News & Blogs Category: Featured Partner

BimBam’s digital storytelling sparks connections to Judaism for learners of all ages. Last year it released Shaboom!, a ten-part series designed for children ages 3-8 focusing on everyday Jewish values. Now, enjoy the latest Shaboom! episode, made especially for Chanukkah.

“We believe that Judaism has within it a blueprint through which one can become a better person,” says Jordan Gill, BimBam’s Executive Director. “I often articulate it as the formula V + C = M, values plus community equals mensch. If you teach people foundational values that inform how we should treat each other as human beings and then enable them to practice these values in community, the end result is someone who is making positive ripples in the world.”

The Foundation supports BimBam’s efforts to raise Jewish literacy by giving people opportunities, from childhood through adulthood, to use Jewish values, customs and rituals as a blueprint for becoming better and more involved citizens of the Jewish community, and the world. In addition to Shaboom!, the Foundation’s investment also supports BimBam’s Judaism 101, a digital series offering a baseline understanding of Jewish rituals and traditions to decrease discomfort as an obstacle for young adults looking to connect to Jewish life.

Learn more at BimBam.com

Learn more about Jewish educational technology in Smart Money: Recommendations for an Educational Technology and Digital Engagement Investment Strategy,

• Learn more about B’Yadenu here.
• Access an overview of the B’Yadenu toolkit here.
• Access the full toolkit here.

B’Yadenu is a collaboration between Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), Gateways: Access to Jewish Education, select Boston-area and Washington, DC-area schools (with funding from the Jim Joseph Foundation and the Ruderman Family Foundation).

A new national project will explore the learning and growth outcomes of teen experiences offered by the largest organizations that engage Jewish teens in North America. The study, led by The Jewish Education Project (TJEP) and Rosov Consulting (RC), will seek to gather data from as many as 50,000 7^th-12^th graders across North America.

Supported by the Jim Joseph Foundation, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, and Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah, the study builds on the previous and ongoing work of the Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative, a group of national and local funders that develops new approaches to engaging teens in Jewish experiences. The study also utilizes the Teen Jewish Learning and Engagement Scales (TJLES), which focus on understanding the whole Jewish teen and ask the key question, “How can being Jewish make Jewish teenagers more likely to flourish in today’s world?”

The new learning and growth outcomes for Jewish teens, together with the TJLES, are critical tools for measuring success. By using them, youth organizations can help communities more deeply understand how their programs influence Jewish teenagers in ways that are meaningful and that add genuine value to teens’ lives. We are committed to working with lay and professional leadership of youth organizations, at the national and local levels, to implement changes they identify in relation to these outcomes. Together, we can all improve and add even more meaning into the lives of the tens of thousands of Jewish teens whom these organizations engage.
–David Bryfman, Chief Innovation Officer of The Jewish Education Project

The project will afford each organization the opportunity to measure itself against combined data from all other organizations in the study and to track improvement in their own outcomes over time, if they use the TJLES repeatedly. Data gathered for the study also will enable organizations to design and implement better programs aligned with the Jewish learning and growth outcomes; to more effectively share stories about their teen programs; and to attract resources to advance their programmatic reach and impact.

This is a comprehensive and uniform approach to measuring how the largest youth-serving organizations are changing lives. We’ve been fortunate to be a part of this wave of Jewish teen engagement efforts, research, and program evaluation since it began more than five years ago. It’s especially exciting to see that this new paradigm for understanding Jewish teens and for measuring these programs is leading to action across the country.
– Wendy Rosov, Principal of Rosov Consulting

The TJLES, currently utilized by the Funder Collaborative, continue a meaningful shift in how Jewish teen engagement is measured—away from a focus on attendance and a simplistic understanding of whether a community is “making teens more Jewish.” The TJLES will measure whether:

• Jewish teens have a strong sense of self;
• Jewish teens establish strong friendships; and
• Jewish teens develop strong and healthy relationships with their families.

Other outcomes more Jewishly-focused, but still concerned with the teen’s development include whether:

• Jewish teens learn about and positively experience Jewish holidays and Shabbat;
• Jewish teens can express their values and ethics in relation to Jewish principles and wisdom; and
• Jewish teens develop a positive relationship to the people, land, and state of Israel.

Using a common evaluative tool like TJLES across organizations provides an unprecedented opportunity for learning and collaboration among organizations most capable of reaching and inspiring Jewish teens.
–Matt Grossman, CEO of BBYO

The Rosov Consulting team will lead the research design, implementation, and analysis of the project. TJEP will work directly with the youth-serving organizations to understand the findings and share the research widely.

This ambitious study shows that the Jewish community is serious about addressing the whole teen, which we believe is critical to ensuring the health and well-being of individual teens, their families, and the future of Jewish life. As a result of participating in this project, we believe that Moving Traditions and the field of Jewish teen education will improve the efficacy of our evaluation efforts—leading to better outcomes for the teens we seek to grow into confident, compassionate, and connected Jewish adults.
– Deborah Meyer, Founder and CEO of Moving Traditions

 

With more and more young adults engaging in Jewish life through meaningful service, Repair the World—the only organization devoted exclusively to this cause—launched its year-long campaign, “Act Now,” offering opportunities during the High Holidays, Thanksgiving, MLK Day, Purim, and Passover in 2018 to address immediate issues and engage in critical conversations.

Learn about the High Holidays portion of the campaign—Act Now for a Different Kind of Service—at https://werepair.org/high-holidays/

 As we reflect on the past year, we think about the changes we wish to see in the new one. Volunteering, done right, moves us towards repairing the world. How will you act now with your friends, neighbors, and across diverse communities?
– Repair the World

Each element of Act Now will drive people to take action through service/volunteering, engaging in dialogue, skill building, and organizing their greater networks to get involved. Utilizing its highly collaborative model, Repair the World will work in partnership with local organizations around the country to help address pressing needs specific to each community, expanding the capacity of organizations and bringing a Jewish lens to the volunteering experience. Visit http://werepair.org/high-holidays/ to find or organize local service opportunities, as well as to pick up resources delving into the root causes of injustice, the guiding Jewish values, and discussion guides for tackling these difficult issues.

Repair the World’s new materials for Act Now, include:

• Women Fighting for Sustainability – Learn from three powerful women organizing their communities around land ownership and food sustainability.
• Who Belongs in Places of Learning? – Is education available to everyone? Should it be? Dig into education justice as you prepare for your service.
• Role of Love in Service – Add some love into your service experience.

As Jewish Outdoor, Food, Farming & Environmental Education (JOFEE) continues to grow and thrive around the country, more individuals are gaining the skills to create and deliver JOFEE programs infused with rich meaning and learning. And with an estimated hundreds of thousands of participants now engaging in JOFEE annually, there is a need for even more talented leaders and educators in the field.

To meet this demand, the year-long JOFEE Fellowship run by Hazon develops a cadre of outstanding educators through professional placements at host institutions, along with intensive training, mentorship, and support from leading educators and other professionals. The first cohort of 17 JOFEE Fellows completed their year at the end of spring, working at 16 organizations and creating over 500 JOFEE programs in their communities. Throughout the year, Fellows developed deep relationships with each other and with mentors, culminating in a closing seminar at Pearlstone Center outside Baltimore, MD. Enjoy some of the Fellows’ video and presentation recaps of their year.

The JOFEE Fellowship is an invaluable experience that stewarded me into professionalism and leadership. JOFEE has given me the tools, resources and connections to help me become the confident and passionate leader that I always knew was possible but did not have the platform for which to share my gifts. I am forever grateful for the investment made in me–in each of us fellows–as quality outdoor Jewish educators, community builders and true leaders.

Just a sampling of some of the programs created by Fellows include “Havdallah & Moon Celebration at the Farm,” “Israel Hike & Bike Trip for Young Professionals,” “Avodat Lev (morning prayers) and Jewish text study at San Quentin Prison,” and over 20 Sukkot-related programs and Tu Bishvat seders for youth, teens, young adults, and families. Many Fellows from Cohort 1 still work in JOFEE, continuing to create programming and often times taking on greater leadership roles within their organizations.

Earth-based Judaism and Jewish Environmentalism are topics I have been curious about for years, but it wasn’t until I participated in the JOFEE Fellowship that I truly understood the impact these experiences can have. I feel truly lucky to have been given a year to dive so deeply into this world and learn as much as I possibly can along the way. I view myself, my community, and my world differently because of the experiences I have had as a JOFEE Fellow.

Cohort 2 of the JOFEE Fellowship is underway now. Already there’s been new programs, such as Passover in the Desert Youth Seders, Shavuot Farm Festival, Jewish Farm-based Education Professional Development Workshop for Preschool teachers, and Natural Torah Art Explorah & Havdalah Besamim Table Gardening for Seniors, among others.

The Fellows continue to help people dive into Jewish tradition steeped in deep cultural and spiritual connection with the earth, with place, with human communities and the surrounding ecosystems, with food, and with each other.

The application for future Fellows is available here, and the application for future host organizations is available here. Registration also is open for the 2nd Annual JOFEE Network Gathering: September 14-17 at Pearlstone Center. 

The Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative—a network of national and local funders who develop, fund, support and grow Jewish teen initiatives in ten communities—unveiled a new website that shares key lessons, specific program models, and research about Jewish teen education and engagement. Teenfundercollaborative.com is accessible to anyone and is designed to help advance a robust conversation about engaging teens in meaningful Jewish experiences that add value to their lives.

The website is a vehicle to share relevant and helpful information with anyone who cares about Jewish teen education and engagement. We want to offer tangible resources to help communities think strategically and creatively about their approach to teen Jewish experiences. By sharing our lessons learned through the last four years in the Collaborative, we hope to help others.
– Sara Allen, Director of the Funder Collaborative

 

New Resources

In addition to information about each community initiative within the Collaborative, extensive research on teens, and reflections from practitioners on the ground, the website shares two new items: the Year 2 Cross-community Evaluation that looks at outcomes across four of the community initiatives, and Preparing to Deepen Action: A Funder Collaborative Finds Its Way—the second installment in a series of case studies documenting the collaborative (the first released in 2015) and the result of 15 months of observations and interviews.

The communities in the Funder Collaborative are Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, and San Francisco. Teen initiatives that have been launched by Funder Collaborative communities include a range of Jewish experiences—from volunteer service to professional internships to surfing and more. Nearly all communities attribute early programmatic successes to their participation in the collaborative and its steadfast commitment to knowledge-sharing.  The evolution of the collaborative itself is central to creating an environment that fosters risk-taking, experimentation and ongoing reflection.

The Jim Joseph Foundation has invested more than $29,298,784 in teen initiatives and evaluations within the framework of the Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative.

As it marks its 10-year anniversary and completes a landmark merger, UpStart embarks on its next phase to support communities advancing innovation in Jewish education and Jewish life. A coordinated group of funders is helping to elevate UpStart’s role as a national intermediary supporting Jewish innovation and serving as a one-stop shop for the tools, network, and resources innovators need to succeed.

When UpStart adopted us, we had a vision and a couple of successful events, and we believed that our idea had what it would take to become an amazing organization. In truth, we had no idea what it would take and I don’t think we could have gotten here without UpStart.
– Julie Wolk, Co-Founder, Board Member, Wilderness Torah

UpStart recently celebrated the 10-year anniversary with a community celebration honoring its founding CEO, Toby Rubin, in San Francisco.  Originally launched as an Accelerator for early-stage Jewish organizations bringing something fresh and relevant to Jewish life, UpStart later expanded its services to support long-standing institutions in opening up new pathways for impact.

Within the first year of joining the Accelerator, KAHAL doubled in every conceivable metric, from participants, to dollars, to staff. That trajectory has only continued, and now we’re poised to serve thousands more students across the world.
– Alex Jakubowski, Executive Director, KAHAL: Your Jewish Home Abroad

Toby Rubin with alumni and current members of the UpStart Accelerator.

With the new coordinated funding, UpStart is poised to complete the merger with Joshua Venture Group, Bikkurim, and the U.S. programs of PresenTense; to embark on critical planning processes; and to continue UpStart’s and the other merged organizations’ current programs. At the same time, the organization will work to fulfill its new and expanded vision: Expansion of programs to nurture innovation at every stage of organizational life; Increase in resources flowing into Jewish innovation, including more seed funding for innovative programs/initiatives; Investment in field-based research and evaluation of impact; Harnessing the power of a larger, more diverse innovation network; and Connecting a growing network of independent cities through regional hubs covering North America.

Now with offices in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, and New York, UpStart hosts programs in 13 communities across the country and has plans for expansion. Since their inception, UpStart and its three merging organizations have fueled the impact of over 1,300 organizations and trained nearly 3,000 of the Jewish community’s most inspiring leaders. The collaborative of funders cumulatively awarded $3.2 million, a portion of which is allocated as matching grants designed to spur other giving.

UpStart’s 10-year anniversary event

“Over the three years that I was an UpStarter, UpStart accelerated Edah’s development—providing us with substantive, emotional, and financial support at key junctures in our organizational trajectory. Talented UpStart staff combined just-in-time coaching, content-rich seminars, and connections with a cadre of other creative Jewish Social entrepreneurs to inspire innovation and support sustainability.”
– Rena Dorph, Founder and Board Chair, Edah, a program of Studio 70

The collaborative of funders includes previous and new donors, such as the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, The Crown Family, The Diane P. and Guilford Glazer Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, Jim Joseph Foundation, Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation, Kaminer Family, Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah, Lisa and John Pritzker Family Foundation, Marcus Foundation, Natan Fund, SeaChange-Lodestar Fund for Nonprofit Collaboration, and the Walter and Elise Haas Fund.

The Fellowship for Rabbinic Entrepreneurs has given me the space and tools to turn my ideas into action. It has provided concrete action steps and given me a community of thought partners who have given me faith in the Jewish future.
—Miriam Liebman, Jewish Theological Seminary

Developed in partnership with M2: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education, Hillel’s Office of Innovation (OOI) Fellowship for Rabbinic Entrepreneurs is a one-year internship for rabbinical students of all denominations who seek to build the communities they wish to serve. Working at local Hillels and with other partners, OOI rabbinic entrepreneurs participate in a series of retreats, biweekly seminars, and practica to learn the critical skills to design, develop, and scale new Jewish communities.

OOI was founded on the premise that new communities of Jewish life—especially those formed by young adults—crave dynamic, charismatic leaders. And while charisma, many maintain, is an innate gift, OOI believes there are discrete, transmittable, entrepreneurial skills that can be used to foster new forms of Jewish community.

This knowledge is essential for anyone following the path of professional community building.
– Rebecca Blady, Yeshivat Maharat

So what are OOF Fellows are learning? They’re learning to identify potential networks of young Jews based on interest, demographics, and social trends. They’re learning to build relationships—at the heart of rabbinic work—in a systematic, data-supported manner.  They’re learning how to rapidly develop projects to respond quickly to what young adults want. And they’re learning to thoughtfully craft the spaces and highly curated experiences young Jews seek and have come to expect.

But they’re not simply reading about these approaches and strategies. They’re experiencing them—often in new ways. As just one example, Fellows received a special tour of Equinox’s Bryant Park branch—and upscale fitness center—through every nook and recess of the cavernous complex. With clipboards in hand, Fellows observed the sounds, sights, smells, and feel around them as they learn about “User Experience.” Different Fellows note various details, and all are struck by the precision of language used to describe the various activities, elevating the mundane activity of exercise into a bona fide “experience.” This, they realize, can greatly inform how they help create Jewish experiences.

Every 21st century rabbi needs to know what the Fellowship for Rabbinic Entrepreneurs is teaching. The tools to create new, meaningful Jewish communities should be as much a part of the rabbinical lexicon as the weekly parsha. The new Jew needs a new rabbi, and the OOI is breeding them.
—Jeremy Borovitz, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah

As the first cohort of the Fellowship concludes, four Fellows already have been placed in Hillel positions. As the second cohort gets underway soon, OOI looks to continue to fill a unique role to develop new leaders and educators ready to build and shape vibrant Jewish communities.

Meet the first cohort of Fellows here. A second cohort will begin later this spring.

The Machar Fellowship for recent college graduates interested in exploring the world of Jewish professional careers is now accepting applications. APPLY HERE (open until February 28, 2017)

A two-year leadership development program, Machar will provide six talented emerging Jewish leaders with a strong foundation in the early years of their careers in Jewish education that will propel them into the future of Jewish organizational leadership.  Fellows will be paid competitive full-time salaries for the two years.

The program is comprised if three components:

• A full-time position in experiential education at one of our participating Jewish community high schools: Gann Academy in Boston, Abraham Joshua Heschel High School in Manhattan, and deToledo High School in Los Angeles;
• Ongoing professional development, including mentorship, reflective practice, training in management and education theory, and retreat intensives; and
• An intimate cohort experience so Fellows learn and grow in collaboration with a group of other talented fellows across the country through weekly video conferencing, in person retreats, and chavruta– paired learning.

Machar answers the urgent need to develop talented young leaders who possess skills and have support necessary to deliver excellent Jewish education in a variety of settings. Throughout the two years, Fellows will have an impact on the way that Jewish high school students experience and live Judaism in their schools. Through the development of and participation in Jewish life programming on campus, fellows will make an immediate contribution to the shaping of Jewish identities and community that takes place in this special Jewish environment.

In doing so, fellows will develop skills in project management and program development through working with faculty mentors and students to create and participate in Jewish life activities such as school-wide celebration of the Jewish calendar, immersive experiences such as trips and shabbatonim – overnight Shabbat programming. They will learn how to bring Jewish education to life and life to Jewish education. They will become tomorrow’s Jewish leaders.

Along with Abraham Joshua Heschel School, and de Toledo, we are here to prepare our students for today’s world and to ensure that we are building a solid foundation for the next generation.  Teaching the teachers is a critical component of that foundation.
– Rabbi Marc Baker, Head of Gann Academy

As millions of people converged on Washington, DC for a variety of reasons and different purposes over inauguration weekend, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, Repair the World, Moishe House, REALITY, ROI Community, and the Jim Joseph Foundation hosted the Weekend of Hope, Healing and Service. Over those 48 hours, hundreds of people joined in meaningful dialogue about building a more inclusive society and took action during a day of service to help others.

Aviva Jacobs, a Schusterman Fellow and a Vice President with Teach For America, recently shared reflections on the Schusterman Family Foundation Blog on the Shabbat dinner and other activities during the weekend:

 I knew that the next day I’d attend the Women’s March on Washington, but I didn’t know that an impressive group of “nasty women” would actually start “marching” at this dinner—specifically, Rabbi Sharon Brous, Lisa Eisen, and Lynn and Stacy Schusterman. I listened to the words they shared with us—messages of hope, ideas of community, and charges of action.

On Sunday, Repair the World partnered with ten organizations including Bread for the City, Ronald MacDonald House, Catholic Charities, and others to offer authentic, impactful local D.C. service experiences for those in need.

 It was a great opportunity to meet other young professionals in the community who were passionate about giving back. I stayed after and asked for a tour of the facility and asked for other opportunities to volunteer at Ronald McDonald House.
– Participant in a service experience during the Weekend

Outside D.C., Moishe Houses around the country hosted numerous events. As just one example, in San Francisco 60 Moishe House residents and community members from five Bay Area houses came together with partners such as the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, The Peninsula, Marin, and Sonoma Counties’s YAD, the Shalom Hartman Institute and Reboot for a special “Unity Shabbat” dinner and discussion. Much like a Passover Seder, the evening interwove song, questioning, debate, ritual and food, with a focus on sharing, healing and processing where each person was individually and collectively after a politically divisive year.

 The Unity Shabbat was a special venue to connect and to turn uncertainty into discussion. The environment of the Shabbat table, gathering with the tranquility and comradery of the Day of Rest and messages on respectful disagreement, set the atmosphere for serious and engaging conversation. I was pleased to see in those around me as much self-reflection as reflection on society, keying in on how we as individuals can grow in the ways that we seek to engage with people we disagree with, to listen and truly hear perspectives, and to acknowledge humanity even in the face of irreconcilable
difference of opinion.
— Asher Kaye, Moishe House Palo Alto Resident

As we reflect on the Weekend of Hope, Healing and Service, and events such as the Unity Shabbat held around the country, the Foundation expresses sincere thanks to all of the partners involved, and especially to the individuals who continue to engage in this important work.

Learn more about B’Yadenu (“in our hands”), a project designed to shift a whole school – staff, administrators, leaders, and other stakeholders – to cohesively and collaboratively work to better serve all learners. 

B’Yadenu is a collaboration between Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), Gateways: Access to Jewish Education, Yeshiva University’s Institute for University-School Partnership and select Boston schools (with funding from the Jim Joseph Foundation and the Ruderman Family Foundation).

Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) has added URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy West to the Specialty Camp Incubator III cohort. Building on the success of the previous two Incubators, this unique entrepreneurial opportunity will now launch six new camps in the summer of 2018. The addition of the sixth camp, as well as the entire program, is made possible by a combined grant from The AVI CHAI Foundation and Jim Joseph Foundation.

Specialty camping has proven to be a huge success for Jewish camp. Research from the first two Incubators shows that the specialty model attracts new campers – 66% said that they only went to Jewish camp because they were attracted to one of the specialties. Expanding our STEM offerings gives more Jewish teens the opportunity to be a part of the magical experience of Jewish summers.
– Jeremy J. Fingerman, CEO, FJC

URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy West is an expansion of URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy outside Boston, Massachusetts, which was part of the Specialty Camp Incubator II. In its fourth summer, URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy is expected to welcome 600 campers in 2017. Since 2010, the nine Specialty Camps incubated have served over 6,000 campers – with nearly half reporting that they had never attended a Jewish camp before. The camps continue to surpass enrollment and retention goals, proving the demand for Jewish specialty options in the summer camp marketplace.

Incubator III will provide expertise and support to the new cohort of six individuals or organizations as they plan and implement their vision for expanded models of nonprofit, Jewish specialty camps. FJC expects that each of these new specialty camps will serve approximately 300 campers and 40 college-aged counselors per summer with a cumulative potential of serving 1,500 campers and 200 college-aged counselors by the summer of 2021.

The camps also part of Specialty Camp Incubator III are:

• JRF Arts will focus on the film arts with other supporting modalities in Southern California.
• Moshav Eden will be a West Coast camp focusing on a diverse Jewishly-rooted community of children, teens, and young adults who learn to steward the earth and strengthen our food systems.
• Ramah Sports Academy will be a high-level sports specialty overnight camp in the Northeast.
• Sababa Beach Away will capitalize on the setting of one of the East Coast’s top surfing locations to showcase surfing/beach activities, and the growing popularity of Jewish mindfulness.
• URJ 6 Points Creative Arts Academy will be dedicated to the pursuit of visual, performance and media art in the Mid-Atlantic.