NY Funders Talk Poverty

Funder Convening: Jewish Economic Insecurity in New York 

Last week, twenty funders convened on a day of site visits focused on economic vulnerability among New York's Jewish community. The gathering was hosted by The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, UJA Federation NY and JFN's TEN. 

We started the morning at the Commonpoint Queen’s’ Jack and Shirley Silver Hub, where we learned about their co-located services., and had lunch catered by the Hub’s incredible culinary program trainees. In short, at the Silver Hub, you’re able to pick up food, get workforce training, meet with your case manager, get legal support, and more all in one place. As we learned from CEO Danielle Elleman, every day the Hub is open, two people land stable and supportive jobs in cybersecurity, healthcare, construction and more. 

Following a presentation on national studies and data from UJA’s  2023 New York Jewish Community study, attendees shared examples of grants they’ve been part of that had a significant impact. Some of the characteristics that stood out about these grants: 

• They included elements of scaling 
• They leverage the capacity and strengths the organization already has 
• Strong investment in reporting, data tracking, and evolution 
• A group (like federation) provides umbrella-like support to ease any competition
• They are timed well 
• Once a model is proven effective, making a long-term (10 year) commitment 
• For seed stage funders, making grants that propagate other grants and leaders
• Framing things like scholarships as awards rather than a handout 
• Scrupulous attention so that each dollar that is intended for a client gets to them
  

We then spent the afternoon at Queens College Hillel, one of several CUNY Hillels that, through philanthropic support, has a full-time clinical social worker as part of their senior staff. We also heard from a panel of students. When asked “If you had an unlimited budget, what else would you want Hillel to provide?” one student said, “I feel like any ask I have, my Hillel is able to support me.” Since the onset of the pandemic, the Queens Hillel team has offered multiple free meals a week, access to a client-choice digital food pantry, mental health support, career support, a safe space to chill and so much more. As the Queens Hillel Executive Director Jenna Citron Schwab shared “There is no way we can go back from here” putting a call to funders about the necessity of continuing to invest in the salary of a social worker and a wide variety of social services embedded in Hillel.

A recent Rosov study showed that 72% of students said they were more comfortable accessing social services at Hillel than anywhere else. 

Our national data shows that financially vulnerable Jews feel more welcome in spaces that are diverse and have explicit inclusion policies. If there is one takeaway from our afternoon, it is that access to supportive services not only helps meet basic needs, but builds Jewish communities that are more welcoming, supportive, and inclusive. 

Want to learn more about Jewish economic vulnerability? Connect with Rachel Sumekh at rsumekh@jfunders.org.