Press Releases

Jim Joseph Foundation Announces $4,552,078 in New Grants for Jewish Education

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The San Francisco-based Jim Joseph Foundation, which seeks to foster compelling and effective Jewish learning experiences for young Jews in the United States, announced today that up to $4,552,078 was awarded at its October 2013 Board of Directors meeting. Grantees included Brandeis University, Facing History and Ourselves National Foundation, Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of Religion, New York University’s Berman Jewish Policy Archive, Stanford University, and Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School. Established in 2006, the Foundation has awarded more than $285 million in grants within three strategic...

GW Receives $1.47 Million Grant to Fund New Joint Program in Experiential Education and Jewish Cultural Arts

Graduate School of Education and Human Development and the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences to collaborate on First-ever Experiential Education and Jewish Cultural Arts Program

WASHINGTON— The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development (GSEHD) and Columbian College of Arts and Sciences received a $1.47 million grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation to fund a new program combining experiential education and Jewish cultural arts.  The program is the only one of its kind in the country, offering an interdisciplinary curriculum of coursework from GSEHD’s Museum Education...

Jim Joseph Foundation Announces $3,613,000 in New Grants to Create More Jewish Learning Experiences and to Support Jewish Educators

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The San Francisco-based Jim Joseph Foundation, which seeks to foster compelling and effective Jewish learning experiences for young Jews in the United States, announced today that up to $3,613,000 were awarded at its June 23 – 24, 2013 Board of Directors meeting. Grantees included George Washington University, Regents of the University of California at Berkeley, Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies North America, and the Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Established in 2006, the Foundation awards grants within three strategic priorities: 1) Increase the number and quality...

First Cohort of the Jewish Early Childhood Education Leadership Institute Completes Training

NEW YORK, NY — Fifteen Jewish early childhood education directors and master teachers completed theirparticipation in the Jewish Early Childhood Education Leadership Institute (JECELI) on August 1. JECELI is a joint program of The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) and Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC), in consultation with the Bank Street College of Education. JECELI members represent various types of Jewish communities across the country and all major denominations of Judaism. They learn skills in leadership, supervision, and organizational administration; gain insight into adult development; and practice infusing Jewish thought and resources...

Jewish Survey Question Bank Provides Unprecedented Compilation of Jewish Social Research Questions

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The Berman Jewish Policy Archive and Berman Jewish DataBank today launched the Jewish Survey Question Bank (JSQB), a compilation of more than 15,000 survey questions and response options used in Jewish social research. The JSQB, located at http://jewishquestions.bjpa.org/, is designed to improve future Jewish social research and serve as a resource for academics, leaders of Jewish organizations, and Jewish educators by helping them craft their own surveys. “JSQB offers access to Jewish education and demographic research, as well as program evaluation of education initiatives,” says Professor Steven...

eLearning Faculty Fellowship Launched by HUC-JIR, JTS, and YU

Key component of inter-institutional collaboration offers opportunity for more innovation

SAN FRANCISCO– To cultivate creativity and knowledge-sharing surrounding the effective use of educational technology in Jewish higher education, Hebrew Union College– Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), and Yeshiva University (YU) have launched an inter-institutional eLearning Faculty Fellowship. On May 7th, the twenty faculty members of Cohort 1 participated in the first of five live sessions to learn strategies, tools, and approaches for using educational technologies to improve student engagement and learning. All five live sessions...

Jim Joseph Foundation Announces Three New Members of Board of Directors

New Members Bring Expertise and Passion to Help Meet Needs of Today’s Jewish Communities

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Continuing pursuit of its vision of more young Jews engaging in ongoing Jewish life, the Jim Joseph Foundation today announced three new members of its Board of Directors: Alisa Robbins Doctoroff, Dan Safier, and Joshua Joseph. They join the current five directors of the Foundation, which since 2006 has granted $270 million to foster compelling, effective learning experiences for young Jews. The new Board Members bring unique expertise, backgrounds, and passions that...

Jim Joseph Foundation Awards $1M to Federations to Support Hurricane Sandy Victims

SAN FRANCISCO – To help families whose lives were disrupted by Hurricane Sandy to access Jewish educational experiences, the Jim Joseph Foundation has awarded a $1 million grant to The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). The grant – for families in New Jersey and Connecticut– will provide subsidies for Jewish day and congregational schools, Jewish camps, youth volunteer activities, and social service programming needs. The grant comes as the recovery from the devastating hurricane continues, with many families still feeling a deep financial impact. The grant will be administered by...

JEWISH LEARNINGWORKS AND THE JIM JOSEPH FOUNDATION ANNOUNCE THE LAUNCH OF WWW.BASISIsraeleducation.ORG

New website offers toolkit for Israel education and documents a 4 year, community-wide Israel Education Initiative designed to forge enduring connections between American Jewish students, schools and educators, and Israel.

SAN FRANCISCO – Jewish LearningWorks and the Jim Joseph Foundation today announce the launch of a new website (BASISIsraeleducation.org) documenting BASIS –– the Israel Education Day School project. BASIS, a four year Israel Education initiative, was piloted in the Bay Area.  This model of Israel education provides schools techniques and tools to integrate Israel education across a school curriculum. ...

Pardes Achieves Success in Training and Retaining Judaic Studies Teachers

Ongoing Support and Network of Alumni Helps Increase Teacher Retention

NEW YORK- An evaluation released today by the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies inIsraelshows the achievements of its teacher training and retention programs, and demonstrates the importance of an active support system for new Judaic Studies teachers. The study, conducted by Research Success Technologies, details findings from two separate research engagements. One, commissioned by the Jim Joseph Foundation, evaluated the Pardes Educators Alumni Support Program (PEASP), while the other, commissioned by The AVI CHAI Foundation, studied the field’s impression of...

UJA-Federation of New York Receives $1,000,000 Grant to Assist Hurricane Sandy Victims

Jim Joseph Foundation grant will help families access Jewish day schools and summer camps

NEW YORK – To aid victims of Hurricane Sandy, UJA-Federation of New York has been awarded a $1,000,000 grant from the San Francisco-based Jim Joseph Foundation. The grant will provide families devastated by the Hurricane with additional assistance for educational purposes such as tuition/enrollment subsidies for Jewish day schools and Jewish residential summer camps. As Sandy recovery continues to stretch out over months, the financial impact to many families has been significant, forcing many to choose...

New Study Shows Jewish Student Connection’s Clubs Achieving Success

Teens Increasingly Create their own Jewish Experiences and Communities

San Francisco – Entering its fourth year of offering in-school educational experiences for Jewish teens, a new study released today demonstrates that Jewish Student Connection (JSC) is achieving positive outcomes as a catalyst for Jewish teens to take ownership of their Jewish future. The study, conducted by BTW informing change, looked specifically at the programmatic and organizational growth of JSC in Chicago, South Florida, Westchester/Connecticut and Denver from 2010 – 2012. “JSC has changed my life in so many ways,” says...