Episode 23 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network.

JFN Board Member Adina Shapiro and Israeli Entrepreneur/Philanthropist Reem Younis talk about Qudra, a new network for Israel's growing community of Arab philanthropists.

You may have noticed we’ve been adding a lot of new benefits for members of the Jewish Funders Network family.

Now, to make sure you can easily use these benefits, we’ve added two new features: a members’ handbook and a members’ portal. To access these, you must be a current JFN member and must be logged in to the website.

From Jewish Standard (July 21, 2021)

Rabbi Rebecca Sirbu of Teaneck has always been interested in both healing and Judaism. Her goal has been to combine those two areas, using one to advance the other.

JFN membership just got even more valuable! As part of our larger strategy to curate the best resources from both the Jewish and secular philanthropic worlds for you, we’ve partnered with Inside Philanthropy to offer you an exclusive 25 percent discount on subscriptions.

From Jerusalem Post (July 20, 2021)

In this op-ed, Wayne Green of JFN's Honeycomb (formerly the Jewish Teen Funders Network) explains why the latest Pew Report on Jewish Americans findings highlight the importance of Jewish youth philanthropy programs.

Read the article here.

The word “horizon” is tricky. We generally refer to the horizon as an indication of expansiveness, even limitlessness. But etymologically, the word means exactly the opposite. It comes from the Greek word “horizein,” which means “limit.” The horizon is, in fact, the limit of our vision — in Hebrew, as well, where the word for horizon, “ofek,” has the same root as “restrain, constraint, limit.”

It’s here! JFN’s new member directory is live and ready for all members to use.

The directory, accessible to current JFN members only, makes it easy to find other members who share your interests or other traits and to exchange private messages without revealing your contact information.

I am pleased to share a groundbreaking report produced by two JFN members — the Russell Berrie Foundation and the JDC — which addresses an issue of importance to many of us: economic development in Israel’s geographic periphery.

“Application Model for Regional Economic Development” explores why, despite more than a decade of major investments of money, planning, and targeted initiatives by the Israeli government, academia, and philanthropy, substantial and sustained change has been so slow to come to Israel’s northern region.

The report is available in both English and Hebrew.

Jewish Funders Network is horrified and saddened by the tragic loss of life in the June 24 collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Fla.

From Mosaic Magazine (June 28, 2021)

As for giving by foundations, we have some limited information from a survey conducted by the Jewish Funders Network at the end 2020, covering the first six months of the pandemic. Slightly over half had departed from the previous focus of their giving by supporting basic human needs. Over 85 percent had made emergency grants to address coronavirus relief, totaling over $400 million. Three-quarters increased their outlay of grant funds. And almost all intended to continue giving at the same rate or higher in 2021. (These data were indicative of trends, though the exact percentages may be off, in part because only 30 percent of JFN members responded and not all were foundations.)

Read the full article by Jack Wertheimer in Mosaic Magazine.