News & Blogs Category: From the Foundation Team

As the Jim Joseph Foundation aspires to enable all Jews, their families and their friends to lead connected, meaningful and purpose-filled lives, and to make positive contributions to their communities and the world, we invest in powerful Jewish learning experiences. In this investment area, BBYO, Foundation for Jewish Camp, Hillel International, Birthright Israel and Moishe House are categorized as “signature grantee-partners” in our Deliberate Grantmaking Strategy. These grantees have made evaluation an integral part of their work, informing their own efforts, the Foundation’s, and the field. More recently, the Foundation has also integrated cross-portfolio evaluation into more of our work to learn about shared outcomes across different sets of grantee-partners.

In cross-portfolio evaluation, we’re able to identify overarching trends and opportunities. Our latest cross-portfolio evaluation, for example, conducted by Rosov Consulting, covers all five of these signature grantees and identifies a set of common outcomes and ways to measure the participants they serve. When we began this evaluation, we didn’t know this would be the end result. However, as we convened the grantees and dug into their own evaluation structures and findings, we recognized the opportunity to learn about the value of participating in multiple experiences during the teen years and 20s/30s. Through a qualitative study with the alumni of programs, we came to understand the added value of the programs, the interactions between outcomes created by the programs and the pathways that take young people from one program to another.

Read the full piece at eJewish Philanthropy.

Stacie Cherner is director of research and learning at the Jim Joseph Foundation.

Over a decade ago, the Jim Joseph Foundation convened more than a dozen local and national funders of Jewish teen programming for a series of discussions on expanding teen involvement in Jewish life. We recognized that adolescents are a critical demographic and adolescence is a moment of inflection. Moreover, teens are holders of great insights and have the ability to articulate them and the realities they hope those insights can create. To paraphrase Joel 3:1, while those of us around the table had dreams, we knew it would be teens holding the vision to move us forward. We felt and continue to believe that teens are the futurists and optimists that our world needs.

These early conversations, which included teens themselves, taught us a lot — namely, how much more we still needed to learn. As a result, we commissioned groundbreaking research to identify and unpack strategies from both the non-Jewish and Jewish worlds are most effective in educating and engaging teens. This research ultimately gave us the knowledge to design responsive local teen initiatives in 10 communities across the country, under the banner of the Jewish Teen Education & Engagement Funder Collaborative. United by the shared aspiration of creating and nurturing contemporary approaches to Jewish teen education, engagement and growth, this new network of national and local funders and practitioners worked side by side with teens. Together, they reimagined the youth-serving ecosystem in these communities of varying sizes and demographic composition, with a commitment to sharing whatever unvarnished lessons they would learn.

read the full piece at eJewish Philanthropy

• NOW WATCHING: Debate between former President Trump and President Biden
• BREAKING NEWS: Assassination attempt against former President Trump
• BREAKING NEWS: President Biden announces he will not seek reelection
• LATEST UPDATE: Democratic party rally around a new candidate in record time
• BREAKING NEWS: Rocket kills 12 Druze children playing soccer
• BREAKING NEWS: Assassinations of #2 of Hezbollah and head of political wing of Hamas

All of those major events occurred in a span of 33 days, coinciding with Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas, Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia, a landmark election in the U.K., the warmest days ever in the history of our planet and countless other major events.

We are in a state of VUCA — volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity — a concept coined by the U.S. Army College in 1987 and popularized by the leadership theories of Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus. In short, the term describes the current state of our world.

Yet, as coach and facilitator Robin Sawan stated in 2020, “[w]hile VUCA may be the latest buzzword, this constant evolution is not really anything new. Businesses have been facing bold, dramatic change in their specific industries for many years.”

read the full piece at ejewish Philanthropy

This blog originally appeared in eJewish Philanthropy.

Planning a retreat for a professional team is an opportunity to create a space filled with meaning, where colleagues have a sense of belonging and each person feels they are at the center of the experience. Priya Parker is an expert on this subject, writing about the “art of gathering” and the intentionality required to do this well. She notes that “gatherings crackle and flourish when real thought goes into them, when (often invisible) structure is baked into them, and when a host has the curiosity, willingness, and generosity of spirit to try.”

“Think of what you want to be different because you gathered,” she advises, “and work backward from that outcome.”

In the Jewish professional world, the need for this intentional gathering space feels more important than ever.

Read the full blog at eJewish Philanthropy.

Recently, over morning coffee, my wife remarked to me how lucky I am to do the work I do to help the Jewish community in this moment.

She was and is 100% correct. “I know that I am so fortunate,” I said. “I have an amazing job, incredible colleagues and a brilliant and supportive board.  I am on the funder side, where true emergencies are extremely rare.”

“Even with all that,” I confided, “I very occasionally wish I was doing something else. It’s hard to be in the Red Zone all day, every day, which has been the case since Oct. 7.”

Barry Finestone is president and CEO of the Jim Joseph Foundation.

Read the full blog in eJewish Philanthropy as part of its opinion column “The 501(C) Suite.”

Over a year ago, the Jim Joseph Foundation shared with eJewishPhilanthropy readers that it would be investing in a new grant area: Build Grants (“Building something together: How our new grant category supports organizations’ growth and sustainability,” May 9, 2022).

“One of our three strategic priorities is investing in Powerful Jewish Learning Experiences (PJLE),” the foundation shared then. “Build Grants support organizations to invest in their capacity to expand their programs and operations, thus engaging more people at different life stages in meaningful Jewish life. And importantly, we utilize these grants, in part, to support offerings that engage new audiences of young Jews whom we are not reaching with our existing investments.”

Aaron Saxe is the program director of Powerful Jewish Learning Experiences (PJLE) at the Jim Joseph Foundation, and Rachel Shamash Schneider is a program officer at the Jim Joseph Foundation.

Read the full article in eJewish Philanthropy.

We are in the immediate wake of the most significant Jewish event of our lifetime. Jews all over the world will mark time as everything before October 7^th, 2023, vs. everything after October 7^th, 2023.

Still in the sheer horror of the moment, Jewish philanthropy–individual donors and foundations alike–are supporting Israel to an unprecedented degree. This is exactly what we should be doing, and it is not the only thing we should be doing.

Our actions in this moment will have a lasting impact, for better or worse, on the American Jewish community. Right now, the Jewish philanthropic community must have a “yes, and” approach toward funding. Yes, we absolutely need to support Israel and Israelis. We need to contribute mightily to the multitude of needs Israel has—for the orphans, the evacuees, the businesses whose employees are now on the front lines, the mental health of the traumatized. All of these causes need our philanthropic support. Yes, give.

Barry Finestone is President and CEO of the Jim Joseph Foundation

Read the full article in eJewish Philanthropy

We’re pleased to share reflections written before October 7th from the Foundation’s operations associate, Amanda Leal.

I told myself in July of 2022 that I would find a job that helps serve a greater purpose.

I had worked in the semiconductor manufacturing industry for a couple years, as my first “big girl job.” I acquired incredible experience and worked with people of all different backgrounds, ethnicities, and skills. I scrubbed the floors of a manufacturing floor in order to “5S” the place to create a more productive workspace. I loved it. It was fun and dynamic, but at the end of the day I felt like I did very little to better the world. Just a cog in the machine…you know all the sayings. I decided to begin a job search to work for a nonprofit organization that makes a difference to people’s live—even if I would not directly be hands-on in that work.

I was stoked to find out I had an interview for this “Jewish foundation.” Then after one interview… and another one.. and another one…I got the job! I felt incredibly happy and proud; my hard work had paid off, I prayed/manifested, and it happened. I admit, I was incredibly ignorant to Jewish culture and practice, but I knew that the Jim Joseph Foundation made a difference in the education of youth, and I loved that alone. Interestingly (or maybe not), I am a Christian and was incredibly honored that I would be able to catch on to little things here and there. However, beyond that, I did not completely understand what I was walking into. I guess that’s what happens when you grow up in Central California and as a Christian where church is your whole world. You just don’t meet Jewish people, or even know such a community exists in your own backyard.

In fact, as I told family and friends back home about my new job, I was met with interesting comments from Christians and from self-identifying progressive, young left-leaning people. One interaction: When my parents shared with friends at church that their daughter would be working for Jewish foundation, one person exclaimed that I could be a “beacon of light” at the foundation and help convert every Jewish person there to Christianity. This statement never fails to make me laugh. Another person asked, “Why do Jews need a foundation?” Now listen, I went into this ignorant but not that ignorant. The fact that someone would ask that question truly threw me for a loop. Yet, as I  answered the question, I realized I had a pretty surface level response. I recognized that I needed to acquire more knowledge to answer this question to the best of my ability.

It’s been almost a year since I joined the Foundation team and I can answer this question in so many ways. I see how Jewish learning encompasses such a wide range of experiences and opportunities that help young people throughout life. I see how Jewish values inform actions to help others and to improve communities. I see the efforts being made to better welcome BIPOC Jews, LGBTQ+ Jews, and more marginalized communities into Jewish life. The way I think about it in my worldview is this: Some children feel forced by parents to go to their religion’s place of worship. I would have felt so much safer and more loved if I had the same kinds of safe spaces I see the Foundation’s grantee-partners create. I have friends on friends who would have been saved from a lot of misery and could still benefit from those safe spaces, at their big age. It’s all so important, and the journey of “learning how to human,” as I like to say so eloquently, is tough.

I also appreciate the culture of the Foundation, in which all members of the professional team are encouraged to learn about Jewish culture. As I learn more, I also have more questions. Thankfully, the Foundation enables any team member to participate in the Jewish Learning Collaborative, which is one-on-one personalized Jewish learning. I jumped at this opportunity and was thrilled to meet my teacher, Rabbi Dusty Klass. Dusty grew up in an interfaith home with one Catholic parent and one Jewish parent. In wanting to feel seen, I chose Dusty because of the interfaith background, and hoped that she would be open-minded when it came to my inquiries.

Dusty has made clear to me that no question is off limits (something I absolutely adore about Judaism) and provides beautiful responses that lead to about a thousand more questions. Some of the questions I have asked: “Under Judaism, how do we feel about the LGBTQ+ community?” (this was a major item I looked into prior to accepting the job) “How are young adults so involved in the Jewish community?” “What do y’all believe about the afterlife?” “What does Judaism/Jewish text say about periods?” Sometimes a question will lead to another question right out of left field. It is so fun and informative and endless. Most importantly, the JLC makes my learning possible and connects me even more to the work and beneficiaries of the Foundation.

Now, that was a ramble about many things and I hope at the very least, you are not offended by how ignorant I was and still continue to be. I am still learning! Bear with me. As my first year at the Foundation wraps up, I feel incredibly thankful. I feel blessed to feel embraced by my colleagues, and also to be learning about a community that I previously knew nothing about.  I am blessed to have coworkers that are patient with me while I pronounce Hebrew words or attempt to drum up excitement for a Jewish based meditation. And most importantly and not at all corny, I feel blessed to continue learning day by day.

Amanda Leal is an Operations Associate at the Jim Joseph Foundation.

What does it mean to scale impact? Many of us equate growth and scale. However, the difference between these approaches to achieving greater impact is worth understanding.

• Growth = Adding resources at the same rate that you’re adding reach
• Scale = Adding incremental time and resources for exponential impact (increase impact without resource investments). Also known as the J curve! 

Thanks to a strategic partnership between Spring Impact and the Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative (Funder Collaborative), powered by Jewish Federations of North America, there’s a new opportunity for professionals in the Jewish community to amplify this critical knowledge, skill set, and ultimately, their impact.

The Funder Collaborative, an innovative philanthropic experiment launched over a decade ago, unites national and local funders and practitioners to create, nurture, sustain and scale contemporary approaches to Jewish teen education and growth. From the beginning, the Funder Collaborative committed to sharing frameworks, tools and learnings openly with the goal of helping to advance the entire field of Jewish education and engagement. In 2019, the Funder Collaborative entered into a strategic partnership with Spring Impact, a global organization that specializes in scaling social impact that has worked with over 250 organizations. Today, the Funder Collaborative has become the go-to expert deploying a methodology for scaling impact in the Jewish community.

What does this mean? Think a step-by-step disciplined Methodology to Extend Impact, online toolkits, courses, 1:1 coaching with scaling experts, cohort experiences, and in-person gatherings focused on this content. With new innovations blossoming out of pandemic necessities, and pressures for increased efficiency and expanded impact, there is growing demand for the know-how that can guide this sort of exponential reach. After a few online Scaling Masterclasses, two dozen alumni, including from Hazon (now Adamah), Institute for Jewish Spirituality, Moving Traditions, and Dorot/UJA have each internalized the lessons to scale to new communities. These successes emerged specifically from the Funder Collaborative’s work, and now there is the opportunity to take this methodology to the broader Jewish community. The Funder Collaborative selected organizations to join its first in-person Masterclass in Scale this past April in Silicon Valley.

The signal and invitation were clear: if you have a program or organization that is ready to scale (based on a readiness assessment), come spend two days with like-minded professionals from across the Jewish community’s education and engagement field and create an action plan to expand your impact. Right-fit organizations participated in an online orientation, received 1:1 coaching, and gained access to an online classroom.

I was fortunate to attend the Masterclass in Scale and witness the impactful experience first-hand. Leadership teams from 12 organizations (including Jewish Kids Groups, Jewish LearningWorks, and Hillel International) came together for a masterclass convening that provided a deep dive into nearly all things scaling, guided by the following learning principles and objectives:

1. Understand the spectrum of scaling models and select a resonant model
2. Connect the scaling methodology to Jewish context and conversation on growth, expansion, and adaptation
3. Learn the multi-step process of scaling in a practical step-by-step way
4. Identify and articulate barriers and explore collaborative solutions
5. Be inspired by tangible examples of successful scale
6. Share an experience and connect with a  cohort designed to offer support and opportunities for cross-promotion

Together, participants learned about different approaches to scaling, the roles and responsibilities that must be accounted for, various stages to anticipate, and more. Participants chose a pathway to scale (from the nine pathways below), and built in time for pitching, action planning, and brainstorming as an organizational team and cohort. The convening married theory and practice, creating a scaling lab with coaches, teachers, and the cohort colleagues on hand.

As a funder representative and believer in this work, the benefits of this Masterclass were clear. Here are some learnings from the experience:

1. Theory and Practice Are Essential. The Masterclass provided a valuable space for learning and building connections. An in-person setting is most conducive for action planning and relationship building – skill building and cohort building go hand-in-hand for impact.
2. Thoughtful Convening Design. Event designers took this training to the next level by infusing connection time and gathering best practices. Pre and post meetings helped make the most out of the in-person time together.  
3. Belonging Matters and Creates Momentum. Professionals from the 12 organizations expressed a sense of belonging and an appreciation for the diversity of people and programs represented. Participants craved more learning and social together time in person and partnerships are already being explored.
4. Next-level Professional Development. Participants praised the PD experience as unique in the ecosystem, many of them creators of training programs themselves. They enjoyed opportunities to learn from others and the real-world stories that validated all the effort it takes to plan and scale effectively.
5. Field and Funder Education is Needed.  There is a significant opportunity and critical need for our field to understand the difference between scale and growth and provide the resources to extend impact accordingly.
6. Scaling does not get the credit it deserves in the innovation ecosystem. Building from scratch is important, and so too is not reinventing the wheel and successfully spreading all the good ideas already out there.
7. Relevance Beyond Programs and Across Organizations. Scaling methodology is relevant for organizations of all shapes and sizes and at different points in the lifespan. From synagogue programs to regional afterschool programs to Hillel International, this content and experience was valuable for everyone. Though the training is designed for program scaling, it offers value to the entire organization’s way of thinking and doing.
8. Organizations Need Technical Assistance. Organizations receive funding to scale but often don’t have the skills to get there. Their professionals  need to be equipped with more support and training, earlier in their scaling journeys.

As we continue to share learnings around scaling, with the Funder Collaborative leading these efforts, we also look to share “learnings around learning.” Throughout this year, the Foundation has shared insights around small convenings, large network conferences, and more. Masterclasses are yet another tool in our field’s toolkit to bring people together and share best practices.

We are especially excited to see the concept of scaling continuing to make inroads in our field.  Innovation and experiments with new initiatives are of course important. But so too is understanding how to scale effective programs, whether new or legacy, that have proven, positive outcomes. We recognize the importance of education and thought partnership on this topic, with funding colleagues and grantee partners alike. If you are interested in learning more about upcoming Scaling Masterclasses, please complete this form and if you’re a funding colleague interested in supporting and elevating this work in your portfolio, please reach out to me, [email protected]

Rachel Shamash Schneider is a Program Officer at the Jim Joseph Foundation.

In the past few months, I have been fortunate to attend two “inaugural” convenings of Jewish professionals who previously had not been together in person as a cohesive group. Each event was curated for individuals who play a particular role in different organizations within Jewish education. The power of convening professionals in person, with similar roles across organizations, was especially pronounced in a world heavily impacted by the pandemic. There was a unique energy and excitement created by those face-to-face interactions, with the opportunity to discuss common goals and innovative solutions for shared challenges.

Convenings of this nature are more than just learning opportunities for the participants; they are valuable learning experiences for the Jim Joseph Foundation too.  We get to hear, in real-time, how professionals approach their work, what they’re grappling with, and what they need to further advance the field. Convenings also are part of our strategy to scale best practices—whether in data gathering and usage, design of professional development programs, Jewish learning experiences, or other models—from one organization or community to others in the field. 

One convening, sponsored by the Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education (CASJE), invited directors of professional development (PD) programs for Jewish educators writ large to learn about applying research to practice. Thirty organizations were represented that provide high-quality PD for a wide variety of educators using different teaching formats and in various settings—day school teachers, experiential educators, Hillel professionals, camp counselors, and many more.

Similar to our professional learning community in our Professional Development Initiative five years ago (convened by Rosov Consulting), the 60 program directors at this convening saw themselves as individuals within a professional field—not in silos focusing only on their particular audience or setting. With this mindset, their learning and knowledge sharing covered more topics and focused on more audiences. And any successes each person has is much more likely to impact one of their peers. The group of participants spent two days hearing about research findings (studies both inside the Jewish education arena and outside), asking questions to gain clarity and understanding, breaking into small groups—sometimes with peers they collaborated with previously and sometimes with peers they never thought to consult—and brainstorming how to apply their new learning to improve their programs.

The second convening involved “the data people” at five large organizations who provide powerful Jewish learning experiences for young people. The goal was to explore shared measures of outcomes and of participant demographics. Of particular note is that not only had these individuals never before convened, but many of their positions within their organizations are relatively new. This reflects a field of Jewish engagement and education that more and more is recognizing the power of data—and ensuring that they have in-house expertise to help gather it and make data-informed decisions.

Rosov Consulting facilitated a productive conversation about the implementation of a pilot study of shared outcome and participant demographic measures, the resulting findings, the challenges, and the potential for future data collection. Together, the group generated opportunities that will leverage data sharing and discussed issues that might prevent data sharing in certain instances. Some conversations centered around learning from each other (for example, how to collect attendance data, what databases are most conducive to storing data) to sharing challenges related to hiring early career professionals who are data savvy.

Consistent data gathering, analysis, and application of research is in relatively nascent stages across much of our field. These convenings, and future ones like it, will help the field advance in this area, become more sophisticated in data collection and analysis, and scale the use of resulting data more quickly across the field.

While many already knew or knew of each other, the post-pandemic meetings were rich with content, ideas, networking, and celebration. In both, new relationships were formed and past relationships were strengthened, enabling a sense of community and commonality to be regained. These factors make it more likely that proven models of professional development and data gathering are shared and adapted throughout our field. We recognize too that while one convening is productive, its especially impactful to bring these people back together for more convenings, while also introducing new individuals into these experiences. This approach will help to bring fresh perspectives to the table so that more people in Jewish education and engagement can share learnings and work through challenges together.

Stacie Cherner is Director of Learning and Evaluation at the Jim Joseph Foundation.

In the West Bank, one can travel directly from Jerusalem to Efrat to Ariel without having to go through Nablus, Rafa, or Ramallah.  There is a bypass road that avoids areas deemed to be troublesome, problematic, or unsafe. There is beauty (and efficiency) in a pathway that goes directly from point to point; a thoroughfare that provides feelings of safety and security while circumventing locations that are considered less desirable.

As a traveler, however, the bypass road is problematic. The traveler is only exposed to and interacts with a narrow group of people and their perspectives on life. Call it tribalism, isolationism, exceptionalism – the truth is one can traverse Israel and the Territories without ever seeing many of its inhabitants. The traveler on this road is cut off from difference.

Steven Green is Senior Director, Grants Management and Compliance at the Jim Joseph Foundation.

Read the full piece in the Jerusalem Post.

Reflections from the Prizmah Conference

A joy of being part of the funder-grantee relationship is experiencing the grantee-partner’s work first-hand. In particular, I am grateful that the Jim Joseph Foundation prioritizes staff time to experience field-wide gatherings hosted by grantee-partners, many of which are occurring for the first time following the height of the pandemic.

Recently, I was privileged to attend the Prizmah conference in Denver, where I learned alongside educators, education leaders, lay leaders, content experts, funders and other inspiring colleagues. While I was a little nervous congregating with so many people again, I was immediately put at ease by the warmth and creative energy that was palpable throughout the conference (as well as thoughtfully planned break time to breathe in the fresh Colorado air).

Experiencing the conference reinforced for me the importance of investments in network organizations. These organizations, such as Foundation for Jewish Camp, JCCA, along with Prizmah and others, are uniquely positioned to bring together many diverse voices in the field to celebrate and learn from each other’s successes, while also addressing challenges and imagining and planning for a vibrant Jewish future.

Now in its seventh year as an organization, Prizmah’s conference exemplified its readiness to sustain and grow the day school field by supporting the people and schools who positively influence young learners and help develop them into leaders. Here are some insights into how Prizmah leveraged the conference to pursue this vision:

• A Platform for Futurist Thinking – By bringing education futurists to speak at the conference, Prizmah helped reinforce the need for day schools to anticipate not just what families and educators want now, but to think about these needs with a long-term view, ten, twenty years out. What should Jewish/secular curriculum look like then? What will parent engagement need to account for then? What will student and educator needs be at that time? What will an endowment look like that ensures financial stability and offers long-term affordability models? Many conference participants had already begun to think in this way and about these questions, but futurist speakers like Lisa Kay Solomon, Ariel Raz, and Louie Montoya helped to inspire, prioritize, and concretize how to develop plans with a level of specificity that address these areas.
• An Investment in the Entire Ecosystem – Prizmah has a very holistic approach to the day school field’s opportunities and challenges. In this regard, Prizmah as a network organization is a conduit for the Foundation to invest in educators that influence myriad learners, families, and communities each year. At the conference, while some of the conversations focused on the local level, it was clear that people were craving macro level systemic content and resources. Conference participants, for example, wanted to hear how Prizmah network members and partners are addressing educator pipeline, recruitment, and retention challenges. While these are three distinct challenges, they are also clearly related. Prizmah, as the field leader, can help craft potential solutions to solve one of the challenges in ways that account for the relationship between all three. This complex set of issues is an area of interest to the Jim Joseph Foundation as it relates to not only day school education but the broader Jewish education sector as well.
• Relevant and Timely Programming and Resources – The theme of the Prizmah conference, Creative Spirit, says it all. This mindset was evident in every detail of the conference program design as well as all that Prizmah offers to its network members and beyond. In addition to the speakers, learning sessions, and networking, the conference provided a real time space for organizations to share their resources and address nearly anything a day school education leader would need to support their educators and, in turn, their students and families. From youth mental health, to diversity, equity, and inclusion, to digital technology tools, network organizations are able to offer support through these gatherings at the individual, community, and macro levels. And while virtual conferences can be valuable, especially when being physically together is not an option, there is no substitute for in-person gatherings and resource sharing.

Prizmah is a partner that both thinks granularly and also with a larger “systems lens.” This perspective is critical in developing viable interventions at a scale that leads to field-wide solutions. Forward-thinking thought leadership, partnerships, collaborations, and investments will help build a shared vision for the future of Jewish day schools. I am proud to work alongside our Prizmah colleagues and other strategic partners to support these efforts so that more educators are well positioned to positively influence the lives of young people today and in the future.