Race in American History; and the Debate over Headscarves in France.
Grant Amount: $25,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 09/30/2011 through 09/30/2012
Project Web Site: www.facinghistory.org

With Fund support, Islamic Networks Group pioneered a speaker’s bureau that has reached more than 18,000 students in 140 schools over the past three years. In addition to its program to educate students and civic leaders about Islam, the Group offers two interfaith speakers programs. One panel includes representatives of the five major religions. The other focuses specifically on Judaism and Islam. Speakers address misconceptions about these religions and highlight shared values. Demand for the speaker’s bureau continues to grow and the Fund encourages the Group’s efforts to build connections between members of the Jewish and Muslim communities.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.ing.org

Each day, 4,500 people walk through the doors of the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, the second largest JCC in the nation. It serves 50,000 unduplicated adults, seniors, youth, and children each year with fitness and community programs. The JCCSF, in order to bolster its commitment to providing Jewish services, recently created a new position and hired its first chief Jewish life officer. With support from the Fund, the JCCSF plans to launch a major social media initiative designed to extend its quality programming to online participants.
Grant Amount: $125,000 [2011] , $125,000 [2012]
Project Dates: 11/18/2011 through 11/18/2013
Project Web Site: www.jccsf.org

Jewish Community Relations Council partners with religious communities to support economic and social justice. In 2011, JCRC blocked San Francisco’s anti-circumcision initiative by convening a coalition of organizations and by strengthening relationships with the Muslim community. JCRC works to temper polarized talk about Israel by providing skilled facilitation to agencies and synagogues. It places trained tutors in underperforming schools and trains parents with limited English to become literacy coaches for their children. These volunteers improve students' reading levels and help disadvantaged students to feel less isolated.
Grant Amount: $95,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 11/18/2011 through 11/18/2012
Project Web Site: www.jcrc.org

Jewish Family and Children’s Services of the East Bay (JF&CS) provides a range of services to Jewish and non-Jewish clients. This grant supports the organization’s participation in Social Sector Solutions, a program of the Haas School of Business. Through this program, a team of business school students, faculty, and McKinsey and Company consultants will provide six months of strategic planning support to JF&CS. This support will help the organization to continue to provide needed services to its clients.
Grant Amount: $7,500 [2011]
Project Dates: 12/14/2011 through 12/14/2012
Project Web Site: www.jfcs-eastbay.org

Nationally respected social justice organization, Jewish Funds for Justice, helps organizing networks to better understand, work with, and engage Jewish congregations. With support from the Fund, it will train and place five Jewish, Muslim, and Christian interns within organizing networks in San Francisco, Marin, and Oakland. Each apprentice will work with two congregations, helping congregants to research issues, present arguments at public forums, and work closely with other faith communities to increase social justice. In 2011, the organization will also launch a "Caring Across Generations" campaign to address the growing need for eldercare.
Grant Amount: $85,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 04/04/2011 through 04/04/2012
Project Web Site: www.jfjustice.org

Fiscal Sponsor: Jewish Community Center of the East Bay
The Jewish Music Festival presents multicultural music with Jewish roots to more than 4,000 audience-members each year, performing at venues throughout the Bay Area. Additionally, it runs a school and community outreach program that reaches more than 1,000 public school students. The Jewish Music Festival has recently focused on making its events increasingly participatory, hosting an afternoon at which children can try out instruments, and offering public classes with Festival artists.
Grant Amount: $17,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 09/30/2011 through 09/30/2012
Project Web Site: www.jewishmusicfestival.org

Jewish Vocational Services (JVS), a nationally recognized leader in the field of workforce development, receives wide respect as a robust Bay Area Jewish institution. In 2010, JVS helped 2,500 people increase their job skills, look for work, build their professional networks, and advance their careers. Known for the depth of its partnerships with employers, JVS tailors most of its programs to the needs of specific employment sectors, including health care, green jobs, retail, and financial services. The Fund supports this agency's efforts to strengthen the earning potential of its clients as well as its work to better translate the Jewish underpinnings of its work to people of all faiths. This grant is split evenly between the Jewish Life and Economic Security programs. The listing has been duplicated in both areas.
Grant Amount: $100,000 [2011] , $100,000 [2012]
Project Dates: 04/04/2011 through 04/04/2013
Project Web Site: www.jvs.org

Launched in 2006 as part of the Union for Reform Judaism, Just Congregations provides training and curricula that enable Reform synagogues to address economic and social injustice. Its goal is to increase the number of Reform synagogues in which members research issues, develop campaigns, and take action to help their communities gain affordable housing, effective schools, and health care. The Fund supports Just Congregations' efforts to organize Reform communities for widespread benefit.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.urj.org/justcongregations

Fiscal Sponsor: UpStart Bay Area
Started by a young, dynamic rabbi, the Kitchen is an independent community that encourages diverse participation in Jewish life and rituals. Offering a welcoming weekly Sabbath celebration and an online toolkit for do-it-yourself rituals, the Kitchen has attracted a vibrant following. This grant from the Fund supports The Table, a pilot program that engages participants in social justice, teaches organizing, and connects the Kitchen with other local faith communities.
Grant Amount: $15,235 [2011]
Project Dates: 12/15/2011 through 12/15/2012
Project Web Site: www.thekitchensf.org

PeaceWorks Network Foundation launched One Voice to reduce the polarization of Mid East-focused controversies on college campuses. It trains Israeli and Palestinian youth leaders to meet their American counterparts and share their reasons for seeking compromise. Student leaders will highlight the Arab Spring’s relationship to Israel and Palestine and place the Palestinian bid for statehood in the broader context of a two-state solution. In 2011, One Voice reached approximately 1,000 Bay Area students. It encourages partnerships with campus and community groups, churches, synagogues, and mosques. In 2012, One Voice will expand its social media presence so students in the Bay Area can communicate with student leaders in the Middle East.
Grant Amount: $70,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 11/18/2011 through 11/18/2012
Project Web Site: www.OneVoiceMovement.org

San Francisco Interfaith Council has a proven track record of implementing interfaith projects to house the homeless, advocating on behalf of the vulnerable, providing earthquake training to clergy, and uniting leaders of different faiths. It has hosted three biennial preparedness workshops since 2006, attended by more than 300 clergy. This grant from the Fund provides general support to the Interfaith Council for its bridge building and disaster preparedness work. This grant is split between Jewish Life and Other Grantmaking programs, $40,000 and $15,000 respectively. It is listed in both areas.
Grant Amount: $55,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.sf-interfaith.org

Organizing revitalizes congregations, develops relationships between people of different faiths, trains citizens to become effective advocates on important issues, and results in successful campaigns for community change. Previous Fund support enabled San Francisco Organizing Project to engage the Jewish community in organizing and, more recently, to welcome its first mosque into its robust network. SFOP receives this 2011 grant to continue to grow its interfaith organizing efforts.
Grant Amount: $55,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.sfop.org

Fiscal Sponsor: Hazon
Urban Adamah: The Jewish Sustainability Corps integrates urban agriculture, social action, and progressive Jewish learning by growing produce alongside low-income residents at its organic farm in Berkeley. A dozen fellows will operate the urban farm and work to educate the broader community about nutrition and agriculture. By transforming a vacant lot into productive farmland, the Project connects young Jewish adults with local residents and provides a gathering place for the community.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 04/04/2011 through 04/04/2012
Project Web Site: www.urbanadamah.org

Advancing Women Professionals in the Jewish Community promotes the leadership of women in Jewish institutions. It advocates for workplace practices that benefit women and men. It also offers research on gender equity and initiates projects in major agencies and within religious denominations. This grant supports Advancing Women's project to promote the best practices that ensure gender equality in San Francisco agencies and foundations. In 2012, Advancing Woman will also hold a full-day session for women executives, educators, and leaders to develop effective networks, best practices, and leadership skills.
Grant Amount: $25,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 12/08/2011 through 12/08/2012
Project Web Site: www.advancingwomen.org

Fiscal Sponsor: Institute on Aging
The Bay Area Jewish Healing Center provides free or low-cost counseling and support to people who are living with physical or mental illness, experiencing bereavement, or living in nursing homes, hospitals, or in isolation. Its diverse staff includes openly gay and transgendered rabbis. Core programs include grief support, holiday visits for seniors, spiritual care to the elderly, hospital visits to isolated individuals, and hospice training for volunteers who provide end-of-life care.
Grant Amount: $40,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 09/30/2011 through 09/30/2012
Project Web Site: www.jewishhealingcenter.org

In 2008, with Fund support, Hazon launched its first successful food conference on the West Coast, uniting over 300 participants to learn about the connections between Jewish traditions and sustainable, locally produced food. The Fund's 2011 grant supports scholarships helping LGBT individuals and families participate in a summer conference held for the first time at University of California at Davis. The conference will draw up to 700 attendees from across the United States.
Grant Amount: $10,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 02/15/2011 through 02/15/2012
Project Web Site: www.hazon.org

Bechol Lashon, a project of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, can be credited with recognizing and responding quickly to the growing diversity of the Jewish community. Currently an estimated one in seven Bay Area Jewish households are racially diverse. Responding to this fact, the group presents a calendar of culturally diverse, festive, and appealing programs that draw an increasingly large audience. The Fund supports their inclusive programming for racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse Jews.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.bechollashon.org

The Jewish Community Center of the East Bay serves a diverse population both at its main campus in the heart of North Berkeley and through its after-school and cultural programming site in North Oakland. The JCC serves members of all ages, offering a kosher hot lunch program for seniors, a summer camp for students, and on-going cultural events for adults. Their vibrant Jewish programming includes High Holiday and Sabbath services, Yiddish classes, and all-night Torah study sessions. The Fund provides the JCC of the East Bay with general operating support to continue their service to the diverse Jewish community
Grant Amount: $65,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.jcceastbay.org

In seven years, Jewish Milestones provided more than 5,000 referrals to LGBT Jews, Jews of color, the intermarried, and to Jews not connected with community institutions. In 2010, Milestones acknowledged tough fiscal realities and downsized. In 2011, Milestones decided to merge with Kevah, a start-up that enables adults to explore Jewish texts, build community, and improve interfaith relations. The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco will house Milestones’ excellent lending library. The Fund's grant supports this merger to allow continued delivery of informational and referral services to diverse Jews.
Grant Amount: $45,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 05/24/2011 through 05/24/2012
Project Web Site: www.jewishmilestones.org

For 35 years, The Jewish Theatre San Francisco (previously Traveling Jewish Theatre) has been the Bay Area's only Jewish theater company, providing a venue for Jewish cultural expression and opportunity for dialogue. Despite significant debt reduction efforts, the financial downturn has forced The Theatre to make the difficult choice to close. This final grant from the Fund will allow it to both produce a closing season that honors its long history and to close its doors in a responsible manner. It will offer three productions including a tribute to the company's history and a piece created with support from a 2009 Creative Work Fund grant. Half of this year's grant will be conditional upon the Theatre successfully selling its share of its theater space.
Grant Amount: $25,000 [2011] $25,000 conditional
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.tjt-sf.org

Fiscal Sponsor: Kehillah Community Synagogue and School
Jewish Youth for Community Action provides a Jewish venue through which high school and college students can engage in social action. Its members select issues, investigate groups that need assistance, and serve as volunteers. With support from the Fund, Jewish Youth for Community Action started a weekly volunteer program at a Head Start pre-school in West Oakland, providing its participants with opportunities for diverse religious and ethnic interactions.
Grant Amount: $12,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 05/26/2011 through 05/26/2012
Project Web Site: www.jyca-justice.org

Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa (JIMENA) is dedicated to the preservation of Mizrahi and Sephardi culture. It shares the stories and traditions of Jews from the Middle East and North Africa and connects their narrative to the broader Jewish American story. In 2012, JIMENA will develop interfaith dialogue groups on local campuses. It will offer programs on the Arab Spring and how that movement affects Middle Eastern Jewish communities. The Fund supports JIMENA's Bay Area programs, helping high school students, college students, and young adults better appreciate multicultural Jewish life.
Grant Amount: $20,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 12/07/2011 through 12/07/2012
Project Web Site: www.jimena.org

Keshet is devoted to fully including LGBT Jews in Jewish life. In 2012, it will share the results of a demographic study with local professionals, rabbis, and educators in order to help participants better meet the needs of Bay Area LGBT Jews and their families. This grant supports a half-day workshop focusing on the study and its implications, the launch of an anti-bullying campaign curriculum, the training of at least 25 local educators, and in-depth professional development for staff at local institutions.
Grant Amount: $60,000 [2011] $10,000 conditional
Project Dates: 11/18/2011 through 11/18/2012
Project Web Site: www.keshetonline.org

New Israel Fund is a leading American organization committed to equality and democracy for all Israelis. The organization recognizes that the attitudes American Jews currently hold concerning Israel are complicated. Additionally, the Jewish community lacks sufficient venues where honest conversation about Israel can take place. As a result, many young adults have no outlet for their conflicted feelings. New Israel Fund seeks to expand its New Generations program to offer an array of opportunities through which young Jews can learn about and discuss diverse perspectives on Israel.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.nif.org

The mission of the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center is to celebrate, strengthen and sustain Jewish life and culture; to build cross-cultural understanding; and to enrich the lives of those in the community at large. A welcoming venue for Marin residents and families, the JCC provides an array of Jewish cultural programming, family events, early childhood education, summer camps, and educational opportunities for seniors, families, and individuals.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 11/18/2011 through 11/18/2012
Project Web Site: www.marinjcc.org/

Fiscal Sponsor: Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
San Francisco Hillel serves 3,200 Jewish students at 12 colleges, including San Francisco State University, Hastings College of Law, University of San Francisco, and City College. SF Hillel creates innovative ways to reach out to unaffiliated Jewish students and to build connections and collaborations between Jewish students and other ethnic and affinity organizations. The Fund supports their programs, which include sending students on service trips to the Gulf Coast and organizing a Social Justice Fair and Jewish Cultural Week.
Grant Amount: $40,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 02/17/2011 through 02/17/2012
Project Web Site: www.sfhillel.org

The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival is a dynamic forum for exploring the Jewish experience, reaching 28,000 people in 2010. It operates a summer festival in San Francisco, Berkeley, Palo Alto, and Marin, and presents year-round programming at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Its strength lies in the breadth of its programming and in the diversity of the Jewish community members it attracts. In addition to theatrical screenings, interviews, and panel discussions, the Festival presents a free film annually in Union Square and has a growing Web presence.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2011] $25,000 conditional
Project Dates: 11/18/2011 through 11/18/2012
Project Web Site: www.sfjff.org

Ethnic, racial, religious, and gender-based violence continues to plague communities, schools, and civic institutions. This is evidenced by the recent spate of homophobic bullying that has resulted in teen suicides. Anti-immigrant violence also is on the rise according to FBI and police reports. In September 2011, the Working Group is releasing a fifth film to document how communities around the country have responded to hate violence. This grant from the Fund supports a series of local screenings and community conversations to combat intolerance.
Grant Amount: $40,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 05/26/2011 through 05/26/2012
Project Web Site: www.theworkinggroup.org

Fiscal Sponsor: Hazon
Wilderness Torah uses outdoor activities and experiential eduction to connect Jews to nature, tradition, and their community. Its program of holiday festivals attracts a growing pool of Jews interested in environmental sustainability. From only 45 participants in 2007, Wilderness Torah now serves 900 participants a year, with wait lists common for most of its programs. This grant from the Fund supports a project to ensure meaningful participation across boundaries of gender and sexual orientation, age, Jewish observance, and race.
Grant Amount: $35,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 09/30/2011 through 09/30/2012
Project Web Site: www.wildernesstorah.org

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. This is a two-part grant from the Fund: $1 million supports the Federation's annual campaign and $250,000 was directed to support critical organizations that assist the community during difficult financial times. These organizations are Jewish Family and Children's Services of San Francisco, Jewish Family and Children's Services of the East Bay, the Jewish Community Free Clinic, Jewish Vocational Services, and Shalom Bayit.
Grant Amount: $1,250,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 11/18/2011 through 11/18/2012
Project Web Site: www.jewishfed.org/

Founded in 1871, Jewish Home of San Francisco is a nonprofit, licensed skilled nursing center specializing in care, services, and programs for older adults. Admission is not limited by religious or cultural affiliation. To meet evolving needs and advances in senior care, the Jewish Home has grown to a nine-acre comprehensive care center that serves approximately 400 residents. This grant from the Fund will defray the costs of launching a campaign that will enable the Jewish Home to upgrade its oldest building and expand its programs and services to the community. This grant is split between Jewish Life and Other Grantmaking programs $62,500 and $12,500 respectively. The full amount is listed in both areas.
Grant Amount: $75,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 11/18/2011 through 11/18/2012
Project Web Site: www.jhsf.org/