In a safe and intimate space, we will deal with core issues relating to giving families with respect to next gen engagement and succession planning.

Location:  Home of Yovel Recanati, Herzliya. Exact address will be sent upon registration.

The event is for funders only and will be held in Hebrew.

Speaker: Dr. Tamar Milo

Enacted in 1950, the Law of Return is a fundamental aspect of Israel's immigration policy, ensuring that every Jew has the right to make Aliyah and become a citizen of the State of Israel. Recently, some members of the new Israeli governing coalition have voiced strong opposition to a key clause of the law. This clause extends the right of immigration to include the grandchildren of Jews, as well as their spouses.

As the global representative of Jews and convener of the international Jewish community, The Jewish Agency for Israel remains steadfast in preserving the long-standing status quo on issues affecting global Jewry, including potential changes to the "grandchild" clause in the Law of Return. Restricting the law as proposed could significantly impact many prospective immigrants to Israel and carry far-reaching implications for the entire Jewish community.

To gain a deeper understanding of the Law of Return's history and the potential consequences of the suggested amendments, we invite you to attend this special briefing led by Mark Wilf, Chair of the Board of Governors of The Jewish Agency, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Doron Almog, Chair of the Executive of The Jewish Agency, and Prof. Yedidia Stern, President & CEO of the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI). We look forward to your attendance and participation.

MODERATOR
Merav Livneh-Dill, Director of Interfaces and Synergy - Strategy, Planning & Content Unit, Jewish Agency for Israel.

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals where we will come together for shared learning and community-building. 

Speakers:

To be announced.

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Jaré Akchin
Vice President & Executive Coach
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

 The Center for Family Philanthropy is happy to invite JFN members, together with their families, to a family volunteer day.

 Together with “Venatata” we will establish a therapeutic garden for the children of the boarding school.

The activity will be suitable for all ages and will enable a hands-on and enriching experience of giving.

* The event is intended for Funders and their families only. 

Location: “Hakfar Hayarok”, Ramat Hasharon

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

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. 

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Read JFN's Guide to Jewish Impact Investing

Featuring

Master Class: Oren Kaplun - The Creation of Tel Aviv Stock Exchange's Fossil Free Index

Investment Pitch 1: Galia Kut - MindTension

Investment Pitch 2: Josh Cohen - Shift One

Join us for an informative webinar on combating online hate, where experts in the field will discuss the critical importance of tackling hate speech and harmful content on digital platforms.

During the session, JFN members will gain insights into the latest trends and tactics used by perpetrators of online hate, as well as explore effective strategies for countering hate speech and promoting tolerance and diversity.

This webinar is a must-attend for anyone who is concerned about the rising tide of antisemitism, online and in the world, the impact of online hate, and who interested in finding practical solutions to combat this pervasive issue.

Don't miss this opportunity to hear from top experts in the field and learn how you can play a role in promoting a safer and more inclusive online community.

Speakers
Mark Ginsberg
The Coalition for a Safer Web

Imran Ahmed
Center for Countering Digital Hate

Moderator
Aviva Klompas
Boundless Israel

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals where we will come together for shared learning and community-building. 

Speakers:

To be announced.

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Jaré Akchin
Vice President & Executive Coach
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Join us for a conversation with Dr. Arielle Levites, Managing Director of Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education (CASJE). Dr. Levites and CASJE’s team were honored for their landmark study of a field critical to the success of a broad swath of Jewish programming. CASJE’s Career Trajectories of Jewish Educators in the United States research provides applicable knowledge about the recruitment, retention, and professional development of Jewish educators.

Learn about this landmark study for the field of Jewish education. CASJE researched the pipeline and career arcs of frontline Jewish educators, creating usable knowledge to enable more people and organizations to strengthen Jewish education and better support educators’ professional journeys.

CASJE explains what market forces have devalued formal preparation of Jewish educators and shines light on a downward shift in what employers are looking for in classroom teachers and other educators.

Watch Dr. Levites accepting the award at the JFN 2023 International Conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rg3Eg5qhq4&t=601s

REGISTRATION IS OPEN - Click here to visit our conference website.

Learn about sponsorship opportunities. Please email any questions to [email protected].

JFN's International Conference is open to JFN members and those eligible for membership. Learn about past JFN International Conferences.

1 pm EST | 10am PST

The Israeli society as well as the American society are finding themselves shaken by great, deep social processes that challenge philanthropy to rethink the models through which it can influence and create tangible change. As there are parallels between occurrences in the two societies, a joint discussion in which network members can listen to and consult with one another can be of great value.

This interactive meeting will enable an open dialogue and personal discussions around our thoughts, concerns and ideas for both members on the Israeli Israel and abroad in light of the current crisis in Israel. The joint discussion will enable mutual learning from funders from the US that have recently dealt with political and social crises that have influenced American society.

*The meeting will be held in English

A group of philanthropists concerned about the Dobbs decision came together last summer. Since then Judy Freidman in LA, and Rebecca Shafron from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies have agreed to chair our Reproductive Healthcare Group. They have put together a new learning session for this group. As attacks on gender and reproductive equity continue, hear from leaders at NARAL, If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, and the National Network of Abortion Funds. During this panel, they will discuss the road ahead for reproductive rights, the strategies to protect abortion care, and how we can get involved.

Speakers
Oriaku Njoku Executive Director, National Network of Abortion Funds	Mini Timmaraju President, NARAL	Jill E. Adams Executive Director, If/When/How

Moderator

Lisa Eisen
Co-President, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies

This event is part of an ongoing series of Gender Lens Giving Group events. Help us keep the momentum going at the JFN International Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, March 19-21 And beyond. Upcoming Gender Lens Giving Group sessions will include: 

• JFN Conference Plenary: "Philanthropy Through a Gender Lens" featuring Stacy Schusterman, Chair of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Tegan Acton, President & Co-Chair of Sunlight Giving, and moderated by Jeannie Infante Sager, Director of the Women's Philanthropy Institute at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
• JFN Conference Gender Lens Giving Group Networking Session
• Ongoing peer network events post-conference

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

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. 

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Read JFN's Guide to Jewish Impact Investing

Speakers:

• Alina Shkolnikov, Chief Strategy Officer, Joblio: How the S in ESG Can Help Address Modern Slavery
• Nermine Rubin, Chief Executive Officer, Water 4 Mercy: Investing in Africa's Agricultural Value Chains, Generating Revenue and Impact
• Astorre Moderna, General Partner, Terra VP: Intuition Robotics

Moderator:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

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. 

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Read JFN's Guide to Jewish Impact Investing

Featuring

Master Class - Ethy Levy, Managing Partner at Kinneret Impact Ventures - Dilemmas of an Impact Investor

Investment Pitch #1 - Vanessa Bartram, Managing Partner at ZORA Ventures - Rewind (Joined by Ram Amar, CEO/Founder)

Investment Pitch #2 - Debra Fine, Founder and Chair at Fine Capital Partners - Hebrew Free Loan Society (Joined by Rabbi David Rosenn, President and CEO)

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals where we will come together for shared learning and community-building. 

Speakers:

To be announced.

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Jaré Akchin
Vice President & Executive Coach
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

This past November, in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Goodman Foundation, JFN brought a mission of funders to Ethiopia to visit the families of Ethiopian Israelis and other Ethiopian Jews awaiting aliyah and to accompany some of them on their journey to Israel. It was a powerful experience, and JFN is committed to providing opportunities for our members to continue to explore our unique role in addressing the challenge of Ethiopian aliyah and integration in Israel. We are creating a peer network to help you learn more about the various issues at play and the many avenues and opportunities that exist for funders to drive impact in this challenging realm.

The first session of the new Ethiopian-Israeli Peer Network will be on Thursday, February 9, 12:00-1:00pm EST. For this session, JFN is pleased to partner with UJA-Federation of New York to discuss one such avenue of impact and action: a collective advocacy strategy in Israel around Ethiopian aliyah.  

Background
In November 2022, led by UJA, the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel passed a resolution urging the Government of Israel to take action around a 2021 commitment to continue the implementation of the Tzur Israel Operation and to provide clarity for the thousands of Ethiopians living in limbo in the Addis Ababa and Gondar compounds. In this discussion, UJA will present the history and goals of the JAFI resolution passed in November, an update on engagement with the new Israeli government, and some ideas for collective action from funders. There will also be room to hear from our mission participants and for attendees to share questions and ideas around this issue. 

Speakers: 

• Pnina Tamano-Shata is an Israeli lawyer, journalist, and politician. She is the first Ethiopian-born woman to enter the Knesset (in 2013) and first Ethiopian-born government minister after being appointed Minister of Immigrant Absorption (2020). In June 2021, Tamanu-Shata was awarded the Magen Begin Prize for Israeli Leadership.
  
  
• Micha Feldmann has worked for the Jewish Agency and other organizations and government entities on immigration and absorption since 1970. As Israel’s Consul to Ethiopia, he was one of the key architects of 1991’s Operation Solomon that succeeded in bringing 14,310 Ethiopian Jews out of besieged Addis Ababa in one weekend.
  
  He currently serves as the director of the Ethiopian department within SELAH – Israel Crisis Management Center, an organization that helps Israeli immigrants from Ethiopia and the FSU.
  
  
• Itzik Shmuli is an Israeli politician who served as the Minister of Labor, Welfare and Social Services and as a Member of the Knesset; formerly chairman of National Union of Israeli Students, and one of the leaders of the 2011 Israeli social justice protests. He currently serves as UJA-Federation of New York's Director-General in its Israel office.

Do you ever wish you could have easier access to data on philanthropic foundations and nonprofits to make more informed decisions about your grantmaking or fundraising? 

The Jewish Funders Network invites you to an exclusive webinar with impala, a groundbreaking new platform built by Israeli, Ukrainian, and American social entrepreneurs that provides free access to the profiles of every funder and nonprofit in the US: grants given & received, impact, people, financials and much more. 

Why should you join this event?
Help usher in a new era of digital transformation and collaboration across the Jewish philanthropic sector. 

• Learn about this exciting new resource that’s free for all JFN members and their grantees.
• See how you can use impala to transform your strategic grantmaking, support your grantees, boost fundraising, and foster collaboration.
• Hear from leading grantmakers in JFN about their experience working with impala 
  
  

Why is impala offering free access?
impala is providing free, premium access to its entire platform for 24 months, thanks to the generous support of the Jim Joseph Foundation, Glazer Foundation, DARE Foundation, and Marcia Riklis.

This initiative is part of impala and JFN’s shared commitment to democratize access to the data, insights, and relationships that Jewish changemakers need to maximize their impact in America, Israel, and beyond. By unlocking critical social impact data that has long been stuck behind paywalls and uniting the Jewish philanthropic sector on one platform, impala is extending the frontier of innovation, equity, and impact for all. 

What can you do on impala?
A lot. Here are a few highlights:

• For everyone: Explore the profiles of any nonprofit and foundation in the U.S and analyze any nonprofit ecosystem, anywhere in the country - explore who’s involved, how the grantmakers and grantseekers compare, key funding and financial trends, and more.

• For funders: Conduct essential due diligence on potential grantees, evaluate the financial health of grantees in your portfolio, and compare your grantmaking to that of your peers.

• For nonprofits: Build smarter prospect lists pinpointing who gives to the same nonprofits and causes as your existing funders as well as who is giving to nonprofits like you. 

Want to learn more?
Visit impala.digital/JFN for FAQ answers and further details. 
Contact [email protected] with any questions. 

Join JFN’s Green Funders’ Forum for a critical conversation on climate change challenges and opportunities following the recent Israeli and US elections. 

Tuesday,  Feb 7  | 12 pm - 1.30 pm ET  | 9 am - 10:30 am PT  | 7 pm - 8.30 pm IL

This program will be held online in English.

Speakers include: 

Former MK Rachel Azaria, Life & Environment, Chair. Rachel will analyze the opportunities and challenges facing the new Israeli government and Knesset regarding climate and the environment.  She will begin her remarks with an inspiring message for Tu B’shvat. 

Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, Dayenu, Founder & CEO.   Jennie will share insights on the recent US midterm elections vis-a-vis climate, recent findings on Jewish foundations and their investments in fossil fuels, and she will offer a call for action for Tu B’shvat.

JFN members RSVP or email [email protected]

non-JFN members are welcome; RSVP to Gil Yaacov [email protected]

A zoom link will be sent upon RSVP

We look forward to seeing you!

Marla Stein, Sigal Yaniv Feller and Gil Yaacov

Green Funders' Forum team 

Join a sneak preview of the big event that we’re offering exclusively to JFN members in the west on the evening of January 30th from 5:30-6:15pmPT.

In this virtual “taste of the conference” program you will hear a preview from a plenary speaker’s keynote, get a taste of the challenges and opportunities that will be presented in a climate workshop by an expert in the field and have the opportunity to experience some of the “networking in the hallways” well before our March conference.

We hope you will RSVP below and join us for this exclusive SNEAK PREVIEW for JFN members in the West.

And don’t forget to register for the conference. Early-bird rates end on January 31.

JFN’S WINTER MEMBERSHIP EVENT 
A festive membership gathering 

followed by an exclusive pre-release screening
of the international thought-provoking film:

UNCHARITABLE

Introduces a radical new way of thinking about giving.
Based on Dan Pallotta's record-breaking Ted Talk on the subject that has inspired changemakers globally, Uncharitable demands that charities be freed from traditional constraints, so that they can truly change the world. 
No topic is more crucial as we confront an increasingly unstable world with the growing revelation that we’re all interconnected and that our fate lies in how much we are willing to invest in positive change.
Watch the trailer

Location:

Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Kaufman Hall.
Entry through the old main entrance to the museum.

Program:
6:30 pm Networking and refreshments
7:15 Opening remarks
7:30 UNCHARITABLE screening
9:00 How does this relate to me? An open conversation, sharing thoughts on the relevance of the film to our philanthropic work
9:30 Dessert and some more schmoozing

please RSVP by 22.1.2023

Jewish Funders Network Invites San Diego Jewish Funders to an intimate gathering and light dinner with Andres Spokoiny, President & CEO of JFN, & Tzivia Schwartz Getzug, Senior Director of Philanthropic Engagement & JFN West.

We look forward to sharing a “Taste of JFN” in advance of the 2023 JFN International Conference at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix.  Please join us to learn how the JFN network provides a valuable resource for highly strategic and impactful philanthropy.

The reception will take place on Thursday, January 26th 2023 from 6:30-8:30pm at the home of Jerri-Ann and Gary Jacobs (address provided upon RSVP). A light dinner will be served. 

Please RSVP by January 17th. 

This event is in partnership with:

With the rise in antisemitism, the increase in Holocaust denial and distortion, and the appalling lack of knowledge of the Holocaust, it is imperative to honor the past, shape the present, and empower the future by all means possible. A leader on this critical issue, The Defiant Requiem Foundation promotes Holocaust education and remembrance uniquely focused on the story of Jewish prisoners at the Theresienstadt concentration camp, who courageously defied the Nazis with art and music.

Leading up to International Holocaust Remembrance Day, join us for a conversation with Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat, Board Chair of the Defiant Requiem Foundation, in conversation with Murry Sidlin, Alexandra Zapruder, and Colleen Tambuscio. Their conversation will focus on how music and art can serve as a catalyst to fight contemporary antisemitism and Holocaust denial, and how funders can make change on this critical issue.

Speakers:

Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat
Board Chair, The Defiant Requiem Foundation
Chair of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (at the appointment of President Biden in 2021)
Special Adviser to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Holocaust Issues

Murry Sidlin
President and Artistic Director, The Defiant Requiem Foundation

Alexandra Zapruder
Education Director, The Defiant Requiem Foundation, and author of "Salvaged Pages"

Colleen Tambuscio
Defiant Requiem Teaching Ambassador
Subjects: English, Modern World History, Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Behavior, and Contemporary Genocide at New Milford High School 

Please note that this workshop is on Thursday, January 26.

A two-part practical workshop on Policy Change as a tool in your philanthropic toolbox.

Special guest speaker, journalist  Aviv Lavie.

We are pleased to invite JFN members to a two-part workshop on how Philanthropy can incorporate policy change advocacy as an effective lever for achieving broad social impact.

The workshops will be led by the JFN team and Tali Nir.

Please plan to attend both sessions, as they form one unit. Spaces are limited!

*The meetings will be held in Hebrew

Jewish Funders Network Invites Phoenix Jewish Funders for Wine and Dessert with Andres Spokoiny, President & CEO of JFN, & Tzivia Schwartz Getzug, Senior Director of Philanthropic Engagement & JFN West.

We look forward to sharing a “Taste of JFN” over wine and dessert in advance of the 2023 JFN International Conference at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix.  Please join us to learn how the JFN network provides a valuable resource for highly strategic and impactful philanthropy.

The reception will take place on Wednesday, January 25th 2023 at 7:00pm at the home of Stacie Brockman Chernikoff and Jay Chernikoff (address provided upon RSVP).

Please RSVP by January 16th. 

Trust-based philanthropy has been gaining momentum as an approach that alleviates power imbalances toward a more just and equitable nonprofit sector. While it is most associated with unrestricted grants and streamlined applications and reports, it is much greater than the sum of these practices. Fundamentally, trust-based philanthropy flips the script on the compliance-oriented culture of traditional philanthropy so that nonprofits have the agency and opportunity to achieve their goals. Many of the core values of trust-based philanthropy are aligned with Jewish values of tzedakah and chesed. But what does it look like to embody these values in our day-to-day work? What’s in it for grantmaking practitioners to invest the time and energy it takes to fully embody a trust-based approach?

Join us for an engaging discussion with the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, Fineshriber Family Foundation, and American Jewish World Service as we explore these questions, hear about what it looks like to operationalize trust-based values, and leave you with a renewed sense of understanding of the promise and potential of trust-based philanthropy.

Speakers:

Shaady Salehi
Executive Director, Trust-Based Philanthropy Project

Beth Tigay
Executive Director, Fineshriber Family Foundation

Shari Turitz
Vice President for Programs, American Jewish World Service

This webinar is presented by GrantED, a project of Jewish Funders Network that works to strengthen relationships between grantmakers and grantseekers in the Jewish community. To learn more, visit www.jgranted.org. 

Jewish Funders Network Invites Tucson Jewish Funders to a Cocktail Reception with Andres Spokoiny, President & CEO of JFN, & Tzivia Schwartz Getzug, Senior Director of Philanthropic Engagement & JFN West.

We look forward to sharing a “Taste of JFN” over cocktails in advance of the 2023 JFN International Conference at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix.  Please join us to learn how the JFN network provides a valuable resource for highly strategic and impactful philanthropy.

The reception will take place on Tuesday, January 24th 2023 from 5:00-6:30pm at the home of Anne & David Hameroff (address provided upon RSVP).

Please RSVP by January 15th. 

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals where we will come together for shared learning and community-building. 

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Jaré Akchin
Vice President & Executive Coach
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

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. 

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Read JFN's Guide to Jewish Impact Investing

Speakers:

• Alina Shkolnikov, Chief Strategy Officer, Joblio: How the S in ESG Can Help Address Modern Slavery
• Nermine Rubin, Chief Executive Officer, Water 4 Mercy: Investing in Africa's Agricultural Value Chains, Generating Revenue and Impact
• Astorre Moderna, General Partner, Terra VP: Intuition Robotics

Moderator:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

Join CANVAS for an off-the-record conversation with the makhers and makers behind the forthcoming Hollywoodland exhibition at the Academy of Motion Pictures Museum in Los Angeles on January 12, 2023 at 11amPT/2pmET.  

Hollywoodland, opening in November 2023, will trace the history of filmmaking in Los Angeles back to its roots at the beginning of the 20th century, illustrating how and why the city became the world capital of cinema that it still is today. With a focus on the predominantly Jewish founders of the early Hollywood studio system, the exhibition will delve into how their personal narratives shaped the distinct characteristics of the movies their respective studios produced, and contextualize the role of antisemitism in motivating their visionary efforts. 

We will be joined by Dara Jaffe, Associate Curator at the Academy Museum, who told The New York Times: "We want to answer the question of: Why Los Angeles?"..."Why is this the place where the world capital of cinema blossomed? It's not a coincidence that many of the founders are predominantly Jewish. It's a specifically Jewish story, and a specifically Jewish immigrant story."

Image Courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library.

About CANVAS

CANVAS is a collaborative fund dedicated to elevating the ecosystem of Jewish arts and culture. This work is done through strategic grantmaking, field advocacy, and immersive educational opportunities for funders of the arts and those who would like to be. Matters of the Art is a CANVAS/JFN funder group dedicated to exploring trends, opportunities, and gaps in the field of Jewish arts and culture.

Sign up here for the CANVAS Compendium, a weekly newsletter on Jewish arts and culture.

JFN’s Grantmaking Professional Exchange is excited to invite you to our newest Peer Learning and Support Group (PLSG), focusing on professionals in small-staffed foundations! PLSGs provide opportunities for colleagues in the field to learn together, discuss areas of common interest, and support one another through challenges and opportunities. 

Staff at small foundations are constantly asked to wear a variety of hats. We believe there is something to learn from peers in similar organizational structures and that building a community can provide a dynamic and valuable space for networking, professional growth, and learning. For this PLSG, we loosely define “small-staffed foundations” as those with fewer than five team members. If you have questions about how you or your foundation might fit into this group, please contact Rabbi Rebecca Sirbu at [email protected]

Welcome to the JFN family!  

At this special session, led by JFN Vice President of Philanthropic Engagement Ari Rudolph, you'll learn how to get the most out of your membership and will have an opportunity to meet other new members. We will cover a variety of topics, including membership benefits, how to use our website, and much more!

Time: 12-1:30 pm ET/9-10:30 am PT/19:00-20:30 ISR

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

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. 

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Read JFN's Guide to Jewish Impact Investing

Speakers

Karina Totah
Founder, Nevit 
Master Class: Paving my Path as an Impact Investor: A 10 Year Journey

Raissa Hacohen
Managing Partner, HUR Partners
Investment Pitch 1: Fresh Fund

Gabrielle Charnas
Senior Advisor, Weave Impact 
Investment Pitch 2: Canadian Hadassah WIZO - Gender Lens Fund

Moderator:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals where we will come together for shared learning and community-building. 

At this month's meeting, we will continue exploring external and uncontrollable factors that impact our giving strategies, processes, and practices. This month we will focus on giving during times of economic turmoil. We will be joined by Benita Kline, Founder and Vice President of Leventhal Kline Management, Inc. Benita will share lessons for philanthropy from the 2008 financial crisis and how they might help us navigate the uncertainties of today.

Speaker:

Benita Kline
Founder and Vice President of Leventhal Kline Management, Inc.

Facilitator:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Israel’s new government has been sworn in and it seems that the electoral crisis of the last four years has come to an end. The last election saw the rise of the National Religious Party and the two ultra-Orthodox parties and their representatives are expected to hold key positions in the new cabinet. 

Join Israel Democracy Institute President Yohanan Plesner and Shlomit Ravitsky Tur-Paz, Director of IDI’s Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for Shared Society, in conversation with Dr. Jesse Ferris, Vice President of Strategy, as they analyze what led to this election result and what it may mean for Israel’s future.

Speakers:

Yohanan Plesner
President, Israel Democracy Institute

Shlomit Ravitsky Tur-Paz
Director, Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for Shared Society, Israel Democracy Institute

Dr. Jesse Ferris
Vice President of Strategy, Israel Democracy Institute

NOTE: This is an in-person-only event at the IKAR Event Space. (1729 S. La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA)

JFN West and Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action Present:

What’s A Jewish Funder To Do About The Climate Crisis?!

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals where we will come together for shared learning and community-building. 

Speakers:

To be announced.

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Senior Director, Programs
Jewish Funders Network

Time: 12-1:30 pm ET/9-10:30 am PT/19:00-20:30 ISR

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

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. 

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Read JFN's Guide to Jewish Impact Investing

Speakers

Daniel Rueven
Masterclass: "Adventures in Regenerative Agriculture"
JFN Member
Sarah and Daniel Rueven Foundation

Nicky Newfield
Masterclass: "Growing Impact Ecosystems with Philanthropy"
JFN Member
Glatt Charitable Trust

Moderator:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

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.

(Photo by Maxim Dinshtein for the Jewish Agency for Israel)

Can engaging with Jewish texts fuel your creative process? That's the central premise behind CANVAS grantee LABA’s Jewish artist fellowship program, and a question we will put to the test together during our next Matters of the Art session. 

Please join us for an illuminating, hands-on investigation of a traditional text with LABA director Ronit Muszkatblit and renowned author and teacher Ruby Namdar. We’ll also welcome two LABA fellows who will share work inspired by this unique and reverential process. 

Speakers:

Ruby Namdar is an Israeli writer. His novel "The Ruined House" won the Sapir Prize, Israel’s most prestigious literary award. He currently teaches Jewish literature in New York.

Ronit Muszkatblit is a multidisciplinary, award-winning theater director. She is the founding director of LABA Global and leads the Arts & Culture program at the 14th Street Y. 

Rachel Libeskind is an artist and a thinker whose work focuses on shifting perspectives of history. She is a LABA alum and currently the Creative Director of LABA Berlin.  

Ben Kaplan is a writer, educator, and opera librettist based in New York City.

About CANVAS

CANVAS is a collaborative fund dedicated to elevating the ecosystem of Jewish arts and culture. This work is done through strategic grantmaking, field advocacy, and immersive educational opportunities for funders of the arts and those who would like to be. Matters of the Art is a CANVAS/JFN funder group dedicated to exploring trends, opportunities, and gaps in the field of Jewish arts and culture.

Sign up here for the CANVAS Compendium, a weekly newsletter on Jewish arts and culture.

JFN’s Grantmaking Professional Exchange is excited to invite you to our newest Peer Learning and Support Group (PLSG), focusing on professionals in small-staffed foundations! PLSGs provide opportunities for colleagues in the field to learn together, discuss areas of common interest, and support one another through challenges and opportunities. 

Staff at small foundations are constantly asked to wear a variety of hats. We believe there is something to learn from peers in similar organizational structures and that building a community can provide a dynamic and valuable space for networking, professional growth, and learning. For this PLSG, we loosely define “small-staffed foundations” as those with fewer than five team members. If you have questions about how you or your foundation might fit into this group, please contact Tamar Frydman at [email protected].

Josh Hoffman, Executive Director of The Sephardic Foundation on Aging, and our colleagues at Third Plateau will co-lead November’s meeting. Each session of the PLSG will be co-facilitated by one of the group's members.

Learn. Practice. Skill-up. Join Honeycomb's Facilitator Training this November!

Don't miss out on this comprehensive training! Attendees will walk away with curriculum, tools and skills which 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.

This unique experience is designed for youth educators, lay leaders, and Jewish organizational professionals who are interested in building the next generation of changemakers -- all are welcome!

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

Join us for a festive evening as we host Rabbi Rebecca Sirbu, JFN Executive Vice President, in her inaugural visit to Israel.

JFN members invited to a tour of the new Sigalit Landau Exhibit at the Israel Museum -the Burning Sea and dinner.

JFN Arts and Culture Forum is pleased to invite you to an educational site-visit to Rahat, and an introduction to the cultural activity of the city and its complexities.

We will visit new cultural initiatives and meet with cultural organizations’ managers and local cultural leadership. Join us for a conversation on investment in culture as part of the municipal strategy for social, economic, and touristic development of the city.

*The program will be held in Hebrew.

Independent arrival or carpool.

Spaces are limited!

Save the Date!

This in-person event, held primarily in Hebrew, is a partnership between JFN Israel, Keshet-DAF, Committed to Give, the Forum of Foundations in Israel, and the Institute for Law and Philanthropy at Tel Aviv University.

Open to JFN members and those eligible for JFN membership.

More details coming soon!

*The event is open to the philanthropic community and family members, and will be held in Hebrew

The Knesset recently passed the groundbreaking "Social Services Law for People with Disabilities," which aims to improve the lives of people with disabilities in a variety of ways. Among its many other benefits, the new law will open the door for increased employment and job training opportunities for people with disabilities, and it will create new opportunities for funders to engage in this field and in public-private partnerships in innovative ways.

In this webinar, we'll hear from Ayala Davidowitz from the Joint Distribution Committee who will brief us on the massive new opportunities this law makes possible. Reuben D. Rotman of the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies will highlight NJHSA's recent study on best practice models in disability employment, as well as the launch of Project EM: Empowering and Employing our Community, a network providing jobseekers with all the assistance, resources, and tools they need to find work. We will learn from Erin Riehle about Project Search, a proven global cohort-based employment model that is poised to help Israelis thrive, as well as from Orly Fruchter, who will speak about the Azrieli Foundation's work in this arena. Most importantly, we will see how the new law enables multiple government ministries to work with service providers, philanthropy, employers, self-advocates, and other stakeholders to reduce poverty and advance opportunities in Israel.

Accessibility Note: Zoom captions will be turned on.

Speakers

Ayala Davidowitz
Head of Strategic Partnerships, External Relations, and Resource Development
JDC Israel Unlimited

Shalom Elcott
Philanthropy curator

Orly Fruchter
Manager, Neurodiverse Initiatives
The Azrieli Foundation

Erin Riehle, RN, MSN
Director, Project Search

Reuben D. Rotman
President & CEO, Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies

Moderator

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi
Co-Founder, Mizrahi Family Charitable Fund (a DAF)
Dyslexic/ADHD

Time: 12-1:30 pm ET/9-10:30 am PT/19:00-20:30 ISR

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

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. 

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Read JFN's Guide to Jewish Impact Investing

Speakers

Shaun Abrahamson
Managing Director, Third Sphere
"Why Climate VC is Very Different from Traditional VC"

Avi Deutsch
Principal, Vodia Capital
Circ

Sari Miller
JFN Member and CEO, Sarjay, Inc. 
GinaLife

Dr. Inbal Zafir-Lavie
CEO and Co-Founder, GinaLife

Moderator:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

Is it possible? Can day schools become truly affordable for all families hoping to give their children a holistic Jewish educational experience? Join us for an exploration of new tuition models and structures that are being created to accommodate a wider range of family incomes, and what role funders can play in making these work. We'll focus on two specific models, one being used by schools in Atlanta and the other by a school in Los Angeles, and hear what impact they are having.

Speakers:

Amanda Abrams
Executive Director, Zalik Foundation in Atlanta

Dr. Steven Lorch
Head of School, Kadima Day School

Shawn Evanheim
Trustee, Kadima Day School

Moderator:

Paul Bernstein
CEO, Prizmah

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals where we will come together for shared learning and community-building. 

Speakers:

To be announced.

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Senior Director, Programs
Jewish Funders Network

This session of CANVAS' Matters of the Art will focus on initiatives designed to support the development of artists and creatives as leaders not just in the Jewish arts and culture field, but also in the Jewish community and beyond. There are a number of initiatives under development in this area, including at the foundations and organizations represented by our speakers. We hope you'll join us for this fascinating conversation illustrating how investing in creative leaders can provide powerful opportunities to support thriving Jewish communities.

Speakers

Eva Heinstein
Senior Research Fellow, Mandel Institute for Nonprofit Leadership, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation

Rabbi Adina Allen
Co-Founder & Creative Director, Jewish Studio Project

Rabbi Kendell Pinkney
Founding Artistic Director, The Workshop

Rabbi Matt Green 
Director, New Jewish Culture Fellowship

About CANVAS

CANVAS is a collaborative fund dedicated to elevating the ecosystem of Jewish arts and culture. This work is done through strategic grantmaking, field advocacy, and immersive educational opportunities for funders of the arts and those who would like to be. Matters of the Art is a CANVAS/JFN funder group dedicated to exploring trends, opportunities, and gaps in the field of Jewish arts and culture.

Sign up here for the CANVAS Compendium, a weekly newsletter on Jewish arts and culture.

JFN’s Grantmaking Professional Exchange is excited to invite you to our newest Peer Learning and Support Group (PLSG), focusing on professionals in small-staffed foundations! PLSGs provide opportunities for colleagues in the field to learn together, discuss areas of common interest, and support one another through challenges and opportunities. 

Staff at small foundations are constantly asked to wear a variety of hats. We believe there is something to learn from peers in similar organizational structures and that building a community can provide a dynamic and valuable space for networking, professional growth, and learning.

We hope you will join us for this introductory session. Our partner, Third Plateau, will facilitate the conversation and help develop a structure for how this group can work together in the future. For this PLSG, we loosely define “small-staffed foundations” as those with fewer than five team members. If you have questions about how you or your foundation might fit into this group, please contact Tamar Frydman at [email protected].

Judaism’s texts offer significant wisdom about economic cycles, the causes of inequality, and our obligations to each other. A key component of the shmita year, which we are concluding, is to serve the needs of those in poverty.

Join the National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty, just days before the High Holidays commence, for a high-level exploration of Jewish teachings on addressing poverty and serving those who struggle with it, both inside and outside the Jewish community.

The session will be led by Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights and author of "There Shall Be No Needy: Pursuing Social Justice Through Jewish Law and Tradition." 

Speakers:

Rabbi Jill Jacobs
CEO, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights

More speakers to be announced.

Time: 12-1:30 pm ET/9-10:30 am PT/19:00-20:30 ISR

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

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. 

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Read JFN's Guide to Jewish Impact Investing

Speakers

Mark Gelfand
Founder, STEMpower.org

Gideon Stein, PhD
Director, Pashdor Impact Investments
Co-Founder, Value² Responsible Investment Fund 

More speakers to be announced.

Moderator:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

12-1:30 p.m. ET   |   9-10:30 a.m. PT   |   7-8:30 p.m. IL

Join JFN's Green Funders Forum for a virtual Rosh Hashanah gathering to discuss new philanthropic initiatives and opportunities for action on climate change and the environment.

Funders will share new opportunities to act:

• New opportunities to collaborate with other Jewish organizations
• The Israeli Climate Forum Initiatives, established by President Herzog
• Adapting Israeli cities to climate change
• Funders collaborative efforts on advocacy, education, Arab society, and more!

Online (In English)

RSVP below or by email: [email protected] 

Join a small group of Funders and Non-Profit Leaders for a practical two-part, in-person workshop, designed to foster opportunities for deeper understanding, communication, and learning with one another. Our hope is that as a result of these conversations, participants will:

• Gain a better understanding of the assumptions and perspectives that play a role in the relationship
• Engage in non-transactional dialogue with the other
• Feel more confident in speaking more candidly with the other
• Deepen the mutual understanding of healthy work processes between Funders and non-profit organizations
• Design principles for optimal work as a partnership

This is session 2. Please plan to attend both sessions as they build off each other. Spaces are limited!

*The meetings will be held in-person in Hebrew and are intended for an Israeli audience*

Young Funders Forum opens the New Year with an experiential meeting in Jerusalem.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and paved the way for states to outlaw abortion, has sent shockwaves throughout the U.S. and beyond. Learn how this happened, what is next in the struggle to provide reproductive rights and protect reproductive health, and what role the Jewish community and Jewish funders can play.

Speakers

Sheila Katz, CEO, National Council of Jewish Women

Lisa Eisen, Co-President, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies

• Read Rabba Yaffa Epstein and Rabbi David Wolpe's latest column in SAPIR.
• JFN members: Order your free print copy of SAPIR.
• Watch videos from Aspire 2021 and Aspire 2020.

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.

Yohanan Plesner
President, Israel Democracy Institute

Dr. Assaf Shapira
Director, Political Reform Program

Dr. Chen Friedberg
Research Fellow, Political Reform Program

CANVAS grantee Reboot has recently taken a bold step forward by launching Reboot Studios — an initiative that made headlines in Hollywood a few weeks ago. We are delighted to introduce you to some of the leading lights behind this project and explore how the CANVAS funder collaborative (incubated at Jewish Funders Network) evaluates and supports creative enterprises like this one.

Please join us 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 DeMeritt.

About Reboot

For more than 20 years, Reboot has positioned itself squarely at the nexus of modern Jewish culture and American popular culture. This innovative think-tank and incubator, responsible for Saturday Night Seder, Sukkah City, DAWN, the National Day of Unplugging, and dozens of other Jewish projects, has broken barriers and animated generations of Jews and non-Jews to rethink what Jewish looks like.

Sign up for the CANVAS Compendium, a weekly newsletter on Jewish arts and culture.

How do you pass on the values ​​of giving to the next generation?

We invite you to a fascinating lecture on how the values of giving are passed from generation to generation among philanthropic families in Israel. Prof. Michal Almog-Bar will discuss the main findings of the research conducted by the Hebrew University Center for the Study of Civil Society and Philanthropy, as well as practical ways to instill giving in the family.

12:00pm  EDT, 09:00am PDT

Join a small group of Funders and Non-Profit Leaders for a practical two-part, in-person workshop, designed to foster opportunities for deeper understanding, communication, and learning with one another. Our hope is that as a result of these conversations, participants will:

• Gain a better understanding of the assumptions and perspectives that play a role in the relationship
• Engage in non-transactional dialogue with the other
• Feel more confident in speaking more candidly with the other
• Deepen the mutual understanding of healthy work processes between Funders and non-profit organizations
• Design principles for optimal work as a partnership

This is session 1. Please plan to attend both sessions as they build off each other. Spaces are limited!

*The meetings will be held in-person in Hebrew and are intended for an Israeli audience*

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals where we will come together for shared learning and community-building. 

Speakers:

To be announced.

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Senior Director, Programs
Jewish Funders Network

We invite you to join us for a family volunteering day at the Israeli Center for Guide Dogs

Children and adults of all ages are welcome!

Places are limited; please ensure your spot by registering

Special joint session of the Forum of Foundations in Israel and JFN-Israel led by the FFI ISRAEL GENDER JUSTICE GROUP

27.7.2022 4-5:30 p.m. IL - Online

The Fall of Roe v Wade: How it Happened, How the U.S. Jewish Community is Responding & What It Means for Israel

We invite the Israeli philanthropic community to hear from leaders driving US Jewish institutional involvement in the struggle for reproductive rights and consider the implications for us in Israel.

Speakers: 

Sheila Katz, CEO National Council of Jewish Women

Lisa Eisen, Co-President, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies

Anat Thon Ashkenazi, Director of the Center for Democratic Values and Institutions at the Israel Democracy Institute.

The US Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturns Roe v Wade and paves the way for US states to outlaw abortion, has sent shockwaves throughout the US and beyond. Reversing achievements for gender justice that seemed immutable, the decision is a manifestation of larger anti-democratic processes that are being felt around the world including and especially here in Israel. 

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals where we will come together for shared learning and community-building. 

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Senior Director, Programs
Jewish Funders Network

Jaré Akchin

Vice President
Jewish Community Impact, Third Plateau

Time: 12-1 pm ET/9-10 am PT/19:00-20:00 ISR

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

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. 

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Read JFN's Guide to Jewish Impact Investing

Speakers

Uriel Klar
Director, PLANETech

Moderator:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

Welcome to the JFN family!  

At this special session, led by JFN Executive Vice President, Rabbi Rebecca Sirbu and JFN Vice President of Philanthropic Engagement Ari Rudolph, you'll learn how to get the most out of your membership and will have an opportunity to meet other new members. We will cover a variety of topics, including membership benefits, how to use our website, and much more!

Participatory grantmaking (PGM) is an approach to bridging the gap between grantmakers and those they serve, by including and/or empowering the people affected by funding decisions to participate in the decision-making. Join us for an engaging conversation with Kim Newstadt, Director of Research & Learning at the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, Aaron Shield, community memberfrom the Reflect Cincy Committee, and Aleeza Lubin, Managing Director, Program Operations at UpStart, about how they have put the principles of PGM into practice in their grantmaking. We will also learn some key takeaways for grantmakers and grantseekers who are interested in exploring this new model.

Read JFN's new guidebook: "Participatory Grantmaking in the Jewish Community and Beyond."

Speakers:

Kim Newstadt
Director of Research & Learning
Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati

Aaron Shield
Community member, Reflect Cincy Committee

Aleeza Lubin
Managing Director, Program Operations
UpStart

Facilitator:

Jaré Akchin
Vice President for Jewish Community Impact
Third Plateau

This webinar is presented by GrantED, a joint project of Jewish Funders Network and UpStart that works to strengthen relationships between grantmakers and grantseekers in the Jewish community. To learn more, visit www.jgranted.org. 

Time: 12-1:30 pm ET/9-10:30 am PT/19:00-20:30 ISR

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

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. 

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Read JFN's Guide to Jewish Impact Investing

Speakers

Itzik Frid
Managing Partner and CEO, Takwin
Bolstering Arab entrepreneurship in Israel 

Adam Hirsch
COO & CFO, The Russell Berrie Foundation

Michael Lustig
JFN Member & Impact Investor

Orri Avraham
CEO of Wishingwell

Moderator:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

Warming Up - A Joint Summer Event for the Philanthropic Community in Israel

 with

First Lady Michal Herzog 

Featuring The Israeli Climate Change Forum

The event includes speakers, panel discussions, group discussions, and networking.      

Speakers

First Lady Michal Herzog

Dr. Tali Yariv Mashal
Executive Director of the Beracha Foundation
Chair of the Forum of Foundations in Israel

Dr. Dov Khenin
Chair of The Israeli Climate Change Forum, Former MK

Ram Amar
JFN Member, Founder of the NZO Initiative, Impact Investor

JFN members - please RSVP below
Non-JFN members please email: [email protected]

*The event will be held in Hebrew   |   The number of participants is limited

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals where we will come together for shared learning and community-building. 

Speakers:

To be announced.

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Senior Director, Programs
Jewish Funders Network

Online: 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT

How do we encourage our grandkids to be generous, to give of what they own, and to be aware of the needs of others? By creating a culture of tzedakah in our families. Join JFN's Honeycomb and The Jewish Grandparents network for a session that will help you connect with your grandchildren in meaningful and interactive ways through the act of Tzedakah.

In this session we will:

• Explore giving and family heritage through traditional Jewish texts that enrich our understanding of the world today.
• Experience interactive family activities such as conversation starters and playing cards that explore Jewish values and social justice.
• Emphasize the unique role grandparents can play in creating a family culture of giving.

A program of JFN, Honeycomb is the leading resource for engaging the next generation in Jewish philanthropy.

Open to all!

Time: 12-1:30 pm ET/9-10:30 am PT/19:00-20:30 ISR

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

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. 

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Read JFN's Guide to Jewish Impact Investing

Speakers

Yakir Segev
CEO, Kulam

Nisan Zeevi
Vice President, Margalit Startup City

Hana Rais
Financial Unit Coordinator, JVP

Moderator:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

Join GrantED to learn more about the importance of sabbaticals in the Jewish nonprofit sector, and how grantmakers and grantseekers can work together to build in opportunities for rest and rejuvenation that will strengthen communal leaders and our sector. This webinar will be moderated by the team from R&R: Rest of Our Lives, Josh Feldman, and Rachel Zieleniec. Featured speakers will include Claire Peeps of The Durfee Foundation, a leader in sabbatical support, and Sabbatical Award recipient: Stephanie Klasky-Gamer of LA Family Housing.

Speakers:

Claire Peeps
Executive Director, The Durfee Foundation

Stephanie Klasky-Gamer
President and CEO, LA Family Housing

Rachel Zieleniec
Program Director, Rest of Our Lives

Facilitator:

Josh Feldman
Founder, R&R: The Rest of Our Lives

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals where we will come together for shared learning and community-building. 

Speakers:

Chris Cardona

Senior Program Officer at the Ford Foundation.

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Senior Director, Programs
Jewish Funders Network

The Ilia Salita Excellence in Research Award (ERA) is inspired by Ilia Salita z"l and Ilia's passion for informed, data-driven philanthropy. The first recipient of the award is the study "Antisemitic Attitudes across the Ideological Spectrum" by Dr. Eitan Hersh.

Join us for a dynamic conversation with Dr. Eitan Hersh who will present his award-winning research and the key findings of his research, as well as how these findings have the potential to impact the Jewish community and inform your funding strategies. 

Speakers:

Dr. Eitan Hersh
Associate Professor of Political Science, Tufts University

Karyn Cohen
Director, One8 Foundation

We are delighted to have you with us at JFN's membership event where we will bid farewell and express our gratitude to Maya Natan, Founding Director of JFN Israel

Join us for a festive networking event to mark the 13th anniversary of our JFN IL community and its' impact on creating impactful strategic philanthropy in Israel.

* The event will be held in Hebrew 

How did a legendary Jewish activist influence a Jewish artist to launch a national art project rooted in the Jewish tradition of tzedakah? Learn the answer to that question and many more! Please join us for this revealing and inspiring CANVAS conversation with Ruth Messinger, Caron Tabb, and Jewish Arts Collaborative.

Be the Change is a 2022-2023 art and activism initiative inspired by the Jewish tenet of justice and drawing from the ritualistic Jewish tzedakah box. Taking place in Boston, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and online, Be the Change will help viewers connect to issues of injustice and empower them to become agents of change.

Speakers:

Caron Tabb was born in apartheid South Africa, raised on a farm in Israel from the age of 8, and has lived in the U.S. for the last 20 years. After years of working in the nonprofit world, she turned her focus to art. These key biographical elements and her passion for social justice issues deeply impact her artistic practice. In addition to traditional painting and photography, she incorporates many found objects and unconventional materials into her work. Her conceptual mixed-media and installation pieces address issues of social inequality, racial justice, and feminism as seen through the lens of her deep Jewish identity. Caron has shown her work at the MFA, Boston, the Beacon Gallery, the Rukus Pop-Up gallery, and Hebrew College. Caron is a Rothko Chapel fellow and sits on the board of the Jewish Arts Collaborative. 

As Israel celebrates its 74^th birthday, we take pride in the remarkable success story of the IDF, which secured Israel’s independence and continues to guarantee its survival today. But the military is changing rapidly: in today’s "Startup Nation," cyber warriors are fast replacing foot soldiers on the front lines of the modern battlefield. At the same time, Israeli society is changing in ways that threaten the IDF’s future ability to protect the country. Alarmingly, less than half of Israeli 18-year-olds currently serve in the "people’s army," and the current model of service is clearly unsustainable. Yet what can replace it?

Join IDI experts for a fascinating discussion on the changing relationship between the army and society in Israel and their implications for Israel’s security and its democracy.

Speakers:

Prof. Amichai Cohen
Senior Fellow, The Amnon Lipkin-Shahak Program on National Security and Democracy

Yohanan Plesner
President, Israel Democracy Institute

Moderator: 

Dr. Idit Shafran Gittleman
Director, Military and Society Program

Storytelling is the most powerful tool to create change. Together, in this inspiring and interactive in-person gathering, we will take a deep dive into the process of storytelling as a powerful philanthropic tool, guided by Andy Goodman of the Goodman Center.

Our presenters will also include writer and director Ezra Edmond, creator of "Blewish," and filmmaker Roberta Grossman, Producing Director of the Jewish Story Partners, among others.

More details here!

Join us as we celebrate the arrival of spring  for a morning of great people, good food and an open conversation

with Sigal Yaniv Feller, Executive director, JFN  Israel.

A healthy organization is not only more sustainable and impactful, but it is also a better place to work. Join GrantED to learn about how grantmakers and grantseekers can partner to improve organizational health, and in turn strengthen the Jewish communal field. Consultant Amy Tobin will share recommendations for aligning values, culture, capacity, and priorities so that organizations are better equipped to positively impact their communities. You will hear from Idit Klein, President and CEO of Keshet, and Liana Krupp, President and Trustee of the Krupp Family Foundation, who will reflect on their own grantseeker/grantmaker partnership and how they collaborate to prioritize organizational health.

Speakers:

Amy Tobin
Consultant, Organizational Development

Idit Klein
President & CEO, Keshet

Liana Krupp
President & Trustee, Krupp Family Foundation

Tuesday, April 26 from 11am-12pm ET | 8-9am PT | 18:00-19:00 Israel

Henry Foner (Heinz Lichtwitz) was only 6 years old when he left Germany without his family to escape the terror of the Third Reich. He was one of 10,000 Jewish children who was rescued on the Kindertransport program which sent the children to live in safety with families in England. From the moment they parted, Max Lichtwitz, Henry's father, sent him colorful postcards -- initially in German, and later in English when Henry no longer remembered his native tongue --  illustrated with humorous drawings and charming pictures and containing a short, loving message. The postcards were later featured in a book published by Yad Vashem Publications.

We welcome you to join us as Maya Foner, Director of Programs at JFN Israel, speaks with her father, Dr. Henry Foner, about his personal story in a special program for Yom HaShoah. They will be joined by JFN member Martin Herskovitz, creator of "Creating Memory," a free, arts-based initiative for Holocaust education that uses the creative arts and exploration of relatable themes to connect students to the Holocaust in new ways.

Speakers:

Dr. Henry Foner
Author, Postcards to a Little Boy: A Kindertransport Story

Martin Herskovitz
Project Creator, Creating Memory: An arts-based initiative in Holocaust education

Moderator:

Maya Foner
Director of Programs, JFN Israel

Time: 12-1:30 pm ET/9-10:30 am PT/19:00-20:30 IST

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

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. 

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Read JFN's Guide to Jewish Impact Investing

Speakers

Mike Berman
Investor, Kedma Solar

Arieh Doobov
Director, Israeli Taskforce on Sustainable International Development
Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research

Seth Merrin
Co-Chair, Jewish Development Finance Organization

Moderator:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals where we will come together for shared learning and community-building. 

Speakers:

To be announced.

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Senior Director, Programs
Jewish Funders Network

At this invitation-only, in-person event just before the kickoff of JFN's 2022 International Conference, you’ll have the opportunity for a rich discussion on leadership challenges of the post-pandemic period.

Ron Ashkenas, a leadership consultant who has worked with both corporations and nonprofit organizations, will facilitate the conversation. His clients have included J.P Morgan Chase, Cisco Systems, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Pfizer, Merck, The World Bank, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Zurich Financial Services, ConAgra Foods, Applied Materials, Visiting Nurse Services of New York, Thomson Reuters, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Stanford University Hospital. Ron was part of the original team that collaborated with then-CEO Jack Welch to develop GE's Work-Out approach for creating a faster, simpler, and more nimble organization. Lately, he’s been working with the Robin Hood Foundation and its grantees, as well as advising Leading Edge. He’s also a leading Harvard Business Review writer.

The pandemic, and the uncertainty we are still experiencing, has upended many of our traditional notions of leadership; so we want to focus on what type of leadership we need – both in our foundations and in our grantees – to face the challenges and leverage the opportunities that we confront. How to deal with a transformed workplace? How to understand the changes around us? How to implement the structural changes that our community needs? How to be bold and decisive in the face of uncertainty? And what are our own personal and professional dilemmas given the uniqueness of our role?

The session will offer us a framework to understand those challenges but, most importantly, will include an interactive part in which we’ll be able to debate and discuss from our own professional perspectives.

Please note that to attend this lunch, you must RSVP here AND register for the conference.

JFN's first fully in-person international conference since 2019 will be at the PGA National Resort in Palm Beach, Fla., from March 27-29, and is focusing on the theme of "Reconnecting & Resilience."

PLEASE NOTE: We are thrilled to have you join us at the conference, but as of March 9, we are no longer able to assist with any hotel bookings, as rooms are completely sold out.

Speakers include Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum, former Ambassador Dennis Ross, author Casper ter Kulle, author/sociologist Richard Florida, and Jewish studies professor Ilana Horwitz. All registrants must show proof of Covid vaccination, including booster.

Learn more on the conference website. 

Join us for a special VIP reception for JFN board members and conference sponsors. Mingle with friends before the conference kicks into high gear. Drinks and light refreshments will be served. 

The location will be announced soon. All food will be kosher.

Networking and Orientation Meeting for the Israeli delegation to the 2022 JFN International Conference in Palm Beach

Join us to discover how to navigate through the diverse conference content to create the most meaningful participation experience for you!

Meet your fellow JFN members attending the conference, and get a glimpse into the burning issues currently on the agenda of American Jewry.

Special guest speaker: Moshe Samuels, the creator, and writer of “The New Jew,“ an Israeli TV documentary series about American Jews and Judaism.

Join CANVAS this week for a special session of Matters of the Art, this Thursday at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT, 19:00 IL) with photographer Gillian Laub. 

CANVAS is a Jewish arts and culture funding collaborative incubated at Jewish Funders Network, and Matters of the Art is a CANVAS/JFN funder group dedicated to exploring trends, opportunities, and gaps in the field of Jewish arts and culture.

At this week's session, Gillian will talk about her recent book "Family Matters," one of the most bracing and important photo memoirs of the decade. It’s a deeply personal work that chronicles 20 years in the artist’s family — their distinctly Jewish sensibilities, their successful rise in business, and the profound rifts that tore them apart during the Trump years. The work has won universal acclaim, has been featured as an exhibition at the International Center of Photography, in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and in CANVAS's newsletter, CANVAS Compendium.

CANVAS' goal is to elevate the finest creativity our community has to offer. Gillian’s "Family Matters" has the power to elevate us all. We hope you’ll take some time to explore the work and its impact with us.

Participatory grantmaking (PGM) is an approach to bridging the gap between grantmakers and those they serve, by including and/or empowering the people affected by funding decisions to participate in the decision-making. To mark the release of JFN's forthcoming guidebook, "Exploring Participatory Grantmaking in the Jewish Community and Beyond," grantmakers and grantseekers are invited to join GrantEd in conversation with Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies to learn about this increasingly popular philanthropic tool and its applicability in the Jewish community. 

Speakers:

Jaré Akchin
Vice President for Jewish Community Impact, Third Plateau

Ariel Platt
Director, Third Plateau

Lani Santo
Chief Executive Officer, Footsteps

More presenters to be announced.

This webinar is presented by GrantED, a joint project of Jewish Funders Network and UpStart that works to strengthen relationships between grantmakers and grantseekers in the Jewish community. To learn more, visit www.jgranted.org. 

Please note: this program is open to JFN West members only.

Storytelling is the overarching theme for JFN West programming in 2022. Our May 9-10 JFN West convening will be focused on building these skills with expert storytellers and facilitators. As an exciting introduction to the theme, we invite you to join us and theatre dybbuk for "The Art of Storytelling: Our Personal Exodus Narratives."

Using the Exodus narrative as a point of inspiration, all participants will develop their own unique stories, aligning themes from these stories with their philanthropy and the impact they wish to have on the world. This is your chance to begin to hone your storytelling skills in order to inspire others to more and better philanthropy!

Speaker:

Aaron Henne
Artistic Director, theater dybbuk 

מיכל קורמר נבו היא פרופ' לעבודה סוציאלית שמובילה גישה חדשנית ופורצת דרך בהסתכלות על היבטי עוני בישראל ובעולם.

מחקרה עוסק בהסתכלות מחודשת על עוני ובאימפקט הרב שיש בשיתוף המוטבים בתהליכי קבלת החלטות, בכדי להיטיב עם אוכלוסיית הקצה ולייצר שינוי מהותי.

זוהי הזדמנות ייחודית לכל מי שמוביל שינוי חברתי בישראל להיחשף לגישה חדשנית שנוגעת לאוכלוסיות יעד שונות ומגוונות.  

שימו לב- המפגש יתקיים בזום, ביום שני, 7 במרץ 2022, בשעה 18:00 .

המפגש יאפשר לנו להכיר את הגישה שפיתחה קורמר נבו - נדון בגישות שונות לשיתוף אוכלוסיות היעד בתהליכי קבלת ההחלטות במסגרת תהליכי הנתינה,

ונבחן כיצד ניתן להכיל את גישה זו בקרב קהלי היעד השונים והמגוונים למענם פועלים חברי וחברות הרשת.

מצפים לראותכם!

The meeting will take place virtually

Join us in shaping the future of JFN Israel

Times are changing; The ongoing pandemic has altered life as we knew it, generated new routines, and created considerable transformations while impacting the social field and all levels of philanthropic work. 

Change is also an opportunity for growth and renewal. Therefore, for the second time since the founding of JFN Israel and with new management at the helm, we invite our members to come together, to listen, think and gain a deeper mutual understanding of your foundation’s evolving needs.  Through your foundation’s philanthropic journey, we hope to harvest insights on how the philanthropic community in Israel and globally can be meaningful to you and to the network.

We invite you to join us for this special meeting for foundations’ representors and CEOs, generously hosted by EDRF. The think tank process will provide an empowering opportunity to sound your voice, as you take part in ushering JFN Israel into its next chapter.

This is part of "Coffee with...," a series designed to provide a unique opportunity for JFN West members to engage in small-group conversation with and among JFN leaders and members. 

After a long career as a CEO and senior software executive in Silicon Valley, Jim Heeger now works full-time as a board member of Jewish nonprofit organizations. Currently, he serves as the Board Chair of the Foundation for Jewish Camp, having joined that board in 2012. He believes in the power of Jewish camp to create young, committed, joyful Jews. He has also been a past Chair of the Advisory Board of his local camp, URJ Camp Newman in Santa Rosa, Calif., overseeing a $23 million renovation of its facilities.

Jim is the Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Moishe House, the Immediate Past Chair of the San Francisco Jewish Federation, and a board member of the Jewish Federations of North America. He has also been President of Hillel at Stanford, Senior Vice-chair of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, and President of Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills. He earned an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and a BS in management from MIT. Jim lives in Palo Alto, Calif., and Lenox, Mass., with his wife Daryl Messinger who is a past Chair of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ).

Please note that the information shared in this webinar is strictly confidential.

As the crisis in Ukraine continues to build, the Ukrainian people—including the Jewish community there—face grave dangers and challenges.

Join us for an exclusive briefing with Stefan Oscar from JFN member organization the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) on the overall situation in Ukraine, JDC's past work in the country, and responses during the current crisis.

Speakers:

Stefan Oscar
JDC FSU Executive Director

Join GrantED to learn about the "Sustainability Diagnostic Tool": a new tool created by the Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative Powered by Jewish Federations of North America to support both grantmakers and grantseekers in determining a program's impact and success. The tool, adapted especially for GrantED by Sara Allen (Executive Director, Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative) and Aaron Saxe (Senior Program Officer, Jim Joseph Foundation) to increase the usage of the tool beyond the teen engagement space. This webinar is a great opportunity for both grantseekers and grantmakers to learn how to collaboratively evaluate programs and determine improvements to create an even deeper impact on the Jewish community. 

Speakers:

Sara Allen
Executive Director
Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative

Rebecca Weinstock
Director of Partnerships and Grants
The Associated

Sam Kahan Strakes
Co-Managing Senior Director
4Front

Moderator:

Wayne Green
Executive Director
Honeycomb

12-1 pm ET/ 9-10 am PT/ 7-8 pm IL

Welcome to the JFN family!  

At this special session, led by JFN Vice President of Philanthropic Engagement Ari Rudolph, you'll learn how to get the most out of your membership and will have an opportunity to meet other members. We will cover a variety of topics, including membership benefits, how to use our website, and much more!

All JFN members, new and old, are welcome!

Join us in shaping the future of JFN Israel

Times are changing; The ongoing pandemic has altered life as we knew it, generated new routines, and created considerable transformations while impacting the social field and all levels of philanthropic work. 

Change is also an opportunity for growth and renewal. Therefore, for the second time since the founding of JFN Israel and with new management at the helm, we invite our members to come together, to listen, think and gain a deeper mutual understanding of your evolving needs.  Through your philanthropic journey, we hope to harvest insights on how the philanthropic community in Israel and globally can be meaningful to you and to the network.

We invite you to join us for one of several meetings generously hosted by JFN members. The think tank process will provide an empowering opportunity to sound your voice, as you take part in ushering JFN Israel into its next chapter.

Join us in shaping the future of JFN Israel

Times are changing; The ongoing pandemic has altered life as we knew it, generated new routines, and created considerable transformations while impacting the social field and all levels of philanthropic work. 

Change is also an opportunity for growth and renewal. Therefore, for the second time since the founding of JFN Israel and with new management at the helm, we invite our members to come together, to listen, think and gain a deeper mutual understanding of your evolving needs.  Through your philanthropic journey, we hope to harvest insights on how the philanthropic community in Israel and globally can be meaningful to you and to the network.

We invite you to join us for one of several meetings generously hosted by JFN members. The think tank process will provide an empowering opportunity to sound your voice, as you take part in ushering JFN Israel into its next chapter.

19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT

It’s not just about the weather — the growing climate emergency presents a serious risk to the pursuit of all philanthropic aims. All aspects of society will be affected and we can use our philanthropy to make a difference. We have less than 10 years to act, and all funders -- whatever their mission and field of expertise —  can have an immense potential for positive impact. It’s time to plan our role as individual philanthropists and collectively - We owe it to future generations.

Join JFN’s Green Funders Forum for “Global Warning: Climate Change and Jewish Philanthropy,” a five-part series. This is particularly timely in light of November’s UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.

Session 5 - Climate Change and Us: An Interactive Discussion on the Role of Jewish Philanthropy to Impact Climate Change

Monday, February 14, (19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT) 

An interactive discussion on the role of the Jewish philanthropic community: What can we do, individually and collectively?

We encourage you to review the recording and presentations from the previous session on Practical Steps for Philanthropy to Impact Climate Change.

Participants are eligible for a free consultation meeting - please email [email protected] for more details.

Green Funders Forum is a JFN peer network that brings together dozens of funders and foundation representatives from Israel and throughout the Jewish world with experts from academia, the government, and the philanthropic sector for learning, sharing, consultation, and skill-building in various subjects related to environmental protection in Israel. Watch Green Funders Forum videos here.

This event is open to all funders.

If you would like to participate but are not a JFN member, please email [email protected].

The delegitimization of Israel on college campuses has a silencing effect and creates a hostile environment in which Jewish students and faculty members are sometimes afraid to express their identity and support for Israel. Non-Jewish students and faculty are not always well educated about the Middle East, and often prefer to avoid a toxic discussion. Join us for a panel discussion featuring two experts who will provide complementary perspectives and approaches to addressing this challenge, as well as Lauren Rutkin of the Geller Family Foundation, which funds in this space:  

Speakers:

Dr. Shahar Sadeh
Director of Strategic Affairs
Jewish Community Relations Council of New York

Megan Nathan
Managing Director
Israel on Campus Coalition 

Moderator:

Lauren Rutkin
Geller Family Foundation

The delegitimization of Israel on college campuses has a silencing effect and creates a hostile environment in which Jewish students and faculty members are sometimes afraid to express their identity and support for Israel. Non-Jewish students and faculty are not always well educated about the Middle East, and often prefer to avoid a toxic discussion. Join us for a panel discussion featuring two experts who will provide complementary perspectives and approaches to addressing this challenge, as well as Lauren Rutkin of the Geller Family Foundation, which funds in this space:   

Dr. Shahar Sadeh
Faculty Engagement Program Director
Jewish Community Relations Council of New York

Megan Nathan
Managing Director
Israel on Campus Coalition 

Moderator:

Lauren Rutkin
Geller Family Foundation

Join us in shaping the future of JFN Israel

Times are changing; The ongoing pandemic has altered life as we knew it, generated new routines, and created considerable transformations while impacting the social field and all levels of philanthropic work. 

Change is also an opportunity for growth and renewal. Therefore, for the second time since the founding of JFN Israel and with new management at the helm, we invite our members to come together, to listen, think and gain a deeper mutual understanding of your evolving needs.  Through your philanthropic journey, we hope to harvest insights on how the philanthropic community in Israel and globally can be meaningful to you and to the network.

We invite you to join us for one of several meetings generously hosted by JFN members. The think tank process will provide an empowering opportunity to sound your voice, as you take part in ushering JFN Israel into its next chapter.

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals where we will come together for shared learning and community-building. This month we will be joined by David Ehrlichman, author of the new book "Impact Networks," for a session focused on how to build networks–including our own grantmaking professional community–to have impact in the world.

Speaker:

David Ehrlichman
Author, "Impact Networks"

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Senior Director, Programs
Jewish Funders Network

Join us in shaping the future of JFN Israel

Times are changing; The ongoing pandemic has altered life as we knew it, generated new routines, and created considerable transformations while impacting the social field and all levels of philanthropic work. 

Change is also an opportunity for growth and renewal. Therefore, for the second time since the founding of JFN Israel and with new management at the helm, we invite our members to come together, to listen, think and gain a deeper mutual understanding of your evolving needs.  Through your philanthropic journey, we hope to harvest insights on how the philanthropic community in Israel and globally can be meaningful to you and to the network.

We invite you to join us for one of several meetings generously hosted by JFN members. The think tank process will provide an empowering opportunity to sound your voice, as you take part in ushering JFN Israel into its next chapter.

Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute, and Prof. Tamar Hermann, Director of Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research, will discuss the exclusive data in the 2021 Israeli Democracy Index presented to President Isaac Herzog earlier this month. Published annually since 2003, the Democracy Index provides an in-depth assessment of Israeli democracy based on a comprehensive survey of public opinion. The Index’s analysis of survey findings creates a database for informed decision-making among policymakers seeking to strengthen Israeli democracy and preserve the country’s unique Jewish character.

Speakers

Yohanan Plesner
President
Israel Democracy Institute

Prof. Tamar Hermann
Director of Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research
Israel Democracy Institute

Moderator

Dr. Jesse Ferris
Vice President of Strategy
Israel Democracy Institute

Who struggled the most in the Jewish community at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic? Join the National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty and the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis for a data-centered conversation on the financial and material hardships experienced by members of the Jewish American community. First, we will hear from experts in the field on the pandemic's economic impact and who in Jewish communities struggled the most. Then, we will discuss the surprising and powerful effect that staying connected through Jewish community networks has in supporting both mental and financial well-being. Integrating data and theory, we’ll learn how the Jewish community has kept us feeling connected and supported through the pandemic, and learn how we can ensure others do not get left behind. 

Speakers:

Michal Grinstein-Weiss
Director, Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis

Carol Graham
Leo Pasvolsky Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

More to be confirmed

Moderator:

Susan Wolf Ditkoff
Senior Advisor, The Bridgespan Group

Join GrantED for an engaging webinar about how to best prepare for an evaluation for both grantmakers and grantseekers. This webinar will provide concrete tools, tips, and tricks for both grantseekers and grantmakers to transparently share information, discuss challenges, and create a plan for the most impact. After the webinar, participants will be given a tool to help support this work.

Speakers

Dr. Wendy Rosov
Founder & Principal, Rosov Consulting

Mike Boberg
Director of Impact Assessment, Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati

Marie Krulewitch-Browne
Executive and Artistic Director, ish 

NOTE: This webinar has been rescheduled for Thursday, February 10th. Please register here.

The delegitimization of Israel on college campuses has a silencing effect and creates a hostile environment in which Jewish students and faculty members are sometimes afraid to express their identity and support for Israel. Non-Jewish students and faculty are not always well educated about the Middle East, and often prefer to avoid a toxic discussion. Join us for a panel discussion featuring two experts who will provide complementary perspectives and approaches to addressing this challenge, as well as Lauren Rutkin of the Geller Family Foundation, which funds in this space:  

Speakers:

Dr. Shahar Sadeh
Director of Strategic Affairs
Jewish Community Relations Council of New York

Megan Nathan
Managing Director
Israel on Campus Coalition 

Moderator:

Lauren Rutkin
Geller Family Foundation

the event is postponed!

We are delighted to have you with us at JFN's membership event where we will bid farewell and express our gratitude to Maya Natan, Founding Director of JFN Israel

Join us for a festive networking event to mark the 13th anniversary of our JFN IL community and its' impact on creating impactful strategic philanthropy in Israel.

Time: 12-1:30 pm ET/9-10:30 am PT/19:00-20:30 ISR

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

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. 

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Read JFN's Guide to Jewish Impact Investing

Speakers

Sandrine Montsma
Managing Partner, Bridges Israel  

Marcia Riklis 
Chair, JFN Board of Directors

Adam Bendell 
CEO, Toniic

Moderator:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals where we will come together for shared learning and community-building.

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Senior Director, Programs
Jewish Funders Network

12-1:30 p.m. ET/ 9-10:30 a.m. PT/ 19:00-20:30 IL

Join us as we discuss the current status of Israel's older adult population, glimpse into the future, and explore effective philanthropic efforts.

Keynote Speaker Yossi Heymann (CEO, JDC-Israel ESHEL) will provide an up-to-date overview of the field of aging in Israel, sharing data, future projections, large-scale initiatives, and government and civil society work in this field.

JFN members Joseph Gitler, Astorre Modena, and Claims Conference will share their philanthropic prototypes of engagement as well as COVID lessons learned.

The session will offer the opportunity for an open funders’ conversation to explore our relationship with aging on both the personal and philanthropic levels.

19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT

It’s not just about the weather — the growing climate emergency presents a serious risk to the pursuit of all philanthropic aims. All aspects of society will be affected and we can use our philanthropy to make a difference. We have less than 10 years to act, and all funders -- whatever their mission and field of expertise —  can have an immense potential for positive impact. It’s time to plan our role as individual philanthropists and collectively - We owe it to future generations.

Join JFN’s Green Funders Forum for “Global Warning: Climate Change and Jewish Philanthropy,” a five-part series. This is particularly timely in light of November’s UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.

Participants will be eligible for a free consultation meeting to explore personal philanthropic strategies around this issue.  

Participants are encouraged -- although not required -- to attend the entire five-part series.

Session 4 - Philanthropic Responses, Lessons, and Opportunities 

Monday, January 10, (19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT) 

Explore interesting and innovative models of philanthropic responses to climate change.

Speakers

Benjamin Bellegy
Executive Director
Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support (WINGS)

Tali Yariv-Mashal, PhD
Chair, Forum of Foundations in Israel
Director, the Beracha Foundation

Gideon Stein, PhD
Director, Pashdor Impact Investments
Co-Founder, Value² Responsible Investment Fund 

Green Funders Forum is a JFN peer network that brings together dozens of funders and foundation representatives from Israel and throughout the Jewish world with experts from academia, the government, and the philanthropic sector for learning, sharing, consultation, and skill-building in various subjects related to environmental protection in Israel. Watch Green Funders Forum videos here.

This event is open to all funders.

If you would like to participate but are not a JFN member, please email [email protected]

Upcoming sessions in the series:
(Speakers and other details coming soon)

Climate Change and Us: Where Do We Go from Here?

Monday, February 14

19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT

Join us for a fun  evening as we deepen connections with the Jerusalem JFN community and an opportunity to meet Sigal Yaniv-Feller the incoming Executive Director of JFN Israel.

Generously hosted by Dr. Karen Friedman and Prof. Yedidia Stern

UPDATE: We will be re-scheduling this program for a new date in January. Stay tuned for more information soon!

Who struggled the most in the Jewish community at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic? Join the National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty and the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis for a data-centered conversation on the financial and material hardships experienced by members of the Jewish American community. First, we will hear from experts in the field on the pandemic's economic impact and who in Jewish communities struggled the most. Then, we will discuss the surprising and powerful effect that staying connected through Jewish community networks has in supporting both mental and financial well-being. Integrating data and theory, we’ll learn how the Jewish community has kept us feeling connected and supported through the pandemic, and learn how we can ensure others do not get left behind. 

Speakers:

Michal Grinstein-Weiss
Director, Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis

Carol Graham
Leo Pasvolsky Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

More to be confirmed

Moderator:

Susan Wolf Ditkoff
Senior Advisor, The Bridgespan Group

12:30 - 1:45 pm ET | 9:30 - 10:45 am PT | 19:30 - 20:45 IL

JFN and CASJE (Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education) present the three-part webinar series: "Career Trajectories of Jewish Educators: Key Findings for the Funding Community."

Join CASJE’s managing director, Dr. Arielle Levites, members of the Career Trajectories research team, and funders in the space of Jewish education for a high-level presentation of key findings and a facilitated discussion foregrounding the unique questions, concerns, and opportunities of the funding community to translate research into practice and policy. These webinars will be of interest to foundations that support both Jewish and general education. You can sign up for an individual session, or register for all three.

Supply and Demand: Analyzing the Labor Market for Jewish Educators

Tuesday, December 14 from 12:30 - 1:45 pm ET | 9:30 - 10:45 am PT | 19:30 - 20:45 IL

Speakers:

Stacie Cherner
Director of Learning and Evaluation
Jim Joseph Foundation

Arielle Levites, PhD
Managing Director, CASJE- Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education

Alex Pomson, PhD
Principal and Managing Director, Rosov Consulting

Additional Sessions in This Series

• Session 1: Monday, October 18 at 12:30 pm ET/9:30 am PT/19:30 IL - Opportunities and Barriers to Becoming a Jewish Educator 
• Session 2: Monday, November 15 at 12:30 pm ET/9:30 am PT/19:30 IL - Should I Stay or Should I Go?: The Journeys of Jewish Educators

12:30 - 1:45 pm ET | 9:30 - 10:45 am PT | 19:30 - 20:45 IL

JFN and CASJE (Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education) present the three-part webinar series: "Career Trajectories of Jewish Educators: Key Findings for the Funding Community."

Join CASJE’s managing director, Dr. Arielle Levites, members of the Career Trajectories research team, and funders in the space of Jewish education for a high-level presentation of key findings and a facilitated discussion foregrounding the unique questions, concerns, and opportunities of the funding community to translate research into practice and policy. These webinars will be of interest to foundations that support both Jewish and general education. You can sign up for an individual session, or register for all three.

Supply and Demand: Analyzing the Labor Market for Jewish Educators

Tuesday, December 14 from 12:30 - 1:45 pm ET | 9:30 - 10:45 am PT | 19:30 - 20:45 IL

Speakers:

Stacie Cherner
Director of Learning and Evaluation
Jim Joseph Foundation

Arielle Levites, PhD
Managing Director, CASJE- Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education

Alex Pomson, PhD
Principal and Managing Director, Rosov Consulting

Additional Sessions in This Series

• Session 1: Monday, October 18 at 12:30 pm ET/9:30 am PT/19:30 IL - Opportunities and Barriers to Becoming a Jewish Educator 
• Session 2: Monday, November 15 at 12:30 pm ET/9:30 am PT/19:30 IL -  Should I Stay or Should I Go?: The Journeys of Jewish Educators

19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT

It’s not just about the weather — the growing climate emergency presents a serious risk to the pursuit of all philanthropic aims. All aspects of society will be affected and we can use our philanthropy to make a difference. We have less than 10 years to act, and all funders -- whatever their mission and field of expertise —  can have an immense potential for positive impact. It’s time to plan our role as individual philanthropists and collectively - We owe it to future generations.

Join JFN’s Green Funders Forum for “Global Warning: Climate Change and Jewish Philanthropy,” a five-part series. This is particularly timely in light of November’s UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.

Participants will be eligible for a free consultation meeting to explore personal philanthropic strategies around this issue.  

Participants are encouraged -- although not required -- to attend the entire five-part series.

Session 3 - Civil Society’s Game-Changing Strategies

Monday, December 13, (19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 p.m. ET, 9-10:30 a.m. PT) 

From youth activism to shareholder activism, join us to explore inspiring game-changing strategies of leading NGOs and the diversity of needed actions.

Speakers

Moran Diment
Professional Development Manager
Life and Environment (the umbrella organization for Israeli environmental NGOs)

Yossi Cadan (Canada)
Senior Strategist
The Sunrise Project

Naomi Rozenberg 
Activist (age 14)
Youth for Climate

Green Funders Forum is a JFN peer network that brings together dozens of funders and foundation representatives from Israel and throughout the Jewish world with experts from academia, the government, and the philanthropic sector for learning, sharing, consultation, and skill-building in various subjects related to environmental protection in Israel. Watch Green Funders Forum videos here.

This event is open to all funders.

If you would like to participate but are not a JFN member, please email [email protected]

Upcoming sessions in the series:
(Speakers and other details coming soon)

Philanthropic Responses, Lessons & Opportunities to Have a Positive Impact on Climate Change

Monday, January 10

19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT

Climate Change and Us: Where Do We Go from Here?

Monday, February 14

19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT

We're sorry, but this event is sold out!

How can we as funders increase gender equality in Israel’s social sector?

Join us as we explore power, identity and learn the impact of giving through a gender lens

Hosted by Dafna Meitar-Nechmad

Jewish communal leadership aspires to the highest ethical standards, and yet, not infrequently, these aspirations go unmet. In part, this is because the Jewish community mirrors the same inequities around gender, race and class, and the scandal and misuse of power. The gaps between our values and our actions challenge the moral integrity of our communities. Yet at the same time, for some, the fear of yielding power bravely and responsibility – to set out a vision or to make commitments to values and actions – can often lead to inertia and paralysis.

This four-part seminar, which is cohort-based and open to principle funders and their families, will explore the ethics of power, what it means to have power and wield it ethically, and how, as a community, we navigate the way change and loss emerges when power relationships change.

These key questions will be explored throughout this four-part series:

• What are different currencies of power?
• How do we navigate change and loss?
• How do we navigate between moral imperatives and moral concerns?
• What is the relationship between charisma and corruption?

This series is open to principal funders and their families. Please note that this series is a cohort-based learning experience and full participation in all four sessions is encouraged in order to ensure the highest-quality experience for all participants. The first three sessions will be held via Zoom, and the fourth will take place in person at the JFN International Conference in Palm Beach, Fla.

Session Dates & Speakers:

Session 1 (Virtual): 

Wednesday, December 8, 2021 from 12-1:30pm ET / 9-10:30am PT / 19:00-20:30 Israel

Mijal Bitton
Scholar in Residence

Session 2 (Virtual): 

Wednesday, January 5, 2022 from 12-1:30pm ET / 9-10:30am PT / 19:00-20:30 Israel

Elana Stein Hain
Director of Faculty and Senior Fellow

Session 3 (Virtual):

Wednesday, February 2, 2022 from 12-1:30pm ET / 9-10:30am PT / 19:00-20:30 Israel

Mishael Zion
Faculty in Residence, Bay Area

Session 4 (In-Person): 

March 2022 at JFN Conference (March 27-29, 2022 in Florida)

Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer 
President of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America

Time: 12-1 pm ET/9-10 am PT/7-8 pm ISR

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

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. 

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Read JFN's Guide to Jewish Impact Investing

Enroll in JFN's Certificate Course in Jewish Impact Investing

Speakers

Vanessa Kacherginsky
Israel Forum for Impact Economy

Moderator:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals where we will come together for shared learning and community-building.

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Senior Director, Programs
Jewish Funders Network

12-1 pm ET/ 9-10 am PT/ 7-8 pm IL

Welcome to the JFN family!  

At this special session, led by JFN Vice President of Philanthropic Engagement Ari Rudolph, you'll learn how to get the most out of your membership and will have an opportunity to meet other members. We will cover a variety of topics, including membership benefits, how to use our website, and much more!

All JFN members, new and old, are welcome!

19:00-20:00 IL/ 12-1 pm ET/ 9:00-10:00 am PT

How are monumental changes taking place in Israel’s Religious Zionist sector affecting the Jewish community in Israel and abroad? What role can funders play to influence the outcome of these developments?

Israeli journalist and author Yair Ettinger will provide a glimpse into his book, "Unraveled" (published in Hebrew as "Prumim"). An English version of the book will be published in the coming year.

In his book, Yair argues that while the Religious Zionist community has become an integral part of Israel's leadership in a variety of sectors, and while it continues to grow in strength and confidence, its religious and ideological glue is disintegrating. Ideological unrest and conflicts on a historical scale divide the sector.

In this open conversation, Yair will describe the controversies that have shaken up the Religious Zionist sector and Modern Orthodoxy, including changes in the status of women and the status of rabbis.

JFN members Ruthi Saragosti and David Roth will share their philanthropic approaches to this sector, followed by a discussion about the importance/relevance of investing in this area of giving.

Speakers

Yair Ettinger
Israeli journalist and author of Unraveled

Ruthi Saragosti
Planning Director, Israel
UJA Federation of New York

David Roth
Executive Director
Yoreinu Foundation

1-2 p.m. ET/ 10-11 a.m. PT/ 20:00-21:00 Israel

Join us for an exclusive presentation and facilitated discussion as we dive into the results of three major new studies on Jewish disability inclusion in the workforce. We will discuss:

• Successful models from Jewish human service agencies for increasing employment for people with disabilities; 
• What Leading Edge has learned about Jews and others with disabilities who work at Jewish organizations and where progress has been made;
• Findings from RespectAbility's major study on the inclusion of Jews with disabilities inside Jewish groups;
• Big picture takeaways on where we go from here so that Jews and others with disabilities can thrive both inside and out of Jewish institutions. 

This presentation will be live-captioned, and there will be an American Sign Language interpreter present as well.

Speakers

Gali Cooks
President & CEO
Leading Edge

Reuben D. Rotman
President & CEO
Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies

Meagan Buren
President
Buren Research and Communications, LLC

Jennifer Mizrahi
President
RespectAbility

Matan A. Koch (Moderator) 
Director of RespectAbility California & Jewish Leadership
RespectAbility

19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 p.m. ET, 9-10:30 a.m. PT

It’s not just about the weather — the growing climate emergency presents a serious risk to the pursuit of all philanthropic aims. All aspects of society will be affected and we can use our philanthropy to make a difference. We have less than 10 years to act, and all funders -- whatever their mission and field of expertise —  can have an immense potential for positive impact. It’s time to plan our role as individual philanthropists and collectively - We owe it to future generations.

Join JFN’s Green Funders Forum for “Global Warning: Climate Change and Jewish Philanthropy,” a five-part series. This is particularly timely in light of November’s UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.

Participants will be eligible for a free consultation meeting to explore personal philanthropic strategies around this issue.  

Participants are encouraged -- although not required -- to attend the entire five-part series.

Session 2 - How Climate Change Intersects with Other Funding Areas

Tuesday, November 16, (19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 p.m. ET, 9-10:30 a.m. PT) 

Join us to learn together (and in breakout groups) how climate change intersects with most funding areas  -- such as advancing marginalized populations, shared society, poverty, refugees, employment, education, women’s rights, national security, and more.  

Speakers

Dr. Dov Khenin
Former MK and Chair, President Herzog’s newly established Climate Change Council 
Learn more about Dov and the Climate Change Council in this article in Jewish Insider.

Dr. Shira Efron
Senior Research Fellow
Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) 

Prof. Yosef Jabareen
Professor of Urban Planning
The Technion

Prof. Nadav Davidovitch
Director, School of Public Health
Ben Gurion University

Green Funders Forum is a JFN peer network that brings together dozens of funders and foundation representatives from Israel and throughout the Jewish world with experts from academia, the government, and the philanthropic sector for learning, sharing, consultation, and skill-building in various subjects related to environmental protection in Israel. Watch Green Funders Forum videos here.

This event is open to all funders.

If you would like to participate but are not a JFN member, please email [email protected]

Upcoming sessions in the series:
(Speakers and other details coming soon)

Who Are the Leading Activists and Nonprofits Addressing Climate Change? 

Monday, December 13

19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT

Philanthropic Responses, Lessons & Opportunities to Have a Positive Impact on Climate Change

Monday, January 10

19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT

Climate Change and Us: Where Do We Go from Here?

Monday, February 14

19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT

12:30 - 1:45 pm ET | 9:30 - 10:45 am PT | 19:30 - 20:45 IL

JFN and CASJE (Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education) present the three-part webinar series: "Career Trajectories of Jewish Educators: Key Findings for the Funding Community."

Join CASJE’s Managing Director, Dr. Arielle Levites, members of the Career Trajectories research team, and funders in the space of Jewish education for a high-level presentation of key findings and a facilitated discussion foregrounding the unique questions, concerns, and opportunities of the funding community to translate research into practice and policy. These webinars will be of interest to foundations that support both Jewish and general education. You can sign up for an individual session, or register for all three.

Session 2: "Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Journeys of Jewish Educators"

Speakers:

Rachel Mohl Abrahams
Senior Advisor for Education Grants and Programs
Mayberg Foundation

Arielle Levites, PhD
Managing Director, CASJE- Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education

Wendy Rosov, PhD
Founder and Principal, Rosov Consulting

Additional Sessions in This Series

• Session 1: Monday, October 18 at 12:30 pm ET/9:30 am PT/19:30 IL- More Paths for More People: Opportunities and Barriers to Becoming a Jewish Educator 
• Session 3: Tuesday, December 14 at 12:30 pm ET/9:30 am PT/19:30 IL - Supply and Demand: Analyzing the Labor Market for Jewish Educators

12:30 - 1:45 pm ET | 9:30 - 10:45 am PT | 19:30 - 20:45 IL

JFN and CASJE (Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education) present the three-part webinar series: "Career Trajectories of Jewish Educators: Key Findings for the Funding Community."

Join CASJE’s Managing Director, Dr. Arielle Levites, members of the Career Trajectories research team, and funders in the space of Jewish education for a high-level presentation of key findings and a facilitated discussion foregrounding the unique questions, concerns, and opportunities of the funding community to translate research into practice and policy. These webinars will be of interest to foundations that support both Jewish and general education. You can sign up for an individual session, or register for all three.

Session 2: "Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Journeys of Jewish Educators"

Speakers:

Rachel Mohl Abrahams
Senior Advisor for Education Grants and Programs
Mayberg Foundation

Arielle Levites, PhD
Managing Director, CASJE- Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education

Wendy Rosov, PhD
Founder and Principal, Rosov Consulting

Additional Sessions in This Series

• Session 1: Monday, October 18 at 12:30 pm ET/9:30 am PT/19:30 IL- Opportunities and Barriers to Becoming a Jewish Educator 
• Session 3: Tuesday, December 14 at 12:30 pm ET/9:30 am PT/19:30 IL - Analyzing the Labor Market for Jewish Educators

CANVAS and the Fooksman Family Foundation Invite You to "An Afternoon With the Arlekin Players"

More About Arlekin

FIND INFORMATION ABOUT THE DECEMBER 7 IMPACT INVESTING ROUNDTABLE HERE.

Time: 12-1:30 pm ET/9-10:30 am PT/7-8:30 pm ISR

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Read JFN's Guide to Jewish Impact Investing

Enroll in JFN's Certificate Course in Jewish Impact Investing

Speakers

Avital Blonder
CEO & Founder
Jindas - Social Urban Regeneration

Jason Brzoska
Director of Operations
Newton and Rochelle Becker Charitable Trust
JLens    

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Partner
ZORA Ventures
LoftyInc Capital

12 p.m. ET/ 9 am PT/ 18:00 Israel

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals. This event usually takes place on the second Wednesday of every month.

This month's speaker:

Daniel Stid
Program Director, U.S. Democracy Program
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network

Earlier this year, we at JFN conceived of the Israel Ideas Festival as a celebration marking the end of Covid and an opportunity to come together to share ideas for a brighter, post-pandemic future. Sadly, the virus and its many variants are not yet behind us, and Israel’s seven-day quarantine on all visitors arriving from the United States makes it impossible to plan the international in-person event we’d envisioned.

The reimagined Israel Ideas Festival is a hybrid program with live simultaneous events in Tel Aviv (please note: the in-person event in Israel is currently at capacity) and New York, and lots of interactive opportunities online.

On Day 1, we'll explore Israel's relationships with the Arab world and with fellow Jews around the world.

On Day 2, choose from deep-dive programming on seven issues in Israeli philanthropic work: Education, Women At-Risk, Elderly At-Risk, Jewish-Arab Relations, Workforce Development, Arts & Culture, and Impact Investing.

Learn more and register at jfunders.org/festival.

This is the seventh installment of "Coffee with...," a series designed to provide a unique opportunity for JFN West members to engage in small-group conversation with and among JFN leaders and members. 

Jeff Schoenfeld is passionately involved in several philanthropic organizations. In addition to serving as a current JFN board member, he is the Immediate Past President of UJA-Federation of New York, the largest local philanthropy in the world. 

Jeff currently serves as Chair of the Israel and Overseas Committee of the Jewish Federations of North America, helping to strategically guide global allocations for the North American Federation system. In this capacity, Jeff serves as a member of the Board of Governors of The Jewish Agency for Israel.

Preceding his role as President, Jeff was the Co-Chair of UJA's Annual Campaign and the Chair of UJA’s Caring Commission, overseeing human service and community building programs in New York, and 70 countries around the world. Today, he chairs UJA’s Allocation Steering Committee, is a member of its Executive Committee, Finance Committee and Board of Directors.

Jeff also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of amfAR, a leading cure-focused global HIV/AIDS research organization. Jeff serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the NPR Foundation, the country’s leading provider of journalistic excellence and programmatic content for public radio and podcasts, and also serves as a member of the Graduate Executive Board at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, working to expand Wharton’s impact as the foremost teaching, research, and experience-led business school in the world.

Jeff received his B.A. in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley, and his MBA in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT

It’s not just about the weather — the growing climate emergency presents a serious risk to the pursuit of all philanthropic aims. All aspects of society will be affected and we can use our philanthropy to make a difference. We have less than 10 years to act, and all funders -- whatever their mission and field of expertise —  can have an immense potential for positive impact. It’s time to plan our role as individual philanthropists and collectively - We owe it to future generations.

Join JFN’s Green Funders Forum for “Global Warning: Climate Change and Jewish Philanthropy,” a five-part series. This is particularly timely in light of November’s UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.

Participants will be eligible for a free consultation meeting to explore personal philanthropic strategies around this issue.  

Participants are encouraged -- although not required -- to attend the entire five-part series.

Session 1 - Climate Change 101 and the New Decision Makers

Tuesday, October 19, (19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT) 

In the opening session of this five-part series, hear from two leading environmental experts in Israel’s government: Israeli Minister of Environmental Protection Tamar Zandberg; and Professor, Member of Knesset, and longtime activist Alon Tal. You will receive up-to-date information on climate change, how it affects Israel and the Jewish world, what various countries are doing about it and its relevance to all Jewish philanthropy -- no matter what our funding issue areas are. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions after the speakers present.

Speakers

Tamar Zandberg, Israeli Minister of Environmental Protection

Professor Alon Tal, a Member of Knesset 

Green Funders Forum is a JFN peer network that brings together dozens of funders and foundation representatives from Israel and throughout the Jewish world with experts from academia, the government, and the philanthropic sector for learning, sharing, consultation, and skill-building in various subjects related to environmental protection in Israel. Watch Green Funders Forum videos here.

This event is open to all funders.

If you would like to participate but are not a JFN member, please email [email protected] 

Upcoming sessions in the series:
(Speakers and other details coming soon)

How Climate Change Intersects with Other Funding Areas

Tuesday, November 16

19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT

Who Are the Leading Activists and Nonprofits Addressing Climate Change? 

Monday, December 13

19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT

Philanthropic Responses, Lessons & Opportunities to Have a Positive Impact on Climate Change

Monday, January 10

19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT

Climate Change and Us: Where Do We Go from Here?

Monday, February 14

19:00-20:30 IL, 12-1:30 pm ET, 9:00-10:30 am PT

12:30 - 1:45 pm ET | 9:30 - 10:45 am PT | 19:30 - 20:45 IL

JFN and CASJE (Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education) present the three-part webinar series: "Career Trajectories of Jewish Educators: Key Findings for the Funding Community."

Join CASJE’s Managing Director, Dr. Arielle Levites, members of the Career Trajectories research team, and funders in the space of Jewish education for a high-level presentation of key findings and a facilitated discussion foregrounding the unique questions, concerns, and opportunities of the funding community to translate research into practice and policy. These webinars will be of interest to foundations that support both Jewish and general education. You can sign up for an individual session, or register for all three. 

Session 1: "More Paths for More People: Opportunities and Barriers to Becoming a Jewish Educator"

Speakers:

Menachem (Manny) Menchel
Senior Program Officer, Jewish Life, William Davidson Foundation

Arielle Levites, PhD
Managing Director, CASJE- Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education

Alex Pomson, PhD
Principal and Managing Director, Rosov Consulting

Upcoming Sessions 

• Session 2: Monday, November 15 at 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 am PT/19:30 IL - Should I Stay or Should I Go?: The Journeys of Jewish Educators
• Session 3: Tuesday, December 14 at 12:30 pm ET/9:30 am PT/19:30 IL - Supply and Demand: Analyzing the Labor Market for Jewish Educators

12:30 - 1:45 pm ET | 9:30 - 10:45 am PT | 19:30 - 20:45 IL

JFN and CASJE (Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education) present the three-part webinar series: "Career Trajectories of Jewish Educators: Key Findings for the Funding Community."

Join CASJE’s Managing Director, Dr. Arielle Levites, members of the Career Trajectories research team, and funders in the space of Jewish education for a high-level presentation of key findings and a facilitated discussion foregrounding the unique questions, concerns, and opportunities of the funding community to translate research into practice and policy. These webinars will be of interest to foundations that support both Jewish and general education. You can sign up for an individual session, or register for all three. 

Session 1: "More Paths for More People: Opportunities and Barriers to Becoming a Jewish Educator"

Speakers:

Menachem (Manny) Menchel
Senior Program Officer, Jewish Life, William Davidson Foundation

Arielle Levites, PhD
Managing Director, CASJE- Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education

Alex Pomson, PhD
Principal and Managing Director, Rosov Consulting

Upcoming Sessions 

• Monday, November 15 at 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 am PT/19:30 IL -  Should I Stay or Should I Go?: The Journeys of Jewish Educators
• Tuesday, December 14 at 12:30 pm ET/9:30 am PT/19:30 IL - Supply and Demand: Analyzing the Labor Market for Jewish Educators

12-1 pm ET/ 9 am-10 am PT/ 19:00-20:00 IL

In this program offered in partnership with SAPIR: A Journal of Jewish Conversations, we explore the perils of looking at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a purely Western lens, particularly in the media and on college campuses. (Current JFN members are eligible to receive a free hard copy of the upcoming issue of Sapir, which will come out in November. Fill out this form to claim your copy.)

As leading intellectual and former Knesset member Einat Wilf wrote in a recent issue of SAPIR, critics have for decades "cast Jews, Israel, and Zionism as the evil side in the conflict through their consistent and persistent employment of the 'Placard Strategy': utilizing simple equations such as those that might appear on a placard in an anti-Israel demonstration. On one side of the equation are Israel, Zionism, and images such as the Star of David. The evil du jour is the other side, whether it is Imperialism, Colonialism, Racism, Apartheid or — for the truly determined — Genocide and Nazism. Most recently, White Supremacy was added to the list."

Speakers

SAPIR is a journal exploring the future of the American Jewish community and its intersection with cultural, social, and political issues. It is published by Maimonides Fund with Bret Stephens serving as Editor-in-Chief and Felicia Herman as Managing Editor. 

Current JFN members are eligible to receive a free hard copy of the upcoming issue of Sapir, which will come out in November. Fill out this form to claim your copy.

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals. This event takes place on the second Wednesday of every month unless otherwise specified.

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network

Save the date for our upcoming sessions:

• Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021 at 12 PM ET
• Wednesday, December 1st, 2021 at 12 PM ET

JFN Grantmaking Professionals Exchange is a learning and networking initiative to strengthen relationships and enhance strategic, technical, and Jewish learning among professionals across the field of Jewish philanthropy.

Time: 12-1:30 pm ET/9-10:30 am PT/7-8:30 pm ISR

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Learn more about Jewish impact investing here.

Master Class: "Investing in Regenerative Agriculture"

Koen van Seijen
Founder and Managing Partner
Garnell Capital Partners

Investment Roundups

James Walker
MiniLuxe

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

Vanessa will be moderating the roundtable and presenting on LoftyInc.

Join us for an open conversation on arts, culture, and philanthropy

necessity vs. luxury

12-1 pm ET/ 9-10 am PT/ 19:00-20:00 IL

In December 2020, the U.S Congress passed the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act, a historic piece of legislation delivering unprecedented levels of funding for peacebuilding in Israel and Palestine.

This new fund will deliver $250 million over five years to projects that support peacebuilding and Palestinian economic development and represents the largest investment ever in the region’s peacebuilders.

Please join us for a webinar that will help prepare members for this groundbreaking initiative.

JFN members Georgette Bennett and Danny Hakim, who are both deeply committed to the field of peacebuilding, will share how they are preparing their grantees, and how they think that we, as funders, should build an infrastructure that will allow maximizing this opportunity.

John Lyndon, executive director of ALLMEP (Alliance for Middle East Peace) and an expert on The Nita Lowey Peace Act will be the main speaker and will give a presentation on the grant including important information, eligibility, the potential for change and more.

The session will be followed by a Q&A that will provide a unique opportunity to learn and discuss the potential impact of The Nita Lowey Peace Act in the field of shared society. 

SPEAKER DETAILS

Anita Diamant
Nadine Epstein
Shaylyn Romney Garrett
Rabbi Rebecca Sirbu
Andrés Spokoiny

This virtual symposium brings together funders, investors, and leaders to address the most challenging global issues of our time. The 2021 Symposium will support the growth of strategic and collaborative international philanthropy by offering participants the opportunity to explore trends in philanthropy, gain practical skills and knowledge to increase the levels and impact of their giving across borders, learn from peers, and network with funders actively engaged in supporting international development efforts. The Symposium is co-hosted by The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI) and New England International Donors (NEID).

Discount code for JFN members on JFN's Member Discounts page.

Learn more and register.

12-2 pm ET/ 9 am-12 pm PT/19:00-21:00 IL

Join the Jews of Color Initiative for an event designed specifically for the philanthropic community to engage with the first-ever study of this scale on Jews of Color in the United States. Earlier this year, more than 1,000 Jews of Color completed the "Count Me In" Survey. Now you can join the conversation to hear the findings and learn how philanthropists can develop, amplify, and sustain Jewish communities and leaders that reflect and represent all Jews.

Ilana Kaufman, Executive Director of the Jews of Color Initiative, will be joined by Paula Pretlow, Trustee of the Weinberg Foundation, Tiffany Harris, Chief Program Officer of Moishe House, and Gamal Palmer, Senior Vice President of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles to share the key findings and discuss how we as philanthropists can leverage Beyond the Count to create change.

• How do JoCs think about Jewish identity?
• What have been the experiences of JoCs in Jewish communities?
• How has systemic racism affected JoCs in Jewish spaces?
• How can the Jewish community better reflect the range of experiences and identities of all Jews?

>>Register here

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network

Time: 12-1:30 pm ET/9-10:30 am PT/7-8:30 pm ISR

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Speakers:

Moderator:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

12-1 pm ET/ 9-10 am PT/ 7-8 pm IL

Welcome to the JFN family!  

At this special session, led by JFN Vice President of Philanthropic Engagement Ari Rudolph, you'll learn how to get the most out of your membership and will have an opportunity to meet other members. We will cover a variety of topics, including membership benefits, how to use our website, and much more!

All JFN members, new and old, are welcome!

12-1pm ET / 9-10am PT / 7-8pm Israel

This session is part of a National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty webinar series addressing the challenges the coronavirus pandemic has created for Jews living in poverty and the agencies that serve them, while also highlighting the successful responses to these challenges.

Hear from three Avodah Corps members who have spent the past 10 months working on the frontlines of the fight against poverty in the Jewish community in New York City. 2020-2021 Corps Members Allie Fischgrund (Project Ore), Emma Holyst (Met Council), and Abby Israel (Footsteps) will share stories and perspectives from their work on the ground, surprises or ways that their thinking has changed, and lessons for how to advance the work of breaking cycles of poverty, particularly in the Jewish community. Jennifer Turner, the New York Program Director of the Avodah Jewish Services Corps, will also join to connect this work to Avodah’s broader fight against poverty.

Susan Wolf Ditkoff, Senior Adviser at The Bridgespan Group, will moderate the conversation.

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals. This event takes place on the second Wednesday of every month.

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network

Time: 12-1:30 pm ET/9-10:30 am PT/7-8:30 pm ISR

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

• Download JFN's free "Guide to Jewish Impact Investing," written by Michael Lustig.
• Listen to our recent podcast on Jewish impact investing.

Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Speakers:

Sean Gilbert
GIIN - Global Impact Investing Network

Kate Walsh
GIIN - Global Impact Investing Network

Yaniv Izaki
Angel Investor
Izaki Ventures

Moderator:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

Join a small group of Jewish communal grantmakers and grantseekers for a special three-part, interactive, facilitated conversation series designed to foster opportunities for deeper understanding, communication, and learning with one another. Our hope is that as a result of these conversations, participating grantmakers and grantseekers will:

• Recognize the power and privilege that they hold and the role that plays in the relationships with the other
• Engage in non-transactional conversations with the other
• Feel more confident in speaking more candidly with the other

These participatory sessions are free of charge and will be hosted on Zoom:

• Wednesday, June 30, 1-2:30 pm ET (10-11:30 am PT)
• Wednesday, July 7, 1-2:30 pm ET (10-11:30 am PT)
• Wednesday, July 21, 1-2:30 pm ET (10-11:30 am PT)

Please plan to attend all three sessions so you have ample time and space to build new relationships. Spaces are limited!

This is an open event, for both funders and nonprofits, under the auspices of GrantED, a joint project of JFN and UpStart designed to strengthen relationships between grantmakers and grantseekers in the Jewish community. Learn more about GrantED at Jgranted.org.

If you are a nonprofit/grantseeker, register here

If you are a funder/grantmaker, register here

7:00 - 8:30pm Israel / 12:00pm - 1:30pm ET / 9:00 - 10:30am PT

For many funders, the events of recent weeks have created a dilemma regarding the field of shared society, and have raised questions around possible action in the face of the recent extremism among Jewish and Arab populations. Join us for a peer conversation in which we examine and challenge the paradigms on which we have operated until now.

We will discuss how philanthropy can have a significant and effective impact by reducing existing gaps and challenges.

The meeting will be opened by JFN members who will share decisions they have made considering the current situation: have they chosen to maintain their philanthropy strategy? Have they chosen to adjust it?

Prof. Eran Halperin, Founder, and Co-Chair and Ron Gerlitz, Executive Director of the aChord Center* will present an overview of the recent crises from the perspective of social psychology; what is the current situation, what are the recovery processes, and what insights are relevant and can be used to create effective philanthropic work in the shared spheres.

We will facilitate small discussion groups with funders working in fields that are directly and indirectly affected by the crisis.

We will discuss insights that have emerged and how they can be applied to the giving strategy | What information is important for us to have for future decisions? | Which philanthropic models have proved to be effective even in times of crisis? | Are there new directions of giving that the crisis has highlighted for us?

* aChord Center was established in response to the field's need for practical knowledge and innovative tools to best deal with psychological barriers in intergroup relations. The Center has a unique ability to connect the latest research with real-world needs and activities.

12:00-1:45 pm (EST) / 9:00-10:45 am (PST) / 19:00-20:45 (Israel Time)

Funders Rabbi Adam Frank, Jonathan Inbar, and others speak with Tel Aviv Municipality Spokesperson Eitan Schwartz about their support for plant-based diets, how it intersects with other funding priorities, what motivates them to care about animal welfare, how food influences the environment and how we, as funders, can make change.

Special Bonus: Cooking lesson focused on family-friendly vegan meals.

The meetings will be held in Hebrew. We recommend taking part in all three sessions, to attain a comprehensive toolbox on this topic.

This three-part series, in collaboration with JDC-Elka, will allow participants to gain an understanding of regulatory, legal and financial aspects as well as enable a deeper conversation based on simulations, case studies and dilemmas from the field.

The second workshop will focus on up-to-date information on financial aspects of serving as a board member of an NGO and the related implications. The workshop will include simulations of interpreting NGO’s financial reports, from a board member’s perspective.

Speaker: Iris Stark, CPA, Founder and Executive Partner of Stark and Stark CPA, Lecturer at Tel Aviv University on Corporate Governance, Director’s Responsibility, and Internal Auditing in the Non-Profit Sector.

1-2 PM ET / 10-11am PT / 8-9pm Israel

12-1pm ET / 9-10am PT / 7-9pm Israel

This session is part of a National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty webinar series addressing the challenges the coronavirus pandemic has created for Jews living in poverty and the agencies that serve them, while also highlighting the successful responses to these challenges.

In this session, we'll learn about how convening different people and stakeholders can create real change. Examples highlighted will include TOM - Tikkun Olam Makers, a global movement of communities that creates and disseminates affordable solutions to challenges faced by the elderly, people living with disabilities, and those experiencing poverty.

Speakers:

Gidi Grinstein
Founder and President
Reut Institute

More speakers to be confirmed

Moderator:

Susan Wolf Ditkoff
Senior Advisor
The Bridgespan Group

This three-part series **, in collaboration with JDC-Elka, will allow participants to gain an understanding of regulatory, legal, and financial issues as well as enable a deeper conversation based on simulations, case studies, and dilemmas from the field.

The first workshop will focus on the legal and regulatory aspects of serving as a board member of an NGO.

This session will provide valuable information, a space to learn through case studies, and an opportunity to share experiences and examine them.

Speaker: Adv. Yaron Keidar, Bogot & Keidar Advocates, specializing in consulting and legal advice to the nonprofit sector, former Head of Israel’s Corporations Authority in the Ministry of Justice.

*The meetings will be held in Hebrew and are intended for an Israeli audience*

**We recommend taking part in all three sessions, to attain a comprehensive toolbox on this topic.

Join us as we explore a self-assessment tool for grantmakers and grantseekers developed by Exponent Philanthropy and customized by GrantED for our network. During this program, you will have the opportunity to learn about the toolkit, take the self-assessment, and join in a conversation with others from the field about what makes a great grantmaker-grantseeker relationship. We will also hear from a grantmaker-grantseeker pair about how the self-assessment tool helped them to build trust, lean into discomfort, and develop a more equitable partnership.  

This is an open event, for both funders and nonprofits, under the auspices of GrantED, a joint project of JFN and UpStart designed to strengthen relationships between grantmakers and grantseekers. Learn more about GrantED at Jgranted.org.

You can download the self-assessment tool here. 

Speakers:

Brendan McCormick
Manager
Research and Education, Exponent Philanthropy 

Join us as we explore a self-assessment tool for grantmakers and grantseekers developed by Exponent Philanthropy and customized by GrantED for our network. During this program, you will have the opportunity to learn about the toolkit, take the self-assessment, and join in a conversation with others from the field about what makes a great grantmaker-grantseeker relationship. We will also hear from a grantmaker-grantseeker pair about how the self-assessment tool helped them to build trust, lean into discomfort, and develop a more equitable partnership.  

This is an open event, for both funders and nonprofits, under the auspices of GrantED, a joint project of JFN and UpStart designed to strengthen relationships between grantmakers and grantseekers. Learn more about GrantED at Jgranted.org.

You can download the self-assessment tool here. 

Speakers:

Brendan McCormick
Manager
Research and Education, Exponent Philanthropy 

Time: 12-1:30 pm ET/9-10:30 am PT/7-8:30 pm ISR

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Speakers:

Michael Lustig

Dalia Black
Principal
WEAVEIMPACT

Lee Barken
CPA, LEED-AP
Chief Community Officer, CollectiveSun

Moderator:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

12-1:30pm ET/9-10:30am PT/7-8:30pm Israel

At this Grantmaking Professionals Virtual Meetup, we will discuss nonprofit mergers and acquisitions as part of our series on conflict. Mergers have long been a feature of the Jewish communal landscape, but have become an even more significant topic of conversation since the start of the pandemic. Mergers and acquisitions offer an ideal case study of conflict, since they are frequently difficult and contentious, but often necessary and unavoidable. Grantmaking professionals often have an important role to play in catalyzing and supporting them. At this session we will invite grantmaking professionals who have been involved in mergers or acquisitions to share their experiences navigating conflicts, with an eye towards how colleagues can help their nonprofit partners lean into healthy conflicts without falling into unproductive strife. As always we will have plenty of time for small group discussion and fellowship.

Speakers:

Karyn Cohen
Director, Jewish Life and Israel
One8 Foundation

Joshua Donner
Executive Director
David S. and Karen A. Shapira Foundation

Bram Bregman
President
Newfoundout Family Office

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network

12-1pm ET / 9-10am PT / 7-9pm Israel

Join the National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty for a conversation with Becka Alper, Alan Cooperman, and Laurence Kotler-Berkowitz, PhD as they take a deep dive into the data on the economics and well-being of U.S. Jews from the Pew Center’s 2020 survey of Jewish Americans that was released on May 11. Learn about how these trends and changes might impact service delivery and funding needs moving forward. This will be the first webinar focusing specifically on the Pew Center's 2020 survey as it relates to Jewish poverty. 

Speakers:

Becka A. Alper
Senior Researcher
Pew Research Center

Alan Cooperman
Director, Religion Research
Pew Research Center

Laurence Kotler-Berkowitz, PhD
Senior Director, Research and Analysis Director, Berman Jewish DataBank
Jewish Federations of North America

Moderator:

Susan Wolf Ditkoff
Senior Advisor
The Bridgespan Group

12-1pm ET/ 9-10am PT/ 7-8pm Israel

Join us for an interactive discussion between two grantmaker/grantseeker pairs as they reflect on the ways that the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted their relationships. We will discuss how grantmakers' philanthropic practices have changed — from the start of the pandemic to the current day — and what’s to come. In particular, we'll focus on what lessons we've learned in the past year and what practices instituted as a result of Covid we may want to make permanent.

This is an open event, for both funders and nonprofits, under the auspices of GrantED, a joint project of JFN and UpStart designed to strengthen relationships between grantmakers and grantseekers. Learn more about GrantED at Jgranted.org.

You can hear more from these pairs by checking out their conversations on Jgranted.org. Joni and Ilana's conversation is in the Relationship Building section, and Ayalon and Jon's is in the Power Dynamics section.

Speakers

Joni Blinderman
Associate Director
Covenant Foundation

Ilana Ruskay-Kidd
Founder and Head of School
The Shefa School

Ayalon Eliach
Senior Advisor
Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah 

Jon Adam Ross
Founding Artist
The InHEIRitance Project

Moderator

Jonathan Horowitz
Director of National and Democracy Initiatives
The Klarman Family Foundation

Food Funders Program Series

The last year has amplified numerous inequities, from massive health disparities and economic inequality to racial injustices. The broken food system is a thread that runs through all these crises.

This three-part series brings together creative speakers and special events for JFN funders engaged in harnessing the full potential of food to nourish and transform our communities.

Transformative Change: An Afternoon with World Central Kitchen's Chef Grace Ramirez (Online)
Wednesday, May 26, 1-2 pm ET/10-11 am PT/ 8-9 pm Israel

This program reflects on how individuals can create large-scale change and shows how multiple stakeholders and sectors are necessary to change systems.

Founded by Chef José Andrés and a team of world-class chefs, World Central Kitchen (WCK) believes the future of nations depends on how they feed themselves. In 2020 alone WCK mobilized in communities around the world to meet the daily needs of families in need of a hot meal and supported thousands of local restaurants in the process. The team responded to natural and manmade disasters in countries on five continents, from massive bushfires in Australia to a deadly explosion in Lebanon, to devastating hurricanes in Central America. Team members' fight to feed hungry people has taken them to more places than they ever expected.

Hear the remarkable story of the creative culinary masterminds behind this work: Chef Grace Ramirez, whose journey has led her to the nexus of cooking, food systems, and social change, and CEO Nate Mook. In conversation, they will reflect on their unique journeys from the kitchens to the frontlines and share strategies for creating both small and large-scale change in our communities. Moderated by Mitchell Davis, Chief Strategy Officer of the James Beard Foundation.

Future Events in This Series

Food Funder Peer Roundtable (Online) 
Wednesday, June 30, 12–1 pm ET/9–10 am PT/ 7–8 pm Israel

Join around the Zoom kitchen table to learn how we’ve addressed food systems during the time of Covid-19 and candidly share what’s worked and what hasn’t.

Pre-Festival Food and Farming (in Israel)
Monday, October 25

A day of food, farms, and fun in-person as part of JFN’s Israel Ideas Festival, a live event that brings together funders for three days of engagement and learning in Israel.

This is the sixth installment of "Coffee with...," a series designed to provide a unique opportunity for JFN West members to engage in small-group conversation with and among JFN leaders and members. 

Maya Natan is Executive Director of JFN Israel and CEO of Keshet DAF-IL, Israel's first donor-advised fund.

JFN Israel, established in 2008, brings together Israeli funders — who make up one-quarter of JFN's total membership — to exchange ideas about their philanthropic involvement and expand their giving circles.

JFN Israel’s staff offers consulting and expertise to all JFN members – regardless of nationality – who are interested in funding in Israel. All JFN members get one free session of Israel advisory services.

Through Keshet DAF-IL, Israelis and others interested in funding in Israel can open donor-advised funds, an easy and cost-effective alternative to starting a private foundation. Keshet also provides various services to American foundations funding in Israel.

What can we learn from new philanthropic models for social change that emerged during Covid?

During the global Covid health crisis we saw new philanthropic models emerge reflecting the agility, creativity, and dire needs that philanthropy has come to address.

Please join us as we will focus on two models where philanthropy stepped in beyond its traditional roles to provide direct support and funding for small businesses and for the arts and culture community.

The first model is led by Inbar Shashua Bar-Nir and Adi Atun from WE19, which is part of the Shashua Family's “House for Social Solidarity” initiative. They will illustrate how WE19 gave hope to small businesses amid the Covid-19 outbreak. WE19 provided financial grants that helped entrepreneurs to expand their business, without financial strain.

The second model, led by Nachman Rosenberg, CEO of Nacht Philanthropic Ventures, will demonstrate the lessons learned while supporting industry professionals in the Israeli arts and culture field, directly benefiting 700 musicians, lighting professionals, sound technicians, and production workers, through generous stipends.

*The event will be held in Hebrew

Jewish Americans in 2020: Cultural Engagement, Diversity, Politics, and Antisemitism

Jewish Funders Network and The Harold Grinspoon Foundation invite you to join an exclusive conversation with Becka Alper and Alan Cooperman about findings from the Pew Center’s 2020 survey of Jewish Americans (to be released May 11, 2021). We will unpack the Jewish American experience by examining religious beliefs and practices, cultural engagement, diversity, views of Jewish identity, and experiences with antisemitism among Jewish Americans. With introductory remarks by Winnie Sandler Grinspoon, President of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.

The new survey is Pew Research Center’s second major nationwide study of U.S. Jews. The first, A Portrait of Jewish Americans, came out in 2013.

Please note that JFN is also offering a webinar focused on the Pew Report's implications for addressing Jewish poverty on June 17.

Speakers:

Becka A. Alper
Senior Researcher
Pew Research Center

Alan Cooperman
Director, Religion Research
Pew Research Center

12:00-1:45 pm (EST)/ 9:00-10:45 am (PST)/ 19:00-20:45 (Israel Time)

Tel Aviv Municipality Spokesperson Eitan Schwartz will talk about the popularity of veganism in Tel Aviv.

Funders Rabbi Adam Frank, Jonathan Inbar, and others will speak about their philanthropic work in the field, how it intersects with other funding priorities, what motivates them to care about animal welfare, how food influences the environment, and how we, as funders, can influence change.

Special bonus: A cooking lesson with tips for creating a vegan-friendly Shavuot.

12-1:30pm ET/ 9-10:30am PT/7-8:30pm Israel

The next few JFN Grantmaking Professionals Monthly Online Convenings will explore the topic of conflict. We live in a time of pervasive political, social, and cultural conflict. While this conflict affects many sectors, it is particularly taxing for civil society, which plays a traditional role in strengthening associational bonds. Yet not all conflict is bad, and sometimes it is necessary to address festering problems. How should grantmaking professionals think about societal and communal conflict from our unique vantage points? What can we do to navigate the (sometimes necessary) conflict in the Jewish communal world, within our grantee portfolios, and within our own institutions? And what skills, tools, and techniques will better equip us for this conflictual moment?

At this session, we will be joined by Tim Phillips, founder and CEO of Beyond Conflict, for a conversation about the nature of contemporary conflict. We will consider our own views about, and roles in, conflict and begin to consider how we might better navigate these treacherous waters. As always we will have plenty of time for small group discussion and fellowship.

Speaker:

Tim Phillips
Founder and CEO
Beyond Conflict

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network

Time: 12-1:30 pm ET/9-10:30 am PT/7-8:30 pm ISR

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, Federations, and nonprofits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Speakers:

Linda-Eling Lee
Global Head of ESG Research
MSCI Inc.

Astorre Modena
General Partner
Terra Venture Partners

Douglas Bitonti Stewart
Executive Director
Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation

Moderator:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

To celebrate Shavuot, JFN convenes leading thinkers and legal activists to examine the intersection of law and philanthropy. Over the course of 90 minutes, we’ll hear from Suzanne Last Stone on the Jewish understanding of law and its role in society; Amy Spitalnick on the use of civil litigation to hold accountable — and bankrupt and dismantle — violent extremists; and Ken Marcus on the use of law and public policy to combat the resurgence of antisemitism in American higher education.

Speakers:

Suzanne Last Stone
University Professor of Jewish Law and Contemporary Civilization
Yeshiva University

Amy Spitalnick
Executive Director
Integrity First for America (a civil rights nonprofit that is backing the plaintiffs in a landmark federal lawsuit against the neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and hate groups responsible for the Charlottesville violence).

Ken Marcus
Founder and Chair, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law
Former Assistant, U.S. Secretary of Education for Civil Rights

Post corona- back to normal or moving forward?

After a year of intense Zooming , we are thrilled to be Off our screens and being together in person at JFN IL's Young Funders Forum event.

Let's get together and share how we survived/thrived this past year and discuss how reality has challenged us both personally and philanthropically.

11a Pacific/2p Eastern/9p Israel

Note: This is not a JFN event, but we are sharing it on behalf of the Leichtag Foundation, a JFN member.

On Thursday night, Israel experienced one of its worst tragedies ever during the joyous Lag B’omer celebration at Mt. Meron. Besides the 45 people who lost their lives, hundreds more remain hospitalized with critical injuries. One in three adult Ultra Orthodox Charedim were at Mt. Meron, leaving few families untouched by grief. The impacts of this trauma will be long-lasting.

Hear directly from the Ultra Orthodox Charedi civil society leaders and entrepreneurs who mobilized an immediate response to support their deeply affected community in the aftermath of the devastating incident at Mt. Meron in Israel last week. Speakers are Ultra Orthodox Charedi members of the Jerusalem Model, trusted changemaking partners of Leichtag Foundation. These influential leaders are addressing their community's needs 24/6, and will share up-to-the-minute information about the local situation, elements of the tragedy, and community-centric opportunities for support.

Register here>>

1-2pm ET/ 10-11am PT/8-9pm Israel

Join Philanthropy Roundtable’s President and CEO Elise Westhoff in this livestream discussion, as she discusses the concerns raised by initiatives such as the Arnold-Madoff proposal that would impose new regulations on private foundations and donor-advised funds and could greatly impact the philanthropic sector. Elise will be joined by Howard Husock, Senior Executive Fellow, Philanthropy Roundtable, and Sandra Swirski, the Executive Director for the Alliance for Charitable Reform, as they analyze these new developments.

Speakers:

Elise Westhoff
President and CEO
Philanthropy Roundtable

Howard Husock
Senior Executive Fellow
Philanthropy Roundtable

Sandra Swirski
Executive Director
The Alliance for Charitable Reform

More speakers to be confirmed

*Note: This event is also being offered on Wednesday, April 21, from 1:30-2:30 pm ET/10:30-11:30 am PT/8:30-9:30 pm IL

Welcome to the JFN family!  

At this special session, led by JFN Board Chair Marcia Riklis and JFN Vice President of Philanthropic Engagement Ari Rudolph, you'll learn how to get the most out of your membership and will have an opportunity to meet other members. We will cover a variety of topics, including membership benefits, how to use our website, and much more!

All JFN members, new and old, are welcome!

The Abraham Accords have changed the Jewish map, opening up a new center of gravity for Jewish life in what some would consider the most unlikely place: the Arabian Peninsula. What are the emergent cultural trends, budding Jewish institutions, and unique historic opportunities to be leveraged? How can philanthropy operate in this new ecosystem for global Jewish activity? What principles ought to be applied to partnerships with local entities? Join moderator Carly Maisel, Global CEO of Kirsh Philanthropies, in a discussion with, Mr. Ross Kriel, Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, and Michal Michelle Divon.

Moderator:

Carly Maisel
Global CEO
Kirsh Philanthropies

Speakers:

Ross Kriel
President, Jewish Council of the Emirates
President, "Gates to the East" congregation, the only licensed synagogue in Dubai

Rabbi Yehuda Sarna
Chief Rabbi, Jewish Council of the Emirates
Honorary Chairman, Association of Gulf Jewish Communities
University Chaplain, NYU
Executive Director, Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at NYU

Michal Michelle Divon
Senior Editor and Producer
Khaleej Times

*The session will be held in English   

Over the last few months and as a result of the pandemic, we have witnessed some significant collaborations take shape within the philanthropic community. We believe there is great importance in sharing, learning and highlighting these initiatives among our network. 

One recent example of this is the "Ray of Light" Initiative - A philanthropic partnership seeking to support the development and implementation of short- and medium-term responses to the social, economic, and mental-health fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, as Israel begins to exit the acute health-crisis phase. 

Join us for this session with the six foundations who partnered on this initiative and are jointly managing this investment as a single entity: The Russell Berrie Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, The William Davidson Foundation, the Klarman Family Foundation, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, and Yad Hanadiv.
  
We will hear about the process that led to this collaboration. What was the strategy and which criteria for support did the foundations choose and why?
What critical fields arose during the mapping process; and why, at this present point in time, does philanthropy have a key role to play in the fields that the mapping identified? 

This is the fifth installment of "Coffee with...," a series designed to provide a unique opportunity for JFN West members to engage in small-group conversation with and among JFN leaders and members. 

Winnie Sandler Grinspoon, an officer on the JFN Board, is president of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, the creator of PJ Library®, a program that shares Jewish tradition, culture, and values with more than 675,000 children and their families in multiple countries through monthly gifts of children’s books and resources. The foundation also works to enhance the Jewish community through its JCamp180™ initiative to support summer camp with an emphasis on fundraising, strategic planning and board development, and its Life & Legacy™ program, which works across North America to build endowments through legacy giving. 

The Grinspoon Foundation and Life & Legacy were recently recognized with JFN's Shapiro Prize for Philanthropic Collaboration. Under Winnie's leadership, the foundation has launched All Together Now, a matching grant program that has raised more than $16 million for Jewish summer camps in the past year.

Prior to her full-time work in philanthropy, Winnie practiced law in New York and in Boston. She lives in Weston, Mass. You can learn more about her in this recent eJewish Philanthropy article.

12-1pm ET/9-10am PT/7-8pm Israel

The National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty will resume its bi-monthly webinar series. The series addresses the challenges the coronavirus pandemic has created for Jews living in poverty and the agencies that serve them, while also highlighting the successful responses to these challenges.

Future sessions will occur every other Thursday. Save the following dates (all Thursdays, from 12-1 pm ET) for the next four sessions: May 6, May 20, June 3, and June 17. More dates will be announced soon.

In this session, we'll focus on landscape analysis.

Speakers: 

Susan Wolf Ditkoff
Senior Advisor
The Bridgespan Group

*Note: This event is also being offered on Tuesday, April 27, from 12-1 pm ET/9-10 am PT/7-8 pm IL

Welcome to the JFN family!  

At this special session, led by JFN Board Chair Marcia Riklis and JFN Vice President of Philanthropic Engagement Ari Rudolph, you'll learn how to get the most out of your JFN membership and will have an opportunity to meet other members. We will cover a variety of topics, including membership benefits, how to use our website, and much more! 

All JFN members, new and old, are welcome!

At this Grantmaking Professionals Online Convening, we will be discussing the values that motivate our philanthropic practice and how to prioritize them. We will also examine the interplay between our personal values and those of our institutions, as well as the ways in which these values can sometimes be obscured to our grantees, our partners, and even ourselves. As always we will have plenty of time for small group discussion and fellowship.

Facilitators:

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network

Time: 12-1pm ET / 9-10am PT / 7-8pm Israel

The Covid pandemic presented significant challenges to teen engagement across the US. Teen engagement organizations rose to the occasion, coming up with innovative solutions in response to these challenges. It is clear that connecting, engaging, and experiencing Jewish life online will continue to be a pivotal part of teen engagement moving forward.

Hear from three incredible organizations who will share their expertise and learnings on online teen engagement. They will also share their perspectives on how technology and virtual spaces will continue to shape the landscape in the post-Covid world.

Speakers:

Sara Allen
Executive Director
Jewish Teen Education & Engagement Funder Collaborative

Wayne K Green
Executive Director
Honeycomb (formerly known as Jewish Teen Funders Network) 

Seth Merrin 
Managing Member, Merrin Investors 
Board Member, Lost Tribe Esports 

Jeffrey M. Solomon
Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Cowen
Chair of the Board, Lost Tribe Esports

Time: 12-1pm ET/ 9-10am PT/ 7-8pm Israel

Please join us for a conversation between Jewish Theological Seminary Professor Jack Wertheimer and Deena Fuchs about "Grantees and Their Funders," Jack's report on what professionals at Jewish nonprofits experience while working with funders.

During this session you will also have an opportunity to learn about GrantED: Stronger Relationships, Greater Impact, a joint project of JFN and UpStart launched on March 15. GrantED is a direct response to the findings and recommendations in "Grantees and Their Funders." In addition to organizing programs and facilitated conversations, GrantED offers a wide range of tools, articles, case studies, and other resources on its website (www.jgranted.org).

Speakers:

Jack Wertheimer
Joseph and Martha Mendelson Professor of American Jewish History
Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Deena Fuchs (former Executive Vice President of JFN)
Executive Director
Micah Philanthropies

Time: 12-1:30 pm ET/9-10:30 am PT/7-8:30 pm ISR

In celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, all of the presentations this month will be by JFN members who live in Israel and who are focused on investments in Israel. 

We will have the opportunity to hear from Elah Alkalay, Yoel Cheshin, and Brian Friedman. After the presentation the meeting will be open for an additional 30 minutes for networking and discussing current investments.

Speakers:

Elah Alkalay
Chair of the board
I.B.I Mutual Funds & VP Business Development
New Era

Yoel Cheshin
Chair 
2B Angels Community

Brian Friedman
Founder
Israel Investment Advisors 

Moderator: 

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures

A few months ago, private funders and philanthropic foundations collaborated in order to examine what could be learned from the Covid-19 pandemic with regard to the educational gaps in Arab society and what possibilities were available to philanthropy for reducing these gaps. Through the Deloitte consulting company, a research study was conducted, and the interesting findings of the mapping will be revealed for the first time in this special meeting for donors and foundations' professionals.

The foundations that initiated the mapping will discuss the activity that preceded it during the course of the past year and why they required such a research study in order to plan their future steps in an effective and strategic manner.  We will discuss the motivations and needs that led to the mapping, the potential partners with whom we can promote collaborations, and what steps can be taken to enable a significant educational – pedagogical quantum leap in Israel’s Arab society. We will hear about the mapping process and its findings at length from Idan Yurman, a partner and head of the public sector at Deloitte. The last part of the session will be dedicated to Q&A and to a funders' conversation with those who wish to learn about and delve into this subject.

* The project, which was conducted with the assistance of Deloitte, included a comprehensive study based on a range of information sources from Israel and abroad, identifying best practices, extensive engagement of the public, including more than 30 interviews, three roundtables with the participation of education personnel, parents and learning experts, as well as a digital questionnaire with more than 750 respondents from all segments of Arab society.

* The mapping was led and supported by Mubdarat - the philanthropic office of Adina Shapiro, Ibrahim Nassasra, the Crown Foundation, the Dan David Foundation and additional foundations.

Join CANVAS, the Jewish arts and culture funding collaborative incubated at JFN, as we celebrate and honor the opening of "Dwelling in a Time of Plagues." The program will feature short talks by the following participating artists and authors: Julie Weitz, Tal Beery, Olivia Guterson, Mike Wirth, Hillel Smith, Maya Ciarrocchi, Bareket Kezwer, Rebecca Soffer, Moriel Rothman-Zecher, and Sarah Blake.

"Dwelling in a Time of Plagues" is a Jewish creative response to real-world plagues of our time. Collectively, the commissions in this constellation of art projects around North America grapple with contemporary crises: the global pandemic, institutional racism, xenophobia, ageism, forced isolation, and the climate crisis.

RSVP here.

Download a free exhibition brochure featuring original art and writings from "Dwelling in a Time of Plagues."

With a growing international footprint and new intensive trainings, resources, and consulting services, the Jewish Teen Funders Network is about to rebrand as Honeycomb, focusing on helping educators and community leaders run immersive Jewish philanthropy experiences and programs and other meaningful grantmaking activities for youth and families.

The name “Honeycomb” represents the interlocking elements of group philanthropy experiences and the richness—both in impact and in meaning—that comes from those experiences. Honey itself also carries special symbolism in Jewish traditions and stories, most notably when consumed on Rosh Hashanah. As part of the rebrand, Honeycomb has unveiled new programs, immersive trainings, curriculum development, and consultations available for educators and professionals who run youth philanthropy programs in a variety of settings—Federations, schools, synagogues, community centers, foundations, camps and elsewhere. Honeycomb will also support and offer expertise to families on how to engage their youth in their giving.

Get a sneak peek at the new website and learn more about Honeycomb's services for JFN members at this special, invitation-only briefing with Honeycomb Executive Director Wayne Green and JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny.

12-1:15pm ET/ 9-10:15am PT/19:00-20:15 Israel

While Israel has long been a central component of Jewish education worldwide, Israeli Jews haven't always been encouraged to learn about their Jewish brothers and sisters in the Diaspora.

The need for peoplehood education and initiatives that build mutual understanding between the Jewish communities in and outside of Israel, is more and more apparent.

Many have already responded to this issue in the form of philanthropic investments, initiatives, and organizations. The need to invest in this field is also felt strongly by the Israeli government, which has allocated resources and budgets to this issue and seeks to consult with diaspora partners. The pioneers in this field have planted strong roots, and the impact of their activities is already being felt. 

This roundtable conversation will bring together funders already active in peoplehood education in Israel with others who are interested in the field, to share their work and vision for the future. 

The conversation will be hosted by JFN in conjunction with Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs.

Speakers

Mark Charendoff, President
The Maimonides Fund

Miriam Peretz, Educator
Winner of the 2018 Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement

Join the Green Funders' Forum for an update on one of the worst ecological disasters in the history of Israel -- the unprecedented oil spill affecting Israel's entire coast line. 

We will receive an up-to-date picture of the scale of the disastrous oil spill and the immediate actions being taken to save the marine environment and to mitigate the health risks to Israeli residents.   Moreover, we will hear what steps the State of Israel needs to take to prevent further ecological disasters now and in the future.   The presenters will be representatives of Israel's environmental NGOs who have mobilized to deal with this catastrophe.  

Background:   An oil transport ship spilled thousands of tons of oil about 50 km off the coast of Israel last week.   Israel's entire shoreline is filled with tar, oil and waste;  thousands of marine animals are dead or in critical condition; dozens of people have been injured and the drinking water from desalination plants is in danger of contamination.   And, the consequences are accumulating. The public has mobilized en masse - thousands of volunteers are cleaning the beaches at the risk of their health;  local municipalities and governmental authorities are overburdened responding to this unprecedented situation.      

At the same time, the Israeli government is about to make fateful decisions that affect our future and further endanger the residents of Israel and the Mediterranean, including: oil and gas drilling in the Mediterranean and the transport of oil from the UAE via a massive oil pipeline from the Gulf of Eilat to Ashkelon and Ashdod.   

We urge you to join us for this emergency meeting to hear from the environmental NGOs on the ground and to understand the actions we can take personally and as a philanthropic community.

Speakers: 
Dr. Ruthy Yahel, Chief Marine Ecologist at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority
Eran Ben-Yemini, Executive Director of Life and Environment - umbrella organization for the environmental movement 
Nir Papai, Deputy CEO of Nature Protection at the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel  
Arik Rosenblum, Executive Director of EcoOcean

What is the structure of the Israeli education system? What are the sources of funding? How does the Israeli education system rank in comparison to other OECD countries?

Join us as Prof. Dan Ben-David, President of the Shoresh Institution provides answers to these and other questions as we look to address the challenges and opportunities within the system. Together we will learn about the role of philanthropy in funding education in Israel and hear from Danna Azrieli of the Azrieli Foundation on their models of interventions, lessons learned, and how they are moving the needle in closing the gaps in Israeli society through education.

For North American funders wishing to help improve the situation, this session provides a road map to Israel's complex educational system.

Speakers:

Dan Ben-David
President
Shoresh Institution

Danna Azrieli
Co-Chair
Azrieli Foundation in Israel

About the Shoresh Institution:

Shoresh is an independent socioeconomic policy research institution whose sole raison d’être is to identify the source, nature and scope of Israel’s internal root (shoresh) existential challenges. The Shoresh Institution provides evidence-based analyses – essential for strategic perspectives and transformative policies at the national level – to Israel’s leading policymakers and the general public to assist in moving the country towards a sustainable long-term trajectory that raises Israel’s living standards while reducing disparity among its citizens.

This is the fourth installment of "Coffee with...," a new series designed to provide a unique opportunity for JFN West members to engage in small group conversation with and among JFN leaders and members. 

Wayne Green is Executive Director of the Jewish Teen Funders Network (JTFN). JTFN is the leading resource for Jewish youth philanthropy working with educators, professionals, and lay leaders to deliver Jewish teen philanthropy programs at synagogues, Federations, summer camps, JCCs, and more. JTFN also promotes philanthropy and collective giving as forms of experiential education for Jewish teens.

JTFN works with parents, families and foundations to engage young members of their family to be active participants in their strategic grantmaking and philanthropy. This “Coffee with Wayne Green” will provide the opportunity to explore multi-generational giving and bringing your Jewish family values together to make an impact in the world today.

12-1pm ET/9-10am PT/7-8pm Israel

This is the fourth in a new National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty webinar series, "Key Success Factors in Addressing Jewish Poverty" in which we will highlight specific case studies and bright spots from throughout North America, with a particular focus on meeting the enormous challenges posed by the Covid pandemic and its economic effects.

Future sessions will explore such issues as measurement and evaluation, virtual program delivery, and convening for impact. Save the following date (all Thursdays, from 12-1 pm ET) for the next session: March 4. More dates will be announced soon.

In this session, we'll focus on landscape analysis.

Speakers:

Susan Wolf Ditkoff
Senior Advisor
The Bridgespan Group

More to be confirmed

1-2 pm ET/10-11 am PT/8-9 pm Israel

This is the third in a three-part series on Remote Learning and Engagement. 

Since March 2020, there have been very few educational interventions and initiatives that have not had to pivot to the virtual delivery of services and programs. While some institutions have expanded already existing capacities, others have had to radically reimagine their educational practices and business models. In some cases, this has uncovered ways of reaching never-previously-imagined audiences.

This three-part series explores funder considerations and expectations when supporting such adaptations, program provider aspirations, and research data about what has transpired.

In this session on Jewish education, we explore how day schools have been especially nimble in adapting to the provision of schooling from home and we share findings from an international study on how students have experienced this change.

Speakers:

Rachel Mohl Abrahams
Senior Advisor for Education Grants and Programs
Mayberg Foundation

Marc Wolf
Vice President, Program Strategy and Impact
Prizmah, Center for Jewish Day Schools

Alex Pomson
Principal and Managing Director
Rosov Consulting

Time: 12-1pm ET/9-10am PT/7-8pm ISR

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, federations and non-profits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Speakers:

Vanessa Bartram
Managing Director
ZORA Ventures
Presenting: Pursuing the SDGs: Lessons in the Hunt for Global Impact

Ofir Azury
Eleos
Presenting: Powering the Future of Behavioral Care

Jaynie Schultz
Elah Fund
Presenting: Growth capital impacting investing in exceptional Israeli companies

We are excited to invite you to a JFN IL’s Young Funders Forum event dedicated to our community!

We will make time to catch up in small breakout rooms, meet new members and celebrate some changes.

And important none the less: We will raise a toast for a better 2021, so please come with your favorite bottle of wine.

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals. This event takes place on the second Wednesday of every month.

At this month’s Grantmaking Professionals Online Convening we will be exploring everyone’s favorite topic: fundraising! How do professional grantmakers navigate the various ways in which our roles intersect with fundraising? And what can we learn from the discipline of fundraising about the practice of philanthropy? As always we will have plenty of time for small group discussion and fellowship.

Facilitators:

Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network

Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

12-1pm ET/ 9-10am PT/ 7-8pm Israel

As COVID-19 continues to take Israeli lives and ravage its economy, seemingly immune to Israel’s impressive vaccination campaign, Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute, and Professor Karnit Flug, Vice President, Research and William Davidson Senior Fellow for Economic Policy at IDI, will discuss the stakes and possible outcomes of Israel’s fourth election in less than two years.

Speakers:

Yohanan Plesner
President
Israel Democracy Institute

Prof. Karnit Flug
Vice President of Research and the William Davidson Senior Fellow for Economic Policy
Israel Democracy Institute

Moderator:

Dr. Jesse Ferris
Vice President of Strategy
Israel Democracy Institute

12-1pm ET/ 9-10am PT/ 7-8pm Israel

As Covid-19 continues to take Israeli lives and ravage its economy, seemingly immune to Israel’s impressive vaccination campaign, Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute, and Professor Karnit Flug, Vice President, Research and William Davidson Senior Fellow for Economic Policy at IDI, will discuss the stakes and possible outcomes of Israel’s fourth election in less than two years.

Speakers: 

Yohanan Plesner
President
Israel Democracy Institute

Prof. Karnit Flug
Vice President of Research and the William Davidson Senior Fellow for Economic Policy
Israel Democracy Institute

Moderator:

Dr. Jesse Ferris
Vice President of Strategy
Israel Democracy Institute

12-1pm ET/9-10am PT/7-8pm Israel

This is the third in a new National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty webinar series, "Key Success Factors in Addressing Jewish Poverty" in which we will highlight specific case studies and bright spots from throughout North America, with a particular focus on meeting the enormous challenges posed by the Covid pandemic and its economic effects.

Future sessions will explore such issues as measurement and evaluation, virtual program delivery, and convening for impact. Save the following dates (all Thursdays, from 12-1 pm ET) for the next two sessions: February 18, March 4. More dates will be announced soon.

In this session, we'll focus on engaging people with lived experiences.

Speakers: 

Idit Klein
President & CEO
Keshet: For LGBTQ equality in Jewish life

Lani Santo
CEO
Footsteps

Yavilah McCoy
CEO and Executive Director
DIMENSIONS

Moderator: 

Susan Wolf Ditkoff
Senior Advisor
The Bridgespan Group

1-2 pm ET/10 -11 am PT/8-9 pm Israel

This is the second in a three-part series on Remote Learning and Engagement. The next session will address Jewish educational experiences (February 17, 1-2 pm ET).

Since March 2020, there have been very few educational interventions and initiatives that have not had to pivot to the virtual delivery of services and programs. While some institutions have expanded already existing capacities, others have had to radically reimagine their educational practices and business models. In some cases, this has uncovered ways of reaching never-previously-imagined audiences.

This three-part series will explore funder considerations and expectations when supporting such adaptations, program provider aspirations, and research data about what has transpired.

In this session on Israel experiences, we focus on the pivot taken by Onward Israel this past summer, offering more than 500 remote internship experiences in Israel

Speakers:

Ilan Wagner
President and CEO
Onward Israel

Josh Donner
Executive Director
David S. and Karen A. Shapira Foundation

Nettie Aharon
Senior Project Associate
Rosov Consulting

Welcome to the JFN family!  

At this special session, led by JFN Board Chair Marcia Riklis and JFN Vice President of Philanthropic Engagement Ari Rudolph, you'll learn how to get the most out of your membership and will have an opportunity to meet other new members. We will cover a variety of topics, including membership benefits, how to use our website, and much more!

*The meeting will be held in Hebrew

As we continue the dialogue with JFN members on resilience, we invite you to join us for a conversation with Dr. Nava Levit-Binnun, director of the Sagol Center for Brain and Mind, and the founding director of the Muda Institute for Mindfulness, Science and Society at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya.

Dr. Levit-Binnun will impart her professional and personal experience, the neuroscientific research about mindfulness and its implementation in various aspects of the Israeli social sector.  We will invite members to share their own tools for cultivating resilience in times of crisis and practice together as set our intentions for 2021 and the constant changing reality.

19:00 - 21:00 Israel Time / 12:00-2:00 pm EST / 9:00AM-11:00 AM PST

Climate change is expected to have an unprecedented impact on life as we know it. Future generations in Israel and the world are likely to suffer from dire consequences if no action is taken.

Join JFN's Green Funders Forum for a live inspirational conversation with the most passionate and persistent Arab and Jewish youth leaders working to save Israel from the impact of climate change. 

The event is for the philanthropic community. If you are a funder or a foundation professional, please request a seat and our host will approve your registration. You can RSVP by emailing Sigal Yaniv Feller: [email protected]

Following the conversation, we will hold an interactive discussion and explore our role as a philanthropic community and as human beings in fighting climate change.

The Green Funders Forum operates under the auspices of Jewish Funders Network and aims to educate funders on the importance of environmental protection and on meaningful strategies to influence the environment.

Hosts:

Marla Stein
Co-Chair
Green Funders Forum
Stein Family Fund

Sigal Yaniv Feller
Deputy Director and Senior Director of Advisory Services
JFN Israel

Presenters:

Hila Lernau
Researcher on youth activism on Israeli climate change at Tel Aviv University’s Porter School of Environmental Studies. Member of Teachers for Climate. 

Luna Abu Yunis, Youth for Climate
Climate activist, peacebuilder, and science enthusiast, from the Arab city of Sakhnin in northern Israel, she is one of the leaders of the students’ climate strikes in Israel.

Odelya Robbins Morgenstern, Youth for Nature in Jerusalem Hills
An eleventh grader at Adam High School in Jerusalem. Odelya is a youth movement counselor who plays music and creates art in her free time

Michael Backlund
Director of Global Community at Climate Science. Michael is an Israeli youth activist who is focused on climate education, solutions and justice.

Yoni Neter
Year of service volunteer in the Israeli scouts, one of the leaders of the sustainability process in the scouts will share his work with youth movements leading sustainability for future generations.

Welcome to the JFN family!  

At this special session, led by JFN Board Chair Marcia Riklis andJFN Vice President of Philanthropic Engagement Ari Rudolph, you'll learn how to get the most out of your membership and will have an opportunity to meet other new members. We will cover a variety of topics, including membership benefits, how to use our website, and much more!

 12-1 pm ET/ 9-10 am PT / 7-8 pm Israel

This is the second in a new National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty webinar series, "Key Success Factors in Addressing Jewish Poverty" in which we will highlight specific case studies and bright spots from throughout North America, with a particular focus on meeting the enormous challenges posed by the Covid pandemic and its economic effects. Future sessions will explore such issues as measurement and evaluation, advocacy and awareness building, virtual program delivery, convening for impact, and engaging people with lived experiences. Save the following dates (all Thursdays, from 12-1 pm ET) for the next three sessions: February 4, February 18, March 4. More dates will be announced soon.

In this session, we'll learn about the role effective advocacy plays in addressing poverty and will reflect on how the new presidential administration changes the climate for enacting reforms to help vulnerable individuals. Watch previous sessions in this series here.

Speakers:

Elana Broitman
Senior Vice President, Public Affairs
Jewish Federations of North America

Melanie Roth Gorelick
Senior Vice President
Jewish Council for Public Affairs

Additional speaker TBA.

Moderator:

Susan Wolf Ditkoff
Senior Advisor
The Bridgespan Group

California's proposed Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) will be implemented in high school classrooms across the state and is likely to be a model used in developing curricula across the country. Initially, drafts of the curriculum excluded Jews and even included anti-Jewish content. The collective efforts of Jewish organizations and individuals in California improved matters, but there remains pressure from the BDS movement to remove Jewish identity, definitions of antisemitism, and Jewish lesson plans from the curriculum. Join for a timely conversation with leading Jewish communal professionals on the role ethnic studies curricula plays in the BDS movement’s strategies, the impact this curriculum may have on how both the Jewish-American experience and antisemitism are taught throughout the country, and how you can make a difference in your own community around similar issues.

Speakers:

Tyler Gregory
Executive Director
JCRC of the San Francisco Bay Area

Alisa Finsten
Senior Vice President of Community Engagement
Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles

Note: Prior to being approved by State Board of Education at its March meeting, there is a public comment period during which individuals may provide input into the final draft of the ESMC through January 21. If you would like to provide input prior to our scheduled program on January 20, here is a link with additional information and a place to submit comments.

1:30-2:30pm ET/10:30-11:30am PT/8:30-9:30pm Israel

This is the first in a three-part series on Remote Learning and Engagement. Upcoming sessions will address using online technology to facilitate Israel encounters (February 3, 1-2 pm ET) and Jewish educational experiences (February 17, 1-2 pm ET).

Since March 2020, there have been very few educational interventions and initiatives that have not had to pivot to the virtual delivery of services and programs. While some institutions have expanded already existing capacities, others have had to radically reimagine their educational practices and business models. In some cases, this has uncovered ways of reaching never-previously-imagined audiences.

This three-part series will explore funder considerations and expectations when supporting such adaptations, program provider aspirations, and research data about what has transpired.

In this session on professional development, researchers will share their findings so far on the remote professional development and adult education offerings of 14 programs supported by The Jim Joseph Foundation. 

Speakers:

Stacie Cherner
Director of Learning & Evaluation
Jim Joseph Foundation

Mark Horowitz
Vice President
Program and Talent, JCCA

Meredith Woocher
Senior Project Leader
Rosov Consulting

12-1pm ET/9-10am PT/ 7-8pm Israel

Due to the current climate of civil unrest and the continued impact of Covid-19, leading Jewish organizations and Jewish communities throughout the United States are developing new and innovative approaches to community security.

In this session, funders will learn about work being done on the national level to secure Jewish institutions and virtual communities. This includes an example of successful lobbying that led to a dramatic increase in government funding and a case study from New York, where philanthropists have invested in a serious upgrade of the community security infrastructure. Finally, we will discuss how to harness the energy of volunteers interested in protecting their communities. 

Speakers:

Carly Maisel
Global CEO
Kirsh Philanthropies

Mitchell D. Silber
Executive Director
Community Security Initiative

Richard Priem
Deputy National Director 
CSS

Steven Hughes
Chief Security Officer
Elliott Management Corporation

Brad Orsini
Senior National Security Advisor
Secure Community Network
Jewish Federations of North America

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals. This event takes place on the second Wednesday of every month.

We will dig deeper into the conversation we began in December about the relationships between grantmaking professionals and grantseekers. This power dynamic is not new; in fact, the rabbis considered a similar case in the Talmud. Together, with special guest Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, President and CEO of The Hadar Institute, we will explore this Talmudic case and its implications for our own philanthropic relationships.

We look forward to coming together for shared learning and community building.

Speakers:

Rabbi Elie Kaunfer
President and CEO
Hadar Institute

More speakers TBA

Facilitators: 

Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network

Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Time:12-1pm ET/9-10am PT/ 7-8pm Israel

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, federations and non-profits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Moderator:
Vanessa Bartram, Managing Director, ZORA Ventures

Speakers for January 12:

Yaron Neudorfer
CEO
Social Finance Israel

Rafi Musher
CEO
Stax, Inc

Doug Stewart
Executive Director
Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation

 12-1 pm ET/ 9-10 am PT / 7-8 pm Israel

This is the first in a new National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty webinar series, "Key Success Factors in Addressing Jewish Poverty" in which we will highlight specific case studies and bright spots from throughout North America, with a particular focus on meeting the enormous challenges posed by the Covid pandemic and its economic effects. Future sessions will explore such issues as measurement and evaluation, advocacy and awareness building, virtual program delivery, convening for impact, and engaging people with lived experiences. Save the following dates (all Thursdays, from 12-1 pm ET) for the next four sessions: January 21, February 4, February 18, March 4. More dates will be announced soon.

In this session, we'll learn about the unique challenges and opportunities of providing human services in small, less urban Jewish communities.

Speakers:

Rabbi Rachel Isaacs
Director of the Center for Small Town Jewish Life at Colby College
Spiritual leader of Beth Israel Congregation in Waterville, ME

Rabbi Erica Asch
Rabbi of Temple Beth El in Augusta, ME

Leslie Dannin Rosenthal
Chair of the National Advisory Committee for Jewish Federation of North America’s Network of Independent Communities

Moderator:

Susan Wolf Ditkoff
Senior Advisor
The Bridgespan Group

JFN is collaborating with the Jerusalem Youth Chorus on a special project for our 2021 JFN virtual conference in March. To kick off our work together, we’re calling on all members to join us for a special workshop with the Israeli and Palestinian singers of this extraordinary ensemble. Members participating in this workshop will meet these incredible young people, share their own songs, memories, and stories, and through an engaging dialogue, we'll generate the necessary inspiration the chorus will use to create a song to premiere at the March program. Join us for an inspirational conversation you won’t soon forget. (Singing not required!)

This summer, the chorus created a video, "Home - From Home," featuring friends and supporters from all over the world, who came together to share music and feelings in a joyous celebration on that theme. We hope to create something equally meaningful and resonant of the depth and strength of our network, that speaks to the themes of our conference and reflects on this most unusual year.

The chorus has been recognized for its musical innovation and integrity of purpose and process from the New York Times to the "Late Show With Stephen Colbert," and this workshop will bring together JFN heads, voices, and hearts to work together to set our dreams to music. 

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, federations and non-profits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Moderator:
Vanessa Bartram, Managing Director, ZORA Ventures

Speakers for December 15:

Master Class: James Cummings, Nathan Cummings Foundation: "Zoom to Impact"

Investment Roundup: Lital Slavin. "Beyond Creative: Movies for a Change"

Investment Roundup: Michael Stein and Juliet Stein, Max and Bella Stein Charitable Trust: "Investing in Vegan Alternative Proteins"

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals. This event takes place on the second Wednesday of every month.

In this webinar, we will explore the various dynamics that shape our relationships, including personal values and worldview, religious identity, politics, and work styles, to unpack what makes for a healthy rapport. We will break into smaller groups to discuss. 

We look forward to coming together for shared learning and community building.

Speakers:

Sara J. Fertman
Director
The Jeffrey H. and Shari L. Aronson Family Foundation

Wendy Platt Newberger
Director of Jewish and Israel Giving
Crown Family Philanthropies

Third speaker TBA

Facilitators: 

Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network

Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

The Jewish Funders Network is pleased to announce our inaugural JFN West* virtual regional convening. Members in our region will join together to share a dynamic experience with top-level content, critical knowledge sharing, and networking opportunities.

This event will embrace the unique flavor of the Jewish community in the West. We will explore both the challenges and opportunities we face in the wake of Covid-19: wildfires; expanding needs; and constricting resources. With leading experts in the field, we will discuss issues specific to Jewish philanthropy in the West, explore best philanthropic practices during a crisis, and consider a vision for our future, while meeting other JFN West members. Together, we will learn, inspire, and act.

Presenters include:

• Dr. Una Osili, Associate Dean for Research and International Programs at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
• Rachel Levin, President of Fundamental Inc, Executive Director of Righteous Persons Foundation, and co-founder of Reboot
• Alexandra Shabtai, Advisory Board Member for Glazer Philanthropies, Board Member, At The Well
• Ilana Kaufman, Executive Director for the Jews of Color Field-Building Initiative
• Rabbi Mary Zamore, rabbinic leader and author of "The Sacred Exchange: Creating A Jewish Money Ethic"

Learn more here.

8:00 PM IL / 10am Pacific

Don’t miss this special conversation between entrepreneur and philanthropist Daniel Lubetzky and Arab-Israeli newscaster Lucy Aharish about the critical role independent media plays in sustaining a healthy democracy. At a time when both journalists and democratic institutions are under attack – in Israel and around the world – creating a space for independent voices to be heard has never been more critical. These leading voices will examine the role of philanthropy in promoting freedom of speech, democratic discourse and transparent media in a polarized era, offer insight into new approaches to enhance civic engagement, and show how vibrant media serves to bring critical issues to the forefront of the Israeli national conversation and support a healthy and thriving democracy in Israel. With introductory remarks from Marcia Riklis, JFN Board Chair.

Speakers

Daniel Lubetzky
Founder and CEO of KIND Snacks
Founder, OneVoice Movement & PeaceWorks Foundation

Lucy Aharish
Journalist and host of DemocraTV

Yuval Lion, moderator
JFN member and former journalist

JFN is collaborating with the Jerusalem Youth Chorus on a special project for our 2021 JFN virtual conference in March. To kick off our work together, we’re calling on all members to join us for a special workshop with the Israeli and Palestinian singers of this extraordinary ensemble.

This summer, the chorus created a video, "Home - From Home," featuring friends and supporters from all over the world, who came together to share music and feelings in a joyous celebration on that theme. Members participating in this workshop will meet these incredible young people, share their own songs, memories, and stories, and through an engaging dialogue we'll generate the necessary inspiration the chorus will use to create a song to premiere at for the March program.

The chorus has been recognized for its musical innovation and integrity of purpose and process from the New York Times to the Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and this workshop will bring together JFN heads, voices, and hearts to work together to set our dreams to music. Join us for an inspirational conversation you won’t soon forget. (Singing not required!)

19:00- 20:30 Israel Time / 9:00AM - 11:30AM PT

The meeting will be held in English, via Zoom.

Please join Jude Yovel-Recanati and Dr. Ariel Kor, JFN Board Members who will open the floor to discussion with funders about their personal well-being. We will then discuss funders' role in ensuring the resilience and sustainability of organizations and professionals during Covid. 

Professor Yossi Harel-Fisch, a consultant to the World Health Organization, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and international governments, will provide a comparative perspective on the impact of the pandemic across global societies and demographics, and the behavioral implications on resilience and mental health.

In small groups participants will discuss the short and long-term effects, resources available for those in distress, what dilemmas funders face, and any silver linings from the pandemic.

Funders will share how Covid has influenced their giving strategy, what dilemmas they face, and any silver linings from the pandemic.

Speakers:

Professor Yossi Harel-Fisch
Director of International Research Program on Adolescent Well-Being and Health, Bar Ilan University

19:00 - 20:00 Israel Time

*Please note that this webinar will be in English. 

This is the first in a series of skill-building workshops to help funders navigate their philanthropic work in an effective and optimal manner, despite the complexity around us.

Our main guest speaker will be Prof. Emeritus Donald Haider from Kellogg University, who has researched the nonprofit sector in the United States over several decades and conducted a comprehensive study about nonprofit mergers over the past decade. Prof. Haider will share his insights on the components for success and failure in nonprofit mergers, and on various models for philanthropic involvement in the field.

During the second part of the session, we will hear selected test cases by JFN members, from Israel and from the U.S who participated in merger processes and will present central insights and tips for donors, such as: What is important to understand before taking action? Where is caution needed? What complexities should you expect? How can donors positively affect merger and partnership processes?

We will dedicate the last part of the meeting to an open discussion of this subject.

With the growing concerns to Israel’s future due to the consequences of climate change and local environmental threats, JFN's Green Funders Forum is launching a unique series of workshops and individual consultations for funders interested in expanding their knowledge of and impact on Israel’s environment.

In the third and final session (Nov. 18) in the series we will host Gila Gamilel, Israel’s minister of environmental protection, and former MK Dov Khanin. They will discuss the implications of the American elections on the global and local environmental challenges and the role civil society and philanthropy can play.

Please note that sessions will be held in English.

Affordable housing continues to be a complex component in the continuum of poverty. From lack of affordable housing, limited government support, to the challenges those living in poverty have keeping up with rent or mortgage payments, the housing agenda often seems too overwhelming to tackle.

In this webinar, the Housing Workgroup of the National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty will give an update on the dialogue already underway about affordable housing. We will also learn about an innovative model being administered by Jewish Family Services of Rochester that is helping to support and stabilize an affordable housing community there. Finally we will hear from JFN members, Jane and Eddie Lorin, who develop and operate healthy affordable housing communities and who launched a private foundation that collaborates with nonprofits to ensure quality of life for residents living in affordable housing communities.  

Presenters:       

Lisa Budlow
CEO, CHAI (Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc.) Baltimore
Chair, Housing Workgroup, National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty

Jennie Schaff, PhD
CEO
Jewish Family Services of Rochester 

Eddie Lorin
Co-Founder
Alliant Strategic Funds

Jane Lorin
Board Member
HAPI Foundation (Health Apartment Property Initiative)

Moderator: 

Susan Wolf Ditkoff
Senior Advisor
The Bridgespan Group

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, federations and non-profits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Moderator:
Vanessa Bartram, Managing Director, ZORA Ventures

Speakers for November 16:

Eddie Lorin
CEO, Co-Founder, Alliant Strategic Funds
Exploring the Opportunities of Affordable Housing.

Danny Oren
ESG ETFs: Market Returns with Less Evil.

Sari Miller
CEO, Sarjay, Inc.
Trusty.care: A Smarter Way to Manage Medicare and the Aging Journey.

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals. This event takes place the second Wednesday of every month.

In this webinar, we will explore the various dynamics that shape various relationships, including personal values and worldview, religious identity, politics, and work styles, to unpack what makes for a healthy rapport. We will break into smaller groups to discuss. 

We look forward to coming together for shared learning and community building.

Facilitators: 

Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network

Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Note: This meeting will be held in Hebrew and will be from 3 am - 4:15 am EST.

What are the five major challenges that are important for us to recognize and understand as funders, and as members of the philanthropic community, about the employment crisis in Israel?

Which sectors does the crisis currently affect? What are the possible solutions and what could be the role of philanthropy and civil society in dealing with the current challenges?

Prof. Karnit Flug, Vice President of Research and the William Davidson Senior Fellow for Economic Policy at the Israel Democracy Institute, a Professor at the Hebrew University and the former Governor of the Bank of Israel, and Tali Nir, Executive Director, 121 – Engine for Social Change, will present the main problems concerning employment in Israel.

The second part of the meeting will be a conversation among JFN members. Noa Yovel Maoz and Dr. Naama Meiran will share insights from Gandyr Foundation's philanthropic work during the COVID crisis pertaining to young adults and employment.

Cocktails at the Museum

An Outside-In Exhibition + Interactive Artist Conversation Featuring Dwelling in a Time of Plagues Works 

Clamor in the Desert by Mirta Kupferminc

Shelter in Place by Adam W. McKinney

The Ushpizin of the Silver Screen by Tiffany Woolf 

With Reflection and Commentary from CANVAS Founder Lou Cove + Funding Partners

The Jim Joseph Foundation • The Peleh Fund • The Righteous Persons Foundation • The Klarman Family Foundation • The Charles & Lynn Schusterman Foundation 

More information about Dwelling in a Time of Plagues at www.PlagueDwelling.com

Session 2 - Nov. 4: 19:00-21:00 Israel Time: Funding Strategies for Environmental Impact in Israel

Three workshops: Oct. 21 | Nov. 4 | Nov. 18

Each workshop is at 19:00 - 21:00 IST (9 am PST, 12 noon EST)

Please note: The sessions will be in English and are timed so that participants both in Israel and abroad can attend.

With the growing concerns to Israel’s future due to the consequences of climate change and local environmental threats -- exacerbated by a changing world due to Covid-19 -- the Green Funders’ Forum is launching a unique series of workshops and individual consultations for funders interested in expanding their knowledge of and impact on Israel’s environment.

We will address key questions to support impactful giving:

• What are the main environmental challenges to Israel’s future?
• How can philanthropy best influence these increasing challenges?
• Who are the key players?
• What is the social impact of funding in the environmental field in Israel? 
• What are the opportunities to influence?
• What are the lessons and best practices learned from previous and present experiences?

Session 3 - Nov. 18: 19:00-21:00 Israel Time: Taking the Next Steps in Environmental Giving

We invite you to join us in this opportunity to take the next step as individuals and as a Forum to make Israel sustainable for us and for future generations!

The series is coordinated by JFN’s Green Funders’ Forum in collaboration with Life & Environment - The Umbrella Organization for the Israeli Environmental Movement.

RSVP here for all three sessions. Zoom links will be provided for each session upon RSVP.

JFN’s Young Funders Forum invites you to a nightly talk, on the eve of the US presidential election

A tolerant, inclusive and equal society increases the ability of citizens to comply with guidelines in times of crisis. At the same time, our political system rewards exclusion and polarization that lead us away from the society we strive to build Why is this happening? And how can the division curve be flattened? Leading us in this conversation is Prof. Eran Halperin, founder and head of the aChord Center - Social Psychology for Social Change who will analyse the psychological needs and political interests that push us in opposite directions and look at the role of philanthropy in creating significant social change. (8:45-10:00pm)

We will start the conversation with an opportunity to check-in and catch up with everyone (8:15-8:45pm).

In the wake of California’s fires, and America’s intensified hurricane season, natural disaster relief and preparedness has come to the foreground of communal conversations. With relief efforts complicated by COVID, how can funders now work with their municipal and Jewish-communal institutions to effectively provide for present needs as well as to build necessary infrastructure and better prepare communities to withstand disasters down the road? Our panel brings together a U.S. Congressman and leading voices on environmental and disaster funding both inside and outside the JFN community to offer insight into how funders can make the biggest difference in this critical field of work. 

SPEAKERS

Rep. Jimmy Panetta
United States Representative, CA-20

Patricia McIlreavy
CEO, Center for Disaster Philanthropy  

Roxanne Cohen
Managing Director, Community Impact, Jewish Community Federation and Endowment, San Francisco Bay Area

Peter Teague
PT Philanthropic, moderator

The Jewish Community Response and Impact Fund (JCRIF), a $91 million partnership of eight Jewish foundations and the Jewish Federations of North America, was created to address the many challenges facing Jewish institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. JCRIF has been distributing grants and no-interest loans to a wide range of Jewish institutions since April. These grants and loans were used to address emergency needs and help organizations to adapt and innovate in the face of unprecedented challenges.

JCRIF's funders and grantees will share key takeaways about the crises and opportunities facing Jewish institutions. Abi Dauber Sterne, Director of Makom: The Jewish Agency for Israel Education Lab, will discuss the new stimulus program created by JCRIF's grant funders enabling more American youth to spend this academic year on gap year programs in Israel.  

Speakers:

Barry Finestone
President and CEO
Jim Joseph Foundation

Felicia Herman
Director, JCRIF Aligned Grant Program
Executive Director, Natan

Abi Dauber Sterne
Director
Makom: The Jewish Agency for Israel Education Lab

The National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty is pleased to host Sarah Abramson, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Impact of Combined Jewish Philanthropies, will underscore the importance of community-based initiatives and share the journey of CJP’s anti-poverty initiative. Sam Cobbs, CEO of Tipping Point, will share his personal story and how place/community has been a driving theme of his work at Tipping Point. He will also discuss Tipping Point’s approach to COVID-19, alleviating poverty in the Bay Area, and how this work is rooted in place, differentiating it from other philanthropies.

Attendees will leave with relevant takeaways on how to help their local Jewish communities develop initiatives to build back better from COVID-19 and combat poverty now and in the future.

This session is part of the Jewish Federation of North America's GA 2020 Virtual, which is open to all, free of charge. Visit www.generalassembly.org to register for this session and any other sessions or plenaries that interest you.

Register Here>>

Join JFN, the National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty, and Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies, for a special program to learn about a groundbreaking new game that educates people about the realities of poverty in the United States.

"Broke: The Game" simulates the stress and difficulty of attempting to overcome poverty. With a simple setup, this game forces players to challenge their preconceived ideas about poverty and those experiencing it. Hear from the creator of the game about why she was inspired to create this game. Colleagues and funders will then share their impressions of the game after playing. 

Speakers:

Reuben D. Rotman
President & CEO
Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies

Dana Gold
Game creator
Chief Operating Officer
JFCS Pittsburgh

This is the third installment of "Coffee with...," a new series designed to provide a unique opportunity for JFN West members to engage in small group conversation with and among JFN leaders and members. 

In August, several members joined us for an important conversation with Andrés Spokoiny about the big-picture future for the Jewish community as we seek to define our direction for the rest of the 21st century and beyond. Last month, we were fortunate to hear from Deena Fuchs, JFN’s Executive Vice President, and had a dynamic conversation on the role of Jewish philanthropists during this time of crisis. We look forward to a meaningful discussion with Marcia.

For many years, Marcia served on the Executive Committee of UJA-Federation of New York, holding a number of positions, including Chair of The Annual Campaign and Founding Chair of Shituf, the grant-making body, which coordinates UJA work in Israel. She is a founding member of Jewish Democratic Council of America and in addition to chairing the Jewish Funder’s Network Board of Directors, she sits on the board of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Peaceworks Foundation.

Manny Menchel from the William Davidson Foundation will moderate a panel on the evolution of Jewish life, leadership, and spiritual centers. How did we get here, what is "here", and where are we going?

Speakers:

Amy Sales
Associate Director and Senior Research Scientist
Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University

Moderator:

Manny Menchel
Program Officer, Jewish Education
William Davidson Foundation

RSVP AT THIS LINK

Three workshops: Oct. 21 | Nov. 4 | Nov. 18

Each workshop is at 19:00 - 21:00 IST (9 am PST, 12 noon EST)

Please note: The sessions will be in English and are timed so that participants both in Israel and abroad can attend.

With the growing concerns to Israel’s future due to the consequences of climate change and local environmental threats -- exacerbated by a changing world due to Covid-19 -- the Green Funders’ Forum is launching a unique series of workshops and individual consultations for funders interested in expanding their knowledge of and impact on Israel’s environment.

We will address key questions to support impactful giving:

• What are the main environmental challenges to Israel’s future?
• How can philanthropy best influence these increasing challenges?
• Who are the key players?
• What is the social impact of funding in the environmental field in Israel? 
• What are the opportunities to influence?
• What are the lessons and best practices learned from previous and present experiences?

Session 1- Oct. 21: 19:00-21:00 Israel Time: Getting to Know the Issues and Strategies of the Environmental Movement in Israel

Session 2 - Nov. 4: 19:00-21:00 Israel Time: Funding Strategies for Environmental Impact in Israel

Session 3 - Nov. 18: 19:00-21:00 Israel Time: Taking the Next Steps in Environmental Giving

We invite you to join us in this opportunity to take the next step as individuals and as a Forum to make Israel sustainable for us and for future generations!

The series is coordinated by JFN’s Green Funders’ Forum in collaboration with Life & Environment - The Umbrella Organization for the Israeli Environmental Movement.

PLEASE NOTE THAT PARTICIPATION IN ALL THREE SESSIONS IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND THE SERIES.

Exceptions can be made in special cases by emailing Sigal: [email protected]

RSVP here for all three sessions. Zoom links will be provided for each session upon RSVP.

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, federations and non-profits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.

Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.

Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.

Moderator for Roundtable Series

Vanessa Bartram, Managing Director, ZORA Ventures

Speakers for October 20: 

Yuval Lion
Presenting "Travels with a Pragmatic Values Investor"

Dalia Black
Presenting "Advancing Hi-Tech in the Bedouin Community"

3^rd presenter to be announced

This is the fifth in a five-part series. While you are welcome to join us for any of the roundtables, we encourage you to join us for the full series to maximize our shared learning and collaborations.

Covid-19 has commanded the attention of the Jewish community and shifted its priorities. However, the communal issues that were pressing before the pandemic have not gone away. When the immediate crisis recedes, concerns about the growing rift between Israel and Diaspora Jewish communities will once again come into focus, but with new angles to explore.

Philanthropist Charles Bronfman and Jeff Solomon have co-founded a new start-up, Enter: the Jewish Peoplehood Alliance, devoted to ensuring that the Jewish people remain a dynamic, diverse, global community that is united, secure, and inclusive. This program brings together leaders from this exciting initiative to examine some of the complicated issues around peoplehood that will resurface in an altered environment. Our conversation will explore how funders can effectively engage in the field of Israel-Diaspora affairs through agility and adaptation in this most unusual environment.

Speakers:

Dan Shapiro 
former U.S. Ambassador to Israel
Enter: the Jewish Peoplehood Alliance

Alon Friedman
Founding CEO
Enter: the Jewish Peoplehood Alliance

Anita Friedman
President
Koret Foundation

Jeffrey R. Solomon
Senior Advisor
Chasbro

Strategic philanthropy depends upon good data and research—however it’s not only about the data you have, but what you do with it. In order to make good decisions and work effectively with nonprofit partners to drive change, funders must have a solid understanding of what research and data is available and how to translate that information into action.

This session explores how funders, nonprofits, and researchers can work more effectively together to guide big bets or make targeted interventions. The panel of researchers, funders, and program leaders on the call will help you incorporate applied research into your philanthropic toolbox. 

Speakers:

Stacie Cherner
Director of Learning and Evaluation
Jim Joseph Foundation

Arielle Levites, PhD
Managing Director
Consortium for Applied Studies in Jewish Education
George Washington University

Rabbi Yehuda Sarna
Executive Director
Bronfman Center at NYU
New York University

Moderator:

Rella Kaplowitz
Senior Program Officer
Evaluation and Learning
Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals. This event takes place the second Wednesday of every month.

We look forward to coming together for shared learning and community building. 

Speakers

Rachel Mohl Abrahams
Senior Advisor
Education Grants and Programs
Mayberg Foundation

Aaron Dorfman
President
Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah

Connie Kanter
CEO
Samis Foundation

Facilitators: 

Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network

Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network

Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC

Join President and CEO of the Jewish Funders Network Andrés Spokoiny, Editor in Chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Philissa Cramer and Moment Deputy Editor Sarah Breger as they discuss the role Jewish journalism plays inside and outside the Jewish community, how COVID-19 has changed the media landscape and the future of Jewish media.

This is a Moment Magazine event.

We are living in a moment of both chaos and revelation. As the pandemic has shifted the ground beneath our feet we have learned much about ourselves and our communities. How has living through this experience offered a glimpse into who we are as individuals and as a community? What questions about Jewish life has it brought to the fore that will help us shape the future of our communities? 

In this session, we will utilize Jewish texts to consider questions and paradigms that can guide us in shaping Jewish life moving forward.

Speakers

Elana Stein Hain
Scholar in Residence and Director of Faculty
Shalom Hartman Institute of North America

Learn about how Covid-19 has affected leaders and professionals in our community and what it means for the future of the Jewish nonprofit sector. Speakers will share research about employee experience and organizational policy changes during the pandemic and how this has affected the field. Funders will come away knowing how they might support and maximize the potential of the Jewish communal work force at this time.

Speakers:

Amy Born
Chief Strategy Officer
Leading Edge

Randall Kaplan
CEO
Capsule Group LLC 

Corinne Irwin 
Director of Human Resources
American Jewish World Service

We are pleased to welcome back Dan Ariely, the Israeli-American bestselling author of "Predictably Irrational." 

Speaker:

Dan Ariely

Watch Dan's last lecture for JFN here.

We are pleased to welcome back Dan Ariely, the Israeli-American bestselling author of "Predictably Irrational." 

Speaker:

Dan Ariely

Watch Dan's last lecture for JFN here.