Jim Joseph Foundation Announces New Grants From Final Board Meetings of 2015

More than $6.3 million awarded to organizations in a range of Jewish education areas

San Francisco, CA – After completing its tenth year of grantmaking, the Jim Joseph Foundation today announced $6,355,000 in new grants awarded at its fall and winter 2015 Board meetings. Based in San Francisco, the Foundation has awarded nearly $400 million in grants to organizations that help create effective and compelling Jewish learning experiences for youth, teens, and young adults in the United States.

“The Foundation is deeply grateful to partner with these innovative grantees committed to Jewish learning,” says Al Levitt, President of the Jim Joseph Foundation. “From teens and young adult engagement, to educator training, to the critical work of building a living library of Jewish texts, this is a dynamic and varied group of organizations.”

Major Grants from fall and winter board meeting

B’nai Brith Youth Organization Inc. (BBYO) (2015-2016)
Up to $250,000 to support the Summit on Jewish Teens and teen participation in the BBYO International Convention.

Jewish Emergent Network: Rabbinic Fellowship in Jewish Innovation (2016-2020)
Up to $3,168,000 to IKAR, on behalf of the Jewish Emergent Network, to pilot two cohorts of Rabbinic Fellows (14 total) to participate in a fellowship program—spending two years serving and learning under senior rabbis and executive directors from seven “emergent Jewish communities.” These communities include Los Angeles (IKAR); Chicago (Mishkan); New York (Lab Shul and Romemu); San Francisco (The Kitchen); Seattle (Kavana); and Washington D.C. (Sixth & I). The grant is designed to prepare the fellows to assume leadership roles as innovative community-builders poised to educate, engage and serve an array of target populations including young adults and families with young children.

Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life: Education Fellow Program (2016-2019)
Up to $450,000 to support the recruitment, selection, training, and supervision of Education Fellows, and the implementation of the ISJL’s itinerant education program, which currently deploys eight full-time Fellows to serve communities and congregations of all sizes and denominations across the southern United States.

Israel Institute, Inc.: Israel Advanced Academic Workshops (2016-2018)
Up to $487,500 to the Israel Institute as a 1:1 match for the Israel Advanced Academic Workshops, a pilot program to develop twelve academic workshops at Israeli universities for faculty and senior administrators from universities around the United States.

Mechon Hadar: Strategic Planning and General Operating Support (2015-2016)
Up to $350,000 for one year of strategic planning and general operating support to help direct the next phase of Mechon Hadar’s institutional growth and to continue to support its current programming and operations. These efforts include expanding Hadar’s revenue base and organizational structure, sustaining its broad range of immersive Jewish learning programs, supporting and expanding the work of its alumni, and partnering with key Jewish educational institutions to enhance the training of Jewish educators and the field of Jewish education.

Sefaria: General Operating Support (2015-2018)
Up to $1,500,000 as a matching grant for Sefaria to continue developing its interactive digital technology that offers free online access to a vast library of Hebrew texts, English translations, and commentaries. During the grant period, Sefaria will complete the acquisition and digitization of the core Hebrew/Aramaic canon, liberate over 50 English translations of major Jewish texts from restrictive copyright, release mobile apps and a completely redesigned website, launch a School Partnership Initiative to develop new ways to use Sefaria for teaching and learning, and connect educators with Sefaria engineers to prototype educational tools.

 Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School Ltd. (YCT): Strategic Planning Support (2015-2016)
Up to $150,000 for one year to YCT to complete a strategic visioning and implementation plan in order to guide YCT’s growth and development over the next five years.

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