August 25, 2022

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WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 5
Grantmaking Pros Convening / The Launch of Reboot Studios

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 12
Israel's Never-Ending Election Cycle / Aspire: JFN's High Holiday Program / Reproductive Health After Roe

SEPTEMBER 19 & BEYOND
Green Funders Forum Gathering / Impact Investing Roundtable / Youth Philanthropy Facilitator Training /Mission to Ethiopia & Israel

NEWS
Bret Stephens on 'What Gives?' / Honeycomb Updates

NEWS FROM OUR MEMBERS
Mourning Harlene Appelman / Digital Storytellers Lab

FROM THE FIELD (CURATED ARTICLES)

EVENTS

Unless otherwise indicated, events listed are limited to JFN members and those eligible for JFN membership. Eligible non-members must request permission and can attend a limited number of member events.

View upcoming events on our website
All upcoming events (calendar view)

Grantmaking Professionals Monthly Online Convening

Online: Wednesday, September 7, 12-1:30 p.m. ET (9-10:30 a.m. PT, 19-20:30 IL)

Join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals where we will come together for shared learning and community-building. Facilitated by Mike Berkowitz and Jaré Akchin of Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies and Tamar Frydman of JFN.

The Launch of Reboot Studios: A CANVAS Conversation

Online: Thursday, September 8, 2-3 p.m. ET (11 a.m.-12 p.m. PT, 21-22:00 IL)

Reboot, a grantee of Jewish arts and culture funding collaborative CANVAS, has recently taken a bold step forward by launching Reboot Studios — an initiative that made headlines in Hollywood a few weeks ago. Join CANVAS, which is incubated at JFN, for a revealing behind-the-scenes discussion with Reboot CEO David Katznelson and two of the major artists whose projects are among the studio’s first investments: producer/director/writer Joey Soloway, creator of "Transparent," and actor/director William DeMerritt.

Can Israel's Never-Ending Election Cycle Be Halted?

Online: Monday, September 12, 12-1 p.m. ET (9-10 a.m. PT, 19-20:00 IL)

With Israelis heading to the polls for the fifth time in less than four years, what can stop this seemingly endless cycle of elections? Join Israel Democracy Institute President Yohanan Plesner in conversation with IDI experts Dr. Assaf Shapira and Dr. Chen Friedberg as they analyze the current state of the November election and present relatively simple reforms that can bring much-needed stability to the Israeli political system.

Aspire: JFN's Annual High Holidays Gathering

Online: Tuesday, September 13, 12-1 p.m. ET (9-10 a.m. PT, 19-20:00 IL)

Read Rabba Yaffa Epstein & Rabbi David Wolpe's new column in SAPIR

Reproductive Health After the Fall of Roe v. Wade: What Role the Jewish Community Can Play

Online: Wednesday, September 14, 4-5 p.m. ET (1-2 p.m. PT)

Join JFN member Lisa Eisen of Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies and Sheila Katz of the National Council of Jewish Women to learn what's next in the struggle to protect reproductive health, and what role the Jewish community and Jewish funders can play. This webinar is spearheaded by several JFN members.

New Year, New Opportunities with Green Funders Forum

Online: Monday, September 19, 12–1:30 p.m. ET (9-10:30 a.m. PT, 19-20:30 IL)

Join JFN's Green Funders Forum for a virtual Rosh Hashanah gathering to discuss what's new in the field. We will spotlight new philanthropic climate initiatives and opportunities for action. More details coming soon!

Impact Investing Roundtable

Online: Tuesday, September 20, 12–1:30 p.m. ET (9-10:30 a.m. PT, 19-20:30 IL)

Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring JFN members for shared learning and shared action. Each session is facilitated by JFN Board Member Vanessa Bartram of ZORA Ventures.

Read JFN's Guide to Jewish Impact Investing

Honeycomb Facilitator Training

New York & Online: November 9-10

Attendees will walk away with curriculum, tools, and skills that will enable them to enhance existing Jewish youth philanthropy programs, start one in their own community or seamlessly use philanthropy in their general teen programming. Designed for youth educators, lay leaders, and Jewish organizational professionals interested in building the next generation of changemakers, the training can be joined in-person or online.

A JFN program, Honeycomb is the leading resource for Jewish youth philanthropy.

Open to all!

Mission to Ethiopia & Israel November 14-17

The Jewish Agency for Israel, the Morris and Rosalind Goodman Family Foundation, and JFN invite funders to a unique and historic mission.

The story of Ethiopian Jewry has three significant elements – a rich history in Ethiopia, the waves of Aliyah which began in significant numbers in the mid-1980s with Operation Moses, and finally, settlement in Israel. This mission will help us understand how these elements weave together.

This trip is open exclusively to funders to explore our unique role in addressing the challenge of Ethiopian Aliyah and integration into Israel. We will consider what unique opportunities exist for funders in this challenging realm.

NEWS

Podcast with Bret Stephens

In the latest episode of JFN's "What Gives?" podcast, New York Times columnist and Sapir Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens talks with JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny about the importance and limits of civil debate and making room for a diversity of opinions in a time of polarization and echo chambers.

"What Gives" is a space for exploring and debating the ideas that matter in philanthropy and the Jewish community. Listen, subscribe, and check out recent episodes with JFN Board Member Shawna Goodman Sone and her brother Jonathan Goodman; Felicia Herman of Maimonides Fund; Israeli Astronaut Eytan Stibbe, Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation President Fay Twersky, and others on our website or wherever you get your podcasts.

New Youth Philanthropy Cohorts

Mazel tov to the 11 organizations across the U.S. that were accepted into Honeycomb's Opening the Dor program and to four synagogues across the Los Angeles area accepted into Honeycomb's LAunchpad: The Los Angeles Synagogue Incubator for Youth Philanthropy cohort!

Launched in 2020 and made possible with the support of JFN member The Sephardic Foundation on Aging, Opening the Dor is an intergenerational giving experience that connects teens and seniors through philanthropy, identity, storytelling, and heritage. Honeycomb provides selected organizations with training, resources, and funding. LAunchpad: The Los Angeles Synagogue Incubator for Youth Philanthropy, is proudly supported by the Ziering Family Foundation. Additional synagogue grants provided by the Los Angeles Jewish Teen Initiative powered by JFN members the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and the Jim Joseph Foundation, with seed funding provided by JFN member the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles.

The leading resource for Jewish youth philanthropy, Honeycomb also offers consultations for JFN members seeking to engage the next generation in their philanthropy.

MEMBER NEWS

Mourning Harlene Appelman

JFN is deeply saddened by the loss of Harlene Winnick Appelman last week. A pioneer in the field of Jewish family education, Harlene was one of the Covenant Foundation's three inaugural Covenant Award recipients in 1991. She went on to serve on the foundation's board and was its Executive Director from 2005-2021, adding Ignition Grants, the Pomegranate Prize, and other new offerings. May her memory be for a blessing.

Digital Media Cohort Announced

The Digital Storytellers Lab of the Jewish Writers’ Initiative, a Maimonides Fund project, has selected 13 digital media writers/creators for its inaugural program. The Lab is an eight-month fellowship designed to kickstart the development of new digital audio/visual media exploring Jewish themes and narratives, encouraging creators to tell Jewish stories in innovative, digital-first ways. The fellows hail from a variety of professional backgrounds – including journalists, filmmakers, novelists, songwriters, game designers, and more – and were chosen via an open call for proposals that brought in over 260 applications.

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