How Donors in the Jewish Funders Network Are Responding in a Time of War

From Inside Philanthropy (OCTOBER 1, 2024)

The Jewish Funders Network (JFN) has long sought to be an open, welcoming place for Jewish funders who hold a range of political viewpoints and levels of religiosity, from Orthodox members to those who never go to synagogue. Founded in 1990 and based in New York City, JFN is the top funder affinity group in the world of Jewish giving. Each of the more than 3,000 members from 15 countries gives at least $25,000 a year toward a number of charitable causes, ranging from poverty in the Jewish community to the arts and climate change. In 2008, JFN established an Israeli branch, JFN Israel, to connect and support Israel-based funders, many of whom were new to the kind of wealth that facilitates philanthropy, largely due to tech.

As Rabbi Rebecca Sirbu, the executive vice president of JFN, told me last year, JFN is not a religious or political organization, nor does it recommend specific grantees or positions. “Our members are anyone who gives within the Jewish world or wants to be giving through a Jewish lens. I think they connect with us because they understand that giving back is a Jewish value,” she said.

Read the full article by Wendy Paris in Inside Philanthropy.