MISSION:

Mission
The Foundation’s mission honors the legacy of Jim Joseph, who identified educating Jewish children, youth, and young adults as key to the Jewish future.

Intention (kavanah כַּוָנָה):
The Hebrew phrase chaz-keim v’am-tzeim חַזְּקֵם וְאַמְּצֵם means strengthen and encourage. It is a reference to God’s words to Moses in Deuteronomy 3:28: “Give Joshua his instructions, and imbue him with strength and courage, for he shall go across at the head of this people, and he shall give them the land that you may only see.” This phrase highlights the Foundation’s ongoing intention to elevate the work of others in realizing its mission.

To foster compelling, effective Jewish learning experiences for young Jews.

CORE ASSUMPTIONS:

Connection, Meaning, and Purpose
These three complementary needs address our innate human desires to be in relationship with one another, our communities, and something greater than ourselves; to understand ourselves and what matters to us; and to make our own personal and collective contributions to the world.

In a world that is constantly shifting and changing, there remains a strong and persistent human desire for connection, meaning, and purpose; Judaism has continually evolved over thousands of years to meet these needs.

Through investing in Jewish learning experiences, we can help individuals identify new ways to enhance their lives, strengthen their families and communities, and contribute to a better world.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND FOCUS AREAS:

DELIBERATE AND EMERGENT
These complementary strategies align with the Foundation's interest in supporting a wide range of Jewish learning experiences, leaders, and educators to reach the full breadth of its target audience. Both strategies are shaped around the Foundation's orientation as a national funder that seeks to have broad, national, and systemic impact.

DELIBERATE STRATEGY

Through its Deliberate Strategy, the Foundation focuses on strengthening and growing existing, proven program models for Jewish learning that have deep and enduring effects on participants and attracting and training dynamic, pioneering leaders and educators who serve these programs and their learners by being well-attuned to their needs and interests.

EMERGENT STRATEGY

Through its Emergent Strategy, the Foundation focuses on the population of young Jews who are not served or are underserved by programs funded by its Deliberate Strategy. It does this by investing in creative new expressions of Judaism and Jewish life, identifying and scaling compelling new options for young Jews who are seeking a sense of belonging outside of current Jewish institutions and offerings, attracting and positioning new and diverse leadership from outside the existing Jewish professional landscape, and developing future-forward training to serve these leaders.

Provide strategic grants and support to outstanding Jewish nonprofit organizations and initiatves with proven models for Jewish learning and talent development:

Invest in unconventional talent, ideas, and opportunity landscapes to generate new value propositions for Jewish life:

FIRST PRINCIPLES:

FIRST PRINCIPLES In the same way that Jewish liturgy invites us to bring kavanah or intention into the act of prayer by reciting (God, open my lips), the Foundation has developed its own set of intentions, called First Principles, to guide how we do our work. Desc ribed below, these intentions provide focus and inform decision-making.

Center young people | Build meaningful relationships

Look around corners | Be curious | Leverage time

LONG-TERM OUTCOMES:

Long Term Outcomes


The Foundation’s timeframe for achieving its long-term outcomes is ten years. The Foundation will apply broad strategies to measure these outcomes over time. Each long-term outcome is mapped to a set of shorter-term outcomes and specific indicators of progress that will be measured more closely.

CULTURE: A growing culture of excellence, risk-taking, belonging, and continuous listening and learning strengthens Jewish education by shaping the values and practices of existing and future organizations, initiatives, communities, innovators, and funders.

COMPELLING AND EFFECTIVE CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE
The Foundation holds itself and its partners to the highest standards, routinely drawing upon research, counsel, and expertise from both inside and outside the Jewish world.

CULTURE OF BELONGING Jewish learning environments should be spaces where everyone feels welcome, supported, and fully part of the community. When people see themselves refiected and know their needs will be met, they are more likely to choose to engage and stay involved.

EXPERIENCES: Modern manifestations of Jewish-inspired ideas, practices, and experiences emerge and gain widespread recognition as essential in meeting the needs of young people at key infiection points in their lives.

COMPELLING AND EFFECTIVE JEWISH LEARNING EXPERIENCES
The Foundation defines these as experiences that draw upon Jewish wisdom, values, practices, culture, traditions, and history to engage people in activities that guide them toward living more connected, meaningful, and purpose-filled lives.

Effective learning experiences have long-term infiuence on the ways learners think, feel, and act. They empower learners to integrate their learning with their varied interests and identities. Compelling learning experiences are judgement-free and enable learners to wrestle with topics of relevance to them in new and nuanced ways. They incorporate diverse voices and perspectives into the conversation.

The available array of Jewish learning experiences must constantly evolve and expand to serve current and future audiences of learners. They can take place in a wide range of settings, including classrooms, homes, offices, camps, campuses, synagogues, retreat centers, community centers, service and travel experiences, and other public spaces. They can occur through various forms of interactive activities and content both online and offline, through cohort-based group experiences, one-on-one conversations and relationships, and by oneself.

TALENT: A growing and diverse network of dynamic, pioneering leaders and educators drive Jewish learning experiences that inspire young people throughout their lives.

COMPELLING AND EFFECTIVE TALENT
The Foundation recognizes that talented leaders, educators, and entrepreneurs-whether from established institutions or outside traditional Jewish spaces-play a central role in the design and delivery of learning experiences. These key change-makers continually shape what Jewish learning looks like and where it happens.

Leaders and educators of all kinds-new and seasoned, professional and volunteer, Jewish and not Jewish-act as catalysts, bridge-builders, and innovators, reaching people in both familiar and unexpected ways. Skilled educators, builders, and creators are essential partners in designing and facilitating Jewish learning experiences for today and the future. Some find their own way to these roles, while others need to be invited. All perform best when properly resourced and supported.

The Foundation considers all these individuals to be Jewish educators, even if they do not identify as such. They can include rabbis, teachers, youth advisors, counselors, academics, students, coaches, entrepreneurs, culture-makers, artists, creatives, trip leaders, peers, partners, parents, grandparents, and other adult role models.

LEARNERS: A more diverse and growing number of young Jews, their families, and their friends are participating in Jewish learning experiences that inspire them to lead more connected, meaningful, and purpose-filled lives.

COMPELLING AND EFFECTIVE YOUNG JEWS
The Foundation's audiences encompass all young Jews from the United States. This includes those who are attracted to conventional and alternative Jewish learning experiences that exist today and those who are seeking something entirely different.

To serve these audiences, it is important to purposefully include the families and friends of these young Jews-whether they are Jewish or not-to create meaningful Jewish learning experiences that are integrated with their full selves and the various communities and circles in which they find themselves.

ASPIRATION:

Aspiration
This concluding statement articulates the Foundation's vision for how the world will look when it has fu lfi lled its purpose. There is no timeframe for this vision. It cannot be achieved only by the Foundation's efforts, yet the Foundation intends to make a meaningful contribution to realizing it.

Inspired by Jewish learning experiences, all Jews, their families, and their friends build connected, meaningful, purpose-filled lives, and make positive contributions to their communities and the world.