PHOTO: Couples from the Valley listen to a presentation in Jerusalem during a Honeymoon Israel trip in June. Followup programming here at home is scheduled thanks to a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix.
The Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix announced its 2015 discretionary grants, totaling more than $210,000 – including the largest one-time grant in its 43-year history, a $54,000 planning grant for the Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix to re-establish a Jewish Community Relations Council in our community.
“When the Board of Rabbis applied to us for funding, we saw it as a natural extension of what was started in 2011 with the Foundation’s Community Conversation,” says Foundation President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Kasper. “The follow-up report for the Community Conversation identified public affairs as a key focus area; one of the recommendations from the final report included launching a project with the following mission:
‘To foster dialogue and understanding within the Jewish and larger metropolitan communities, to amplify the Jewish voice in response to matters of importance to the Jewish people and on issues that inherently cry out for a Jewish response, to facilitate collaborations for good among Jews and between the Jewish community and its neighbors.’”
Through the Board of Rabbis, the JCRC will provide the local Jewish community a platform from which to speak to the community overall in an organized, unified and impactful Jewish voice. The local council will focus on advocacy, education and coalition building for public affairs initiatives. This one-year planning grant will allow the Board of Rabbis to hire an employee to oversee development of a JCRC for the community.
“Two other key focus areas that grew out of the Community Conversation – Jewish arts and culture, and leadership development – also helped guide this year’s grant making,” says Sheryl Quen, Foundation Director of Grants and Communications. “The grants for the Arizona Opera and the ASU Center for Jewish Studies each provide an entry point to the Jewish community for people who may not be connected.”
In terms of leadership development, the Foundation awarded grants totaling $10,000 to Hillel at ASU for its Comprehensive Israel Engagement Initiative, designed to teach advocacy skills to ASU students, to arm them with the necessary tools to face proponents of the BDS movement. The initiative also includes an advocacy and education program for high school students.
Chaired by attorney Robert Roos, the foundation’s grants committee awarded 12 grants totaling $213,687 to the following:
Local Community Grants (69%)
Arizona Opera Company, $7,500
“Arizona Lady” and the Jewish Cultural Festival: The primary goal of this project is to increase awareness of previous forgotten important Jewish works. In conjunction with “Arizona Lady,” a comedic operetta written by a Jewish Hungarian immigrant who fell in love with the Southwest after fleeing the Holocaust, AZ Opera will present a variety of supplemental education and community events.
ASU Foundation for ASU Center for Jewish Studies/Confucius Institute, $5,000
Jewish Refugees of Shanghai Museum Exhibit and Program: From 1933-1941, Shanghai accepted approximately 18,000 Jewish refugees fleeing from the Holocaust in Europe. Displayed at the Arizona Jewish Historical Society Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center from October 2015 to January 2016, the exhibit will bring together for the first time, photos, personal stories and artifacts from Shanghai’s Jewish Refugee Museum.
Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix, $54,000
Re-establishment of the Jewish Community Relations Council: A one-year planning grant.
Hillel Jewish Student Center at ASU, $10,000 (including field of interest grants)
Comprehensive Israel Engagement Initiative: In the face of rising anti-Israel activity on campus (BDS -boycott, divest, sanctions movement, etc.), Hillel, working in partnership with Jewish Arizonans on Campus, designed a multi-faceted approach that includes Israel advocacy and education workshops, cultural events and ongoing follow-up with students returning from Israel trips.
Jewish Community Foundation Discretionary Reserve, $12,179
The discretionary reserve allows the Foundation to solicit limited off-cycle grant requests and to respond to emergencies, such as the war in Israel last summer.
Pardes Jewish Day School on behalf of all day schools, $20,000
The First Step: Establishing a Child Study Team: To provide testing and other resources for children with learning and behavioral challenges. The child study team consists of a psychologist, special educator as well as appropriate administrators from the school.
Valley Beit Midrash, $10,000
Honeymoon Israel: Recognizing the shifting demography of American Jews, Honeymoon Israel attempts to strengthen the relationships new couples have with their culture and faith with an all-encompassing tour to the Holy Land. This grant will support post-trip programming and follow-up for the couples, implemented by Valley Beit Midrash.
Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, $7,500
Ometz-Special Needs After-School Program: Integrated into the Club J after-school program, Ometz provides a place for children with special needs to go after school to have fun, participate in engaging activities, and socialize and integrate with typical children in a safe, nurturing environment.
Israel Grants – 31%
Alliance – Kol Israel Haverim (KIAH)-Sha’ar, $15,000
Cracking the Glass Ceiling: Promoting girls to science education in Netanya: The program is a comprehensive process, starting in the eighth grade and lasts over five years in each school, for female students who have potential in STEM studies.
Hillel – The Right to Choose, $15,000
Support for former haredi single mothers in their new beginning: Hillel – The Right to Choose provides support and resources designed to help these women triumph over integration challenges, effectively serve their families, and achieve financial independence.
IT Works, $11,000
Employment and Leadership-Netanya: The program will train and empower low-income or unemployed Jewish women to be agents of change as human resource professionals in the technological sector.
Women’s Spirit-Financial Independence for Women Victims of Violence, $15,000
Opening Doors: This unique program provides residents of battered women’s shelters with efficient financial and employment skills to achieve self-reliance and financial independence, as they transition from the shelter to independent living.
Field of Interest Grants
Jewish Women’s Endowment Fund
Ladaat (formerly SHILO – Jerusalem’s Family Planning Education & Counseling Center), $7,653
The Sexual Health Educational Program for Teenagers in the Jerusalem area: Sexual education workshops for teenagers to facilitate healthy sexuality and prevent sexual abuse among teenagers.
Mavoi Satum, $10,000
Justice for All: The Justice for All project defends a woman’s right to divorce her husband by providing individual legal support, which consists of preliminary and ongoing consultation, as well as representation and guidance in both civil and religious courts. The program also promotes legislation in the Knesset and proposes bills that are aimed at bringing about an end to the ongoing violation of women’s rights.
Babette Himler Endowment Fund – $254
Hillel Jewish Student Center at ASU
Comprehensive Israel Engagement Initiative
Physically Disadvantaged Children’s Fund, $2,595
Council for Jews with Special Needs
Summer Camp Inclusion Resources: To enable children with special needs to attend typical day camp programs.
Max Schlissel Jewish Education Fund – $3,623
Hillel Jewish Student Center at ASU
Comprehensive Israel Engagement Initiative
Paul Vermes Endowment for Disabled Youth in Israel, $11,260
Shekel Community Services for People with Special Needs
Medical Supervision at Hettena Day Center, a residential home for severely developmentally disabled children.
The Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix’s mission: Building a permanent source of financial support for a vibrant, enduring Jewish community.
For more information about foundation grants or how you can contribute to the foundation, please visit our website at www.jcfphoenix.org or call 480-699-1717.
