Philanthropy is a driver of civil society. It fuels the programs and movements that shape our culture across communities. In this role, foundations are uniquely situated with the experience and expertise to lead the way forward on issues that affect people throughout our nation and across the globe. As leaders in philanthropy, it is our civic duty to extend this leadership to provide expert input in the policymaking process.

The Council on Foundations will host its inaugural Public Policy Summit, April 11 – 13, 2018, in Philadelphia—the birthplace of the United States of America—on this very topic. They will welcome current and former elected officials, foundation leaders, and experts in this space, to lead discussions about the role philanthropy plays in affecting the civic and political processes that impact our society, with a special focus on:

• Tax Policy
• Civic Engagement and the 2018 Elections
• Advocacy and Lobbying
• Federal Budget and Appropriations
  
  

More information >>

Johnson Center for Philanthropy

Philanthropic families care about legacy as well as impact — but at times, honoring both can be a challenge. As social issues, needs, and pathways to impact evolve, it can be difficult to find creative ways to honor cherished family legacies while remaining responsive to beneficiaries and adaptive to new ideas and new priorities.

Full information and register >>

The Annual Gathering of Grantmakers Committed to LGBTQ Issues

Registration, schedule, and all information >>

The Jewish Funders Network International Conference is the premiere annual event in Jewish philanthropy. Independent funders, foundation trustees, and foundation professionals from all over the world gather for networking, learning, and fun.

The 2018 conference takes place in Israel, March 11 – 15.

Conference website >>

Click here to receive conference updates as more information becomes available >>

Conference Schedule >>

Conference Hotel and Travel >>

For questions, please contact conference@jfunders.org.

Conference Sponsorship

Interested in being a leader of the JFN community at the conference and hosting a dinner, preconference program, or other event? Contact david@jfunders.org for information and options.

Email for information >>

An intimate roundtable discussion with General Yoav "Poly" Mordechai, the head of COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories), and Ghassan Aboud, a successful Syrian businessman and a true humanitarian now living in Dubai. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Georgette Bennett, co-chair of Jewish Funders Network and founder of the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees.

We'll discuss the geopolitical situation and Operation Good Neighbor, Israel's massive humanitarian aid program to help Syrians along the border with Israel.

(See this blog post about JFN's role.)

About Ghassan Aboud:

Mr. Aboud is one of Syria’s most successful businessmen, a philanthropist and the founder of Ghassan Aboud Group, which oversees numerous businesses, including Orient News TV that broadcasts throughout Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Mr. Abboud has been a target of both the Assad regime and ISIS. He has been a major source of humanitarian relief in Syria, through Orient for Charity and Human Relief, which serves millions  of Syrians displaced or injured by the conflict, including though eight large hospitals; various clinics; a camp for displaced persons on the Turkish border; and a range of other operations that provide direct aid and educational and social services.

About Major General Yoav (“Poly”) Mordechai:

Poly Mordechai is a Major General in the Israel Defense Forces and, since 2014, has served as the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (“COGAT”). COGAT’s mission is to promote and implement Israeli policy and facilitate humanitarian, economic, education and infrastructure projects in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well as to coordinate Israel’s “Operation Good Neighbor,” program. Through this program vast amounts of humanitarian and medical relief have been sent over the Golan Heights into Syria; injured and sick children and adults have been brought into Israel for medical treatment; and support has been provided for refurbishing a hospital, establishing medical clinics, a bakery, and an array of other facilities within Syria. Previously, General Mordechai served in the Intelligence Directorate, was Chief of Civilian Administration in the West, and was the IDF Spokesperson.

To inquire about RSVPing, please email Samantha Anderson.

Full information >>

Website >>

RSVP >>

This webinar will empower first-time conference attendees to get as much out of the conference as you can. We'll discuss everything you need to know to have an enjoyable and productive experience—from the flow of a typical conference day to strategies for networking and side meetings to information about site tours and hosted dinners. Plus we'll answer whatever other questions you may have.

Webinar login and dial-in information will be provided upon RSVP.

Register >>

Hear firsthand from a foundation at the frontier of the impact investing movement about what it means for a Jewish foundation to align 100% of its assets with its mission, in this learning session with Charlene Seidle, Executive Vice President at the Leichtag Foundation, led by Robyn Polansky Morrison, LAVAN Board Member and impact investing advisor.

Join this online discussion if:

• You're wondering what impact investing means for the future of Jewish philanthropy
• You're interested in learning about the Leichtag Foundation's journey in the impact investing space
• You want to join a growing community of impact investors guided by Jewish learning to pursue social and environmental change
  
  

Request to register >>

How can funders ensure the programming they fund will be more exciting for people in the Millennial generation and beyond? Join Vibe Israel founder and JFN member Joanna Landau for a discussion of Vibe Israel’s innovative, data-driven approach to engaging young people as they create a new conversation about Israel’s creative energy. This work has given Landau unique insights into how to communicate with Millennials and remain relevant. The conversation will be useful for those who fund not only Israel engagement but other types of programming as well.

Co-presented by Jewish Funders Network and the Diane and Guilford Glazer Philanthropies

Today's teens and young adults—Millennials and the following generation—have very different relationships to Israel than previous generations did... If they even have the relationship at all.

Join fellow funders for a salon exploring young Jews' changing relationships to Israel, and implications for how we fund Israel education, Israel engagement, and Israel advocacy. What's changing, what's the same, and what do we—as funders—do about it? Are we willing to make changes in how we approach the upcoming generations for the sake of being effective—even if that means the programs we fund may not always sync up with our personal views about Israel?

Dr. David Bryfman, Chief Innovation Officer at The Jewish Education Project, will facilitate the discussion.

Drinks and light kosher appetizers will be served.

(Rescheduled from a previous date due to weather.)

Update: watch video of Sarah Hurwitz's remarks >>

SPONSORED BY THE AVIV FOUNDATION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH JEWISH FUNDERS NETWORK AND LIPPMAN KANFER FOUNDATION FOR LIVING TORAH

A mini-conference focused on creating deep exploration of Jewish texts, values and traditions. Building on the strong success of strategies that currently attract people to Judaism, we will discuss how mooring those experiences in Jewish content and creating new content-based experiences can deepen participants connection with Judaism, and otherwise, attract those currently not engaged.

The structure of the afternoon will allow us to learn from experts and also invite funders to bring our own observations and experiences into the conversation. Our goal, as always, is to create a meaningful, valuable, and interactive forum for funders.

Schedule & Speakers:

12:30 – 1:00: Light lunch

1:10 – 1:25: Opening Keynote — Sarah Hurwitz

Sarah Hurwitz was a White House speechwriter from 2009 to 2017, starting out as a senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama and then serving as chief speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama. Sarah worked with Mrs. Obama to craft widely-acclaimed addresses – including her 2016 Democratic National Convention speech and her political speeches during the 2016 campaign cycle.

While at the White House, Sarah Hurwitz connected with Judaism, exploring the wisdom of Jewish law, the power of Jewish spirituality, and the lessons of Jewish history. She is currently writing a book on Judaism and her Jewish journey.

1:25 – 2:15: Round 1 — Alisa Doctoroff, Past President, UJA-Federation of NY

Fundamental Questions: WHY are we doing this work? Why does rich Jewish content matter? What do we hope it does for people intellectually, behaviorally, emotionally, and practically?

2:15 – 3:05: Round 2 — Mark Charendoff, President, Maimonides Fund

Fundamental Questions: WHAT is available for people who want to engage in rich Jewish content? What works and what doesn’t, and what is missing? 

3:05 – 3:30: Break (with abundant kosher snacks)

3:30 – 4:20: Round 3 — Kimberly Miller Rubenfeld, Vice President, Circle of Service Foundation

Fundamental Questions: WHO can these experiences appeal to? How does engaging in this content with a community of others enhance the experience? 

4:20 – 5:10: Round 4 — Yossi Prager, Executive Director for North America, The AVI CHAI Foundation

Fundamental Questions: HOW can we be most strategic as funders? What are the obstacles and challenges we must address? How do we spur new ideas and leverage existing ones?

5:10 – 5:30: Closing — Adam Simon, Executive Director, Aviv Foundation

Fundamental Questions: WHERE are we headed and how would we know when we got there? 

Space is limited! RSVP now.

Jewish Funders Network will convene funders for a breakfast preceding the first annual Israel Exchange conference. Network with other funders interested in Israel engagement and  hear from Dan Schwabel of Millennial Branding about how the programs we fund can better engage today's young adults. JFN President & CEO Andrés Spokoiny will moderate a group discussion.

(Please note: the RSVP below is only for the breakfast, but JFN attendees are welcome to stay for The Israel Exchange conference. For more information, contact Julia Ben Shalom, Director of US Operations and Development at Vibe Israel: juliabs@vibeisrael.com.)

Margot Rogers, Advisor, Leap Ambassadors Community
Jennifer Hoos Rothberg, Executive Director, Einhorn Family Charitable Trust 
Phil Buchanan, President, Center for Effective Philanthropy 

Join fellow funders to learn how the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust (EFCT) builds strong relationships with grantees and supports organizational—not only program—performance. Discover how these strategies can shift the funder-grantee power imbalance.

Following an introduction by Margot Rogers of the Leap Ambassadors Community, Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) President Phil Buchanan and EFCT Executive Director Jennifer Hoos Rothberg will discuss EFCT’s grantmaking approach, including:

• Building stronger relationships—highlighting findings from CEP’s Relationships Matter: Program Officers, Grantees, and the Keys to Success report—and how EFCT’s approach illustrates the findings in practice. In a 2015 Grantee Perception Report® from CEP, EFCT’s grantees rated them more positively than grantees at the typical funder on a number of key measures. 
  
  
• Building stronger organizations—highlighting how EFCT leverages the Leap Ambassadors Community’s Performance Imperative by inviting grantees to complete an organizational self-assessment built on seven disciplines of high performance.
  
  

Register >>

Register >>

Share your story >>

Philanthropy has long been concerned with medical care and research—that is, fixing health problems. But in recent years, more and more philanthropists have also turned their attention to the positive substance of health and wellness—asking not just how to fix problems, but also how to actively promote good health and wellness, and prevent illness before it begins. Jewish philanthropy is a part of this trend, and while health and wellness are universal aspects of human flourishing, they are also Jewish values.

Join other Jewish funders for a series of programs dedicated to funding health, wellness, and preventing disease. In this first webinar, speakers will define terms associated with this field and give an overview of health and wellness as it relates to philanthropy. Funders will learn about philanthropic responsibilities in this space and how this movement is impacting the world of Jewish philanthropy.

Speakers:

• Dr. Norbert Goldfield (JFN member), Executive Director of Healing Across the Divides, an organization dedicated to improving the health of marginalized people living in Israel and the Palestinian territories via community-based interventions
  
  
• Dr. Kate Lorig, Director of the Stanford Patient Education Research Center and Professor of Medicine in the Stanford School of Medicine

It seems that every day, another story surfaces of a powerful man's pattern of sexual harassment, abuse, or assault. The Jewish community is not immune, either from this problem or from the implications of society's new willingness to take it more seriously than in the past. Jewish Funders have responsibility and power to make change. How can Jewish philanthropy use that power to address, prevent, and ultimately eradicate sexual harassment, abuse, and assault—in the organizations we fund, in our own foundations and social circles, and everywhere else?

Speakers:

• Lisa Eisen, Vice President, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation
• Sara Miller, Managing Director, Richard Levin & Associates and co-author of It’s Time to Act: Ending Sexual Harassment in the Jewish Communal Space
• Rabbi David A. Teutsch, Professor Emeritus, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and co-author of B’tselem Elohim: Jewish Ethics, Sexual Harassment and the Workplace of the Future
• Moderator: Samantha Anderson, Senior Director of Member Services, Jewish Funders Network

Network with funders in the D.C. area for an intimate pre-Hanukkah funder gathering at a JFN member's home. We'll discuss how to make your Jewish philanthropy more personalized, more intentional, and more reflective of your family’s core values with an interactive text study facilitated by Dr. Erica Brown, director of the Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership at George Washington University.

A light kosher dinner will be served.

This event is brought to you by Jewish Funders Network in partnership with the Aviv Foundation, the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, and the Mayberg Foundation.

Presented by The Grantmaking School (TGS) at the Johnson Center

Most grantmakers are hired for their program knowledge and expertise. Yet it is impossible to separate the role of money from programmatic success. Excellence in grantmaking is not limited to program knowledge. It requires a comprehensive understanding of nonprofit organizations, including their financial statements, budgets, reserves, policies and processes for resource management. Financial issues impact programmatic results.

This course does not attempt to transform program officers into financial professionals. Instead, the intent is to provide grantmakers with the necessary knowledge and skills to conduct a thorough and effective analysis of organizational and programmatic financial information to improve funding decisions.

More information >>

The Summit is designed for lay and professional leaders in the Jewish community and registration is by invitation only.

More information >>

The first event in a series on Regenerative Real Estate / Impact Real Estate, sponsored by the Jacob and Anita Penzer Foundation, produced by Alexander Golding, in partnership with Jewish Funders Network

When we think of impact investing, we often think of aligning our stock portfolios with our values. But we should think of real estate as well. With real estate impact investing, funders can make progress toward multiple social and environmental missions while simultaneously addressing the nationwide crisis that is the lack of quality affordable housing.

This event, open to the general real estate investor community and to members of Jewish Funders Network, will cover Affordable Housing. The educational "boot camp" will be followed by a cocktail party. Expect to leave with actionable takeaways to employ in your future impact real estate investments.

Takeaways will include:

• Overview of the affordable housing landscape
• The difference between affordable housing and the affordability of housing
• Specific deals and strategies so you can be at the intersection of money and meaning
• Strategies on how workforce development will help the community
• Insights on the tax consequences of the proposed Trump tax plan

Speakers include:

• Eddie Lorin, Founder and CEO of Impact Housing
• John Shire, Equity Partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP and Partner & Co-Founder of The Impact Investment Forum
• Donnel Baird, Founder and CEO of BlocPower.
• Mickey Penzer, Vice President and Head of Strategic Partnerships at the Penzer Family Office.

Please note: this event will take place in New York City the day before the JLens Jewish Impact Investing Summit.

Tickets & more information >>

$ Please note: this event is listed with a $100 ticket price, but JFN members can attend gratis. Email Shira Uriarte to get your member discount code.

How do we, as funders, consider the changing fabric of Jewish families in our giving? Join us for an intimate funder conversation with voices from PJ Library, Honeymoon Israel, and UJA-Federation of New York—three organizations that are responding to the needs of today's Jewish families in creative and meaningful ways.

SPONSORS:

It is our pleasure to invite funders to a gathering at the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem. Join us for a glass of wine on the walls of the Old City, followed by a fascinating meeting with MK Rachel Azarya, Chair of the Knesset's Reforms Committee, on social change in Jerusalem from different perspectives ("Me'orav Yerushalmi").

The evening's program:

• 6:00 – 7:00 PM: An exclusive tour of the Tower of David Museum, guided by the Museum's Director and Chief Curator, Eilat Lieber
  
  
• 7:00pm:
  • Reception
  • A preview of the 2018 JFN Conference
  • Guest speaker—MK Rachel Azaria, Chair of the Knesset's Reforms Committee: "From Civil Leadership through Local Government to the Knesset - Jerusalem as a Case Study."
    
    

As always, we'll enjoy good food, good people, and interesting conversations.

We look forward to seeing you,

– The JFN Israel Team

(Parking is available at Mamilla, a 5 minute walk from the museum.)

Spouses are welcome!

This event will be held in Hebrew.

This is a funders-only event. Solicitation of funds is not permitted.

The Summit will bring together 1,000 people from a variety of sectors including: tech, policy, human services, fashion, education, social justice, business, housing, advocacy and more to network and share best practices.

All information & RSVP >>

Article: Ruderman Inclusion Summit Hopes to Advance the Rights of People with Disabilities | Maayan Hoffman, eJewish Philanthropy 

Following on from the success of the last three Asia gatherings—Hong Kong 2014, Singapore 2015, and Shanghai 2016—we are delighted to invite JFN members back to Hong Kong for another informative, impactful, and inspirational event that explores the synergy between Israel, Asia and the strength of Jewish peoplehood.

Israel increasingly looks toward Asia, the Jewish world can provide great support by stimulating developments in diplomacy, business, and philanthropy. These gatherings bring together a network of Jewish funders, lay leaders, and entrepreneurs from the US, Australia, and Israel, and connects them with Jewish communities of like-minded peers living in Asia.

Together ideas and accomplishments are shared and the role that Asia is increasingly playing in the global Jewish conversation and its relationship with Israel is carefully considered. The gatherings create a platform for mutual learning and enrichment, exposing participants to new areas of investment and interest, and for potential future collaborative endeavors for the benefit of global Jewish peoplehood and the State of Israel.

This year's gathering will take place at the Island Shangri-La Hotel and the Jewish Community Center in Hong Kong.

Register now to secure your place, as capacity is limited!

See featured speakers & details >>

Join other JFN members and board co-chair Angelica Berrie for a launch of the new book Touches of Grace: Philanthropy and Social Involvement in Israel.  Author Dr. Haim Emil Dahan, a JFN board member and the founder and president of Ofanim, will lead us through his philanthropic journey.

“Touches of Grace is the story of Israeli philanthropy, as seen through the eyes of a start-up entrepreneur whose life was transformed by an act of generosity. Haim Dahan's philanthropic journey infuses values from a three-thousand-year-old tradition with data on the current state of Israel's emerging culture of philanthropy. His encounters with people who share his passion for giving inspire us to embrace philanthropy as the gift of who we are!” — Angelica Berrie

Cocktails and kosher-style refreshments will be served. This event is open to JFN members only.

About Haim Emil Dahan >>

Buy the book >>

Presented by The Grantmaking School (TGS) at the Johnson Center

Strategy and Evaluation in Grantmaking is a robust two-day learning experience designed to help grantmakers develop or refine grantmaking strategy and to develop evaluation approaches that support learning and strategy improvement.

More information >>

Real Estate Owners, Operators, and Impact Investors ONLY

This event was created to demonstrate the power of real estate to heal the world. Impact is an impetus for innovation, and innovation drives business strategies and allows impact investors to stay one step ahead of the competition. This symposium will highlight cutting edge techniques in real estate design, construction, retrofitting, and management meant to boost a real estate project's bottom-line and environmental or social impact.

Speakers:

• Alexander Golding
• Eddie Lorin
• Mickey Penzer
• Sandy Wiggins
  
  

Information >>

The Israeli American Council (IAC) National Conference 2017 features speakers such as Amb. Nikki Haley, Dan Ariely, Minister Naftali Bennett, Dana Weiss, Barry Shrage, Shira Ruderman, and more.

All information is at the IAC website >>

The most urgent challenge facing public education in Israel today is the direct correlation between socioeconomic status and school achievement levels.

Israel has one of the most extreme income gaps in the Western world, and neighborhood income levels have become an almost perfect predictor of school academic success. The poorer you are, the more likely you are to get a low-quality education, which, in turn, limits opportunities for military service, higher education, and professional career training. Reversing this trend has become a national priority.

Join JFN members Don Futterman, Executive Director of the Israel Center for Educational Innovation (ICEI) and co-host of the Promised Podcast, and Mary Ann Stein, President of The Moriah Fund, for a lunch-and-learn on strategies and approaches to closing educational gaps in Israel. A kosher lunch will be served.

This event is for JFN members only.

Remote participation via webinar is also available. Email Shira Uriarte for details.

The Israel Center for Educational Innovation (ICEI), was established to turn around underachieving and failing schools serving the poorest and lowest performing Jewish population in the elementary school system: Ethiopian-Israeli children. Today, in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Education and local municipalities, ICEI’s programs are transforming schools serving thousands of Ethiopian-Israeli students, and thousands of other low income students.

Part 2 of an "After Charlottesville" series. See Part 1 here.

What is our immediate role in fighting hate, as Jewish funders? How do funders act with speed, finding the right balance between due diligence and agile, relevant action?

Speakers:

• Georgette Bennett, The Polonsky Foundation and JFN Board Co-Chair
• Aaron Dorfman, President, Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah
• Lisa Eisen, Vice President, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation
• Isaac Luria, Director of Voice, Creativity, and Culture, the Nathan Cummings Foundation
• Moderator: Aliza Mazor, Chief Field Building Officer, Upstart
  
  

Background reading:

• Progressive Funders, You May Be Part of the Problem | Vu Le, Nonprofit AF 
• Cash, Speed, and Trust | Lauren Smiley, San Francisco Magazine

This workshop will discuss the alignment of personal passions and beliefs and philanthropic giving, and explore the process for creating ethical wills or legacy letters.  An ethical will is a centuries-old Jewish custom of formally sharing your values, blessings, life lessons, hopes, and dreams with your family, friends, and community. Learn how the writing of an ethical will can provide insight into what we want to achieve with our philanthropy, discuss issues related to creating and sharing ethical wills, and take part in structured reflection that can help us to engage in this meaningful practice.

Speakers:

Amy Holmes
Senior Philanthropic Advisor & Manager
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisor

Elizabeth Leiman Kraiem
Director of the Jewish Ethical Wills Project at JCC Manhattan
supported by the Charles H. Revson Foundation

Register >>

Can local funders partner successfully with Israeli funders and/or the Israeli government?  Of course they can!

Sigal Yaniv Feller, JFN Israel's Director of Advisory Services, will join West Coast Director Tzivia Schwartz Getzug, in a conversation about international collaborations.

Please join the conversation!

Light breakfast will be served.

Please RSVP by Wednesday, October 18.

Washington, DC-based JFN members are invited to a breakfast briefing with

Ibrahim Nsasra
Philanthropist & entrepreneur
Founder of the Tamar Center in the Negev, Armonot HaNegev Catering, & Lahav Tours

In recent years, a small but growing number of Israel's Arab entrepreneurs are becoming involved in philanthropy to advance social change and development of Arab society. Traditionally a charitable practice in Arab culture, a new generation of business leaders is bringing their resources and know-how to strategic giving, and working to expand philanthropic networks in the process.

Ibrahim Nsasra, a Bedouin businessman from Lakiya in the Negev, has used his success in the transportation industry to launch initiatives that enhance access to employment for women, and STEM education for youth. In doing so, he has engaged other business and civil society leaders and become recognized as an influential change-maker in Bedouin society—by far Israel's most disadvantaged population.

Join us to hear from Mr. Nsasra how he overcame barriers to success, his vision for the Bedouin society of the future, and how his actions and those of philanthropists like him are affecting perceptions of leadership in the community.

RSVP to Alison McWilliams >>

Can local funders partner successfully with Israeli funders and/or the Israeli government?  Of course they can!

Sigal Yaniv Feller, JFN Israel's Director of Advisory Services, will join Barak Loozon, Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund's Director for Israel and Global Networks, in a conversation about international collaborations.

JFN's West Coast Director Tzivia Schwartz Getzug will share information about JFN's March 2018 international conference in Tel Aviv and on a matching grant opportunity for STEM education in Israel.

Please join the conversation!

Light appetizers will be served.

Please RSVP by Monday, October 16.

RSVP to Tzivia >>

This event is brought to you in partnership with the Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties.

Join the Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues & Jewish Funders Network
in NYC on Wednesday, October 18th, at 12:00 PM
for a luncheon discussion on

Bedouin Philanthropy in the Negev

Speaker:

Ibrahim Nsasra
Philanthropist & entrepreneur
Founder of the Tamar Center in the Negev, Armonot HaNegev Catering, & Lahav Tours

In recent years, a small but growing number of Israel's Arab entrepreneurs are becoming involved in philanthropy to advance social change and development of Arab society. Traditionally a charitable practice in Arab culture, a new generation of business leaders is bringing their resources and know-how to strategic giving, and working to expand philanthropic networks in the process.

Ibrahim Nsasra, a Bedouin businessman from Lakiya in the Negev, has used his success in the transportation industry to launch initiatives that enhance access to employment for women, and STEM education for youth. In doing so, he has engaged other business and civil society leaders and become recognized as an influential change-maker in Bedouin society—by far Israel's most disadvantaged population. How did Ibrahim Nsasra overcome barriers to success himself? What is his vision for the Bedouin society of the future? How are his actions and those of philanthropists like him affecting perceptions of leadership in the community?

A light lunch will be served.

Location details provided upon RSVP.

Please RSVP to liron.shoham@jdc.org

Top photo credit: U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv via Visual Hunt / CC BY-SA

Event co-host:

Israel has some of the most innovative and hands-on philanthropists in the world. Over the past decade, the Israeli philanthropic community has grown significantly and a culture of giving has taken off.

Join Sigal Yaniv Feller, JFN Israel's Director of Advisory Services, for a discussion on the state of Israeli philanthropy. We'll explore the growth of Israel's philanthropic sector and address how to do effective grant-making in Israel from abroad.

Designed specifically for funders who practice philanthropy with few or no staff, Exponent Philanthropy's CONNECT is your opportunity to challenge your assumptions, build community, and learn about strategies that will help you achieve your philanthropic goals.

Jewish Funders Network members are eligible to attend at the Exponent Philanthropy member rate. Members: click here to see the discount code (you must be logged in as a member)

CONNECT Conference information > >

An upturn in antisemitism; an activist revival; political mobilization and polarization; shifts in philanthropic focus; a cultural renaissance. All these, and more, are waves of change buffeting the U.S. Jewish community during the first year of President Trump's administration. These strong currents exacerbate pre-existing tensions, such as the split between "Jacksonian" and "Jeffersonian" models of political behavior among Jewish leaders and institutions.

Funders addressing a wide spectrum of issues related to the American Jewish community need to understand these changes—and respond to them.

Join JFN member Dr. Steven Windmueller for a discussion of American Jewry's ongoing sociopolitical upheavals during this extraordinary period in U.S. history.

The discussion will draw on articles by Dr. Windmueller:

• Six Months Later: The Impact of Donald Trump’s Presidency on American Jews
• Jeffersonian Jews vs. Jacksonian Jews: Revisiting Jewish Political Behavior in the 21st Century
  
• How Charlottesville Has Defined the Trump Presidency
• Unsettled in America: The Changing Political Roles of American Jews
  
  

Dr. Steven F. Windmueller is the Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk Emeritus Professor in Jewish Communal Service at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, CA. A specialist on political issues and American Jewish affairs, Dr. Windmueller holds a doctorate in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and has held academic appointments at several major institutions of higher learning. He has appeared nationally syndicated media offering commentaries on Jewish public affairs matters. Dr. Windmueller has served as a consultant and program resource specialist to a wide array of institutions including the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and the Jewish Federations of North America.

Intermarriage, how communities can reach out to interfaith families, and whether or not rabbis will officiate at such weddings, remains a hot topic in Jewish discourse. Recent publications by Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie and by Rabbi Avram Mlotek have sparked passionate debate in the Jewish media. 

Join these two rabbis to discuss their personal perspectives, why they’ve each chosen to discuss the issue of intermarriage publicly, and next steps for their denominations and the wider community. They will be joined by a representative of the Genesis Prize Foundation, which awarded their 2015 Prize to Michael Douglas, whose signature initiative was a JFN matching grant initiative for engaging intermarried couples and families in Jewish life. 

Speakers:

• Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, Lab/Shul 
• Rabbi Avram Mlotek, BASE Hillel
  
  

Moderator:

• Ali Rose, Genesis Prize Foundation

Top photo credit: thivierr via Visualhunt.com CC BY-SA

Part 1 of an "After Charlottesville" series. See Part 2 here.

What are the lessons of Charlottesville? What was new, and what wasn’t? How bad is the situation?

Experts with deep knowledge and experience of white supremacist hate groups will address these and more questions to bring the Jewish funder community up to speed on the state of hate in America.

Speakers:

• Michael Lieberman, Washington Counsel, Director, Civil Rights Policy Planning Center, Anti-Defamation League
• Yavilah McCoy, CEO of DIMENSIONS Inc.
• Eric Ward, incoming Executive Director of the Western States Center and a Senior Fellow, Southern Poverty Law Center; author of “Skin in the Game: How Antisemitism Animates White Nationalism”. See also this video: The Heart of White Nationalism.
• Moderator: Sharon Alpert, President, the Nathan Cummings Foundation. 

We know you are a sophisticated funder who thinks strategically about your funding decisions in order to meet your strategic goals and make the greatest impact possible.  Philanthropic leaders are facing an environment of rapid cultural change and political uncertainty, which presents new challenges.

JOIN other principal funders for a half day of engagement on issues facing philanthropy and the nonprofit sector in this climate.  In addition to our own experiences, we will explore a case study on how one JFN member/grant-making organization is responding to the challenge of requests from grantees who themselves, need to pivot in their work. You’ll leave with practical tools to help you pivot in your philanthropy, as needed, and help the organizations you fund navigate the rough waters ahead.

2017 Unity Summit:  Investing in Movements for Equity will highlight how philanthropy can align its investments along the themes of Resistance, Protection, and Empowerment.

Information & registration >>

Note from the organizers on the conflict with Rosh Hashanah:

Earlier this year, we scheduled the Unity Summit in conflict with religious observations for Rosh Hashanah, Hijra and Navaratri. Through this oversight, we failed to appreciate the message this decision would send for an event focused so sharply on equity and inclusion. We regret that our initial decision fell short of our values, and we appreciate the outreach we received from many in our community to convey the impact this decision had on them.

We are pleased to announce that the 2017 Unity Summit will shift our start and end times slightly forward in order to better accommodate these observances. Partner specific/focused events will be held September 17-18. The Unity Summit will begin Monday, September 18 at 1:00 PM on Friday and close Wednesday, September 20, at 1:00 PM.  In addition to the shift in dates, we are continuing to explore virtual engagement options.

We recognize that this shift may still not make it possible for everyone to participate. However, we hope that at least some members of our community who could not attend before might now be able to do so, and we remain happy to support anyone who would like to observe any spiritual practice on-site. We will strive to avoid this type of mistake in the future. We remain committed to building a diverse, intersectional movement to advance equity within and through philanthropy.

In the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, natural disaster relief and preparedness have come to the foreground of communal conversations. How has the Jewish philanthropic field responded to these hurricanes, and how are we preparing for future disasters? 

Join us for a discussion of how to fund quickly, respond strategically, and find partners on the ground in the midst of a natural disasters.

Speakers:

• Deena Fuchs, Senior Director of Strategy and Partnerships, The AVI CHAI Foundation
• Mark Gurvis, Executive Vice President, The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)
• David Kaplan, Executive Director, NECHAMA: Jewish Response to Disaster
• Maya Kroitoru, Senior Program Director - Disaster Response, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)
• William Recant, Government Affairs/Disaster Relief/Expert/Assistant Executive VP, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)

A networking event for funders, with guest speaker Dr. Einat Glazer on emotional intelligence in philanthropy.

Please note, this event will be conducted in Hebrew.

This event is for JFN members and other eligible funders only. Non-members: inquire about attending at jfnisrael@jfunders.org

Members: log in and then click here for details & RSVP info >>

If the U.S. Congress eliminates charitable deductions, what would that mean for American foundations and other funders? Join us for an important conversation on the current political landscape in Washington, D.C., possible changes to tax policy, and the ramifications for philanthropy.

Hadar Susskind, Senior Vice President for Government Relations at the Council on Foundations, will explain the current political climate and lead a discussion on the implications for philanthropy.

While this webinar will be of particular interest to foundation professionals, trustees and independent funders are also encouraged to attend.

A OneTable Shabbat dinner in New York designed for those seeking impact, community, and good food. (Third party event recommended by JFN member Mickey Penzer.)

A OneTable event.

"It is hard to put into words how many of us feel following a weekend in which we witnessed white supremacists and neo-nazis marching openly in America, leaving violence and tragedy in their wake. Regardless of where we each stand politically, we can ALL agree: hatred, bigotry, and violence cannot be tolerated in our communities. When our values are threatened in this way, we raise our voices and rise up—not just in opposition but in unity.

In this spirit, we’re coming together this Friday, August 18th, to mobilize a grassroots movement of Shabbat dinners across the country dedicated to celebrating diversity, equality, and inclusion in the face of fear, division, and hate.

We invite you to join us by gathering people in your communities and networks for a Together at the Table dinner to engage in constructive dialogue with a plurality of perspectives, to address deep, painful divides in our communities, and to consider the role we can play in strengthening civil discourse and society."

More information on attending or hosting for this event >>

A conversation exploring the value of strategic philanthropy in the Jewish communal landscape with:

• Chip Edelsberg, immediate past and founding Executive Director of the Jim Joseph Foundation, which has awarded over $450 million in grants as a leader in funding Jewish Education since its founding in 2006 and
  
  

• Rachel Levin, President of Fundamental and Executive Director of the Righteous Persons Foundation, which has awarded more than $100 million in grants to support a meaningful and relevant Jewish community through arts and culture and social justice initiatives,
  
  

• Moderated by Erik Ludwig, Director of the Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
  
  

NEXUS will be holding their 7th annual Global Youth Summit in collaboration with the U.N. in NYC July 27-28, with an opening reception on July 26th.  This is an exclusive gathering of 600+ leading next gen philanthropists, impact investors and social entrepreneurs under the age of 45 from over 70 countries.  You will hear from innovative young change-makers and U.N. leaders and brainstorm creative solutions to pressing problems facing the world in 2017.  

Jewish Funders Network members have been offered a reduced registration rate of $850 and the opportunity to bypass the application review process. Please contact MikuakR@nexusglobal.org for details.

Click for more information >>

Please join us for a High Level Briefing focusing on the decisions of the Israeli government to suspend the plan for egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall and to promote the conversion bill.

Speakers:
Na'ama Klar, Director of the Reut Institute
Daryl Messinger, Board Chair of the Union for Reform Judaism
Jerry Silverman, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Jewish Federations of North America

Click for information >>

Explore the politics and culture of Israel through the eyes of two Israeli-American artists—a film director and a photographer.

Yaron Zilberman

Award winning Director Yaron Zilberman will join us to discuss the film project he is currently developing (with Academy Award nominated Israeli screenwriter Ron Leshem), titled Din Rodef (The Law of the Pursuer). The film tells the story of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin through the eyes of his murderer, Yigal Amir. Zilberman will discuss his choice to tell the story from this unique point of view, illuminating the community and ideology behind the extreme right-wing messianic nationalism that produced Amir.

Previously, Zilberman directed, co-wrote and produced the critically acclaimed fiction film A Late Quartet (starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener, and Mark Ivanir) and the theatrical documentary feature Watermarks (about the champion women swimmers of Hakoah Vienna).

Yaron Leshem

Yaron Leshem is a prolific Israeli photographer living in New York. His innovative work uses 3D technology, as well as using drones both to capture images and to light his subjects, often buildings captured from above. His images offer us a look at our society from angles we don't often consider.

Scott Berrie, a JFN member and one of the producers working with Zilberman on the film project, will moderate a Q&A session. Join us for what promises to be a fascinating evening with the two Yarons.

Join JFN and the Paul E. Singer Foundation for a special viewing of the Jewish Food Society’s new spoken word event — Schmaltzy. The evening will begin with a program of short stories told by four performers: a celebrity chef, a CEO, a grandma who’s also a caterer, and a young Jewish-food entrepreneur. Following the performance, enjoy a taste of the dishes that inspired the stories prepared by the storytellers themselves. Emceed by Leah Koenig, Brooklyn-based food writer and cookbook author.

What’s on the menu:

• Kubaneh (Yemenite overnight bread) by Chef Einat Admony of Taim and Balaboosta
• Kreplach Soup by Anna Gershenson, a caterer & grandma
• Roasted Garlic Potato Knish’s by Liz Alpern of The Gefilteria
• Schichttorte (German Layer Cake with Marzipan, Coffee Meringue, and Jam) by Idan Cohen, CEO of Grow 
  
  

Please note: to inquire about bringing a guest to this event, please contact Samantha Anderson.

At the invitation of producer Daryl Roth, we are pleased to offer JFN members a special discount rate (35% off Orchestra seats) to see the play Indecent on Broadway on Wednesday, June 7th at 8:00pm. Plus we'll gather for pre-show cocktails at 6:30pm at a venue near the theatre.

Indecent centers on the impact of the controversial God of Vengeance by Sholem Asch, a work of Yiddish theater that scandalized Broadway in 1923. The play explores issues of morality, assimilation, and art through the lens of Jewish history at the same time as the play within the play invites discussion of the very idea of what it means to be a "good Jew."

To find out how to purchase your discount tickets and sign up for pre-show cocktails:

Inquire with Shannon Alexander: shannon@jfunders.org or 212-726-0177 x222. (JFN members only.)

Amir Levi, Director of the Budget Department at Israel’s Ministry of Finance, will be in Los Angeles to meet with JFN members to discuss challenges to the Israeli economy in general, as well as specific challenges involving minority integration. Mr Levi will share the government’s unprecedented recent plan for the economic development of the Arab community, as he did at JFN’s 2017 International Conference, one of the most successful sessions at the conference.  

We would be honored to have you join JFN and Glazer Philanthropies for lunch with Director Levi.

See Amir Levi's bio >>

Co-presented by JFN with the Diane and Guilford Glazer Philanthropies

I hope you will join me (Tzivia) and your fellow Bay area JFN members for a local networking lunch.

Join us for Part II of our Syrian Refugee Update webinar series. We will discuss how funders can fill gaps and engage through direct assistance, systems, advocacy, and service. We will also discuss the great untold story of how Israelis have responded to this crisis and how Syrian/Israeli partnerships are alleviating suffering and building bridges across great divides. Finally, we will take the temperature of the new US administration regarding the Syrian crisis and its implications for philanthropy.

Click here to watch Part I >>

A conversation about philanthropy and intergenerational involvement with Harold Grinspoon, Founder, Harold Grinspoon Foundation & Winnie Sandler Grinspoon, President.

We are delighted to update that Igal Jusidman of Keren Daniel will be joining us as a speaker at the event.

The event will be held at the home of Rochel-Leah and Ariel Deitrich in Ra'anana, Israel (exact address upon RSVP).

Please join us for an evening of food, drink, and conversation with visiting art collectors, philanthropists, and Jewish community leaders from San Francisco, along with local supporters of the arts. (Address to be provided upon RSVP.)

We’ll gather at 6:30 p.m. for heavy hors d’ouevres, wine and schmoozing, then we’ll transition to a lively discussion on art and philanthropy. JFN President & CEO Andrés Spokoiny and JFN member Mark Reisbaum (Chief Philanthropy Officer at The Contemporary Jewish Museum) will lead a stimulating conversation with JFN Board Co-Chair Georgette Bennett and her husband, Leonard Polonsky, CJM Board Chair Wendy Kesser Yanowitch, arts patron Dorothy Saxe, and young philanthropic leader Brent Tworetzky.

The interactive program will delve into motivations for giving and collecting, and explore the nexus between intentional Jewish philanthropy and the arts. Following the hour-long program we’ll have a chance to continue informal conversations over dessert, coffee, and tea.

If you were at the 2017 JFN International Conference, then you heard Becca Heller, co-founder and director of The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), speak about the ongoing refugee crisis. Learn more about her work, and to learn about the organization's life-saving legal assistance to refugees through an innovative model that mobilizes direct legal aid and systemic policy advocacy to benefit and empower the world's most persecuted individuals.

Becca Heller will discuss how IRAP is working to address some of the most urgent needs of refugees and how funders can support efforts to respond to this crisis. IRAP's Middle East Director, Kathleen Norland List, will talk about conditions on the ground for refugees and how IRAP's field teams in Lebanon and Jordan work to proactively identify and reach out to particularly vulnerable refugees to provide assistance. Finally, a former IRAP client who is now safely resettled will join the webinar to share his story as a refugee who fled war and persecution in search of a safe, new beginning.

This webinar is for JFN members only.

Third Party Event from UJA-Federation of New York

UJA's turning 100, so we're taking the journey of a lifetime—and we want you to be there.

It'll be an experience you'll never forget. We'll take you to places you've heard about but never thought you'd see and introduce you to leaders—and new people—you never thought you'd meet.

Tikkun Olam Makers (by the Reut Group) is a global community of Makers helping people with disabilities (aka - 'Need Knowers'), develop open source technological solutions for their challenges.

Learn more: http://tomglobal.org/makeathons/2017/4/21/tomnyc

The Ruderman Foundation, together with Hebrew College and the Jewish Funders Network invites you to a summit and public conversation on Jewish communal governance for the 21st century. The program will take place on Sunday, April 2 from 11:30am-6:00pm at Hebrew College in Newton Centre, MA. Advance registration and fee of $50 required. Kosher lunch included. Discounts available for students upon request.

The summit's purpose is to explore and discuss the ways we govern ourselves in the American Jewish community and how changes in recent years may require different structures to respond to the current political and social culture.

Communal leaders, social activists and cultural commentators will share their thoughts and generate conversations around the following questions:

• How can the structure and decision making processes of the Jewish community respond to 21^st century sensibilities?
• What roles can Jewish foundations and federations play in creating a more multi-vocal and democratic community?
• What can we learn from other Jewish communities, non-Jewish communities and American political life that can help the North American Jewish community develop a more responsive and bottom-up organizational structure?
  
  

To address these questions, we will feature panelists and presenters Lisa Eisen (Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation), Allison Fine (social media expert), J.J. Goldberg (Forward), Tiffany Harris (Moishe House), Elie Kaunfer (Mechon Hadar), Idit Klein (Keshet), Daniel Lehmann (Hebrew College), Karyn Cohen Leviton (One8 Foundation), Gil Preuss (CJP), Jay Ruderman (Ruderman Family Foundation), Andrés Spokoiny (Jewish Funders Network), and Dr. Steven Windmueller (Hebrew Union College).

The Jewish Funders Network International Conference is the premiere annual event in Jewish philanthropy. Independent funders, foundation trustees, and foundation professionals from all over the world gather for networking, learning, and fun. The 2017 conference will take place in Atlanta. More information: jfunders.org/conference

Hear from LAVAN co-founder and CEO Avi Deutsch about integrating Jewish values into the investment process, and participate in an interactive discussion aimed at deepening our communal understanding of the field of impact investing. Together we will explore the range of impact investing opportunities available to Jewish funders: from Israel, through the global Jewish community, to non-sectarian causes. We will be laying the groundwork for community wide discussions at the 2017 International JFN Conference in Atlanta and beyond. Be a part of the conversation!

The discussion will be accompanied by Israeli musical guests sponsored by The America-Israel Cultural Foundation.

The evening will be co-hosted by Sarah Rueven, Daniel Rueven, and Joshua-Marc Tanenbaum. Address will be provided upon RSVP.

Co-hosted by the Council of Young Jewish Presidents.

This gathering is part of the Impact Investing Peer Network, generously sponsored by the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation.

Are you a funder or foundation in the Washington, D.C. area? Are you interested in investing in disability inclusion in the Jewish community?  

Join us for breakfast on Monday, February 13th from 8:30-10:00am to learn more about the Breaking Barriers Matching Grant Initiative in Honor of 2016 Genesis Prize Laureate Itzhak Perlman, a $1 million matching grant that will match gifts made to organizations and projects that foster the inclusion of people with disabilities within the North American Jewish community and in Jewish life.

Speakers will include:

• Lisa Handelman, Community Disability Inclusion Specialist, Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, D.C.
• Aaron Kaufman, Senior Legislative Associate, Jewish Federations of North America
• Melissa Rosen, Program Manager, Matching Grants

Address provided upon RSVP.

Special thanks to the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, D.C. for co-hosting

Join influential stakeholders from Federations and private foundations—representing collectively over $80 billion in Jewish communal philanthropic assets—for informative presentations by top industry professionals, informal peer-to-peer learning, and networking. Enhance your ability to make prudent investment decisions and position your Jewish Federation, community or private foundation as the preeminent steward of endowed funds. JFN President & CEO Andrés Spokoiny is one of the speakers.

Info & Registration >>

RSVP | להרשמה

Click images below for Hebrew and English details.

Jewish Funders Network is pleased to announce a virtual seminar in partnership with UJA Federation of New York. Dr. Judith Samuels, Managing Director of UJA’s Impact and Performance Assessment Department, will lead this online seminar exploring the benefits of employing appropriate evaluation techniques to measure the outputs, outcomes, and impact of the programs and organizations you fund. She will describe how, building on her extensive background, her department has successfully seeded culture change in a large organization to make it data-informed. She will also describe how this innovative approach has “gone viral,” resulting in the Jewish Evaluation Network, which now has over 200 members worldwide.

As the war in Syria and resulting humanitarian crisis continue, funder concern grows over how to act. Join us for the first of a two-part webinar series updating funders on the situation for Syria and its refugees. Part 1 will update funders overall on the crisis, the current political landscape in the US and Europe, and the dangers of inadequately responding. Part 2 will discuss how funders can fill gaps and engage through direct assistance, systems, advocacy, and service. We will also explore how our friends in Israel have initiated many efforts in this crisis, and take the temperature of the incoming US administration regarding the Syrian crisis.

At the heart of the values that most of American Jews hold dear is a deep and abiding commitment to human rights and racial equality. Our community and many of the Jewish institutions at the time were supporters of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Today, we need to build from our history and not rest on the past. Even though some Jews are active in contemporary racial justice work, the community often harkens back to past history, rather than to current events.

Today’s situation is different; there is an intersection of issues both domestic and international that often puts a strain on the relationship—especially regarding Israel. While the Jewish community is not monolithic by any means, on these issues, the majority of American Jews still see strengthening and expanding civil rights as righteous and necessary work. How can we adapt and grow relationships that are partnerships, that ask and answer the tough questions raised by both communities, and that build new and present ties, not simply live on past accomplishments? This call will be the starting point of a conversation that we hope to continue within the network and the broader Jewish community moving forward.

Join April Baskin, Vice President for Audacious Hospitality of the Union for Reform Judaism; David Bernstein, President and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; and Jennifer Langton, Grants Manager of the Amy Mandel and Katina Rodis Fund for a conversation about civil rights and the Jewish community.

How can Jewish teachings about, and practices for, blessing inform healthy attitudes toward money and toward intergenerational philanthropy?

Join other funders for cocktails and conversation with board and staff from Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah to explore how understanding and using blessings can enrich philanthropic practice:

• When we bless our children, what are we doing?
• What does it mean to not only receive and give blessing, but to "be" a blessing (Genesis 12:2)?
• What does it mean to give, or bestow, blessings from generation to generation?
• How can thinking (and giving) with an attitude of blessing transform how we think about money and philanthropy?

Facilitators:

Joe Kanfer (Founding Director, Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah)

Marcella Kanfer Rolnick (Founding Director, Chair, Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah)

Rabbi Lee Moore (Director of Jewish & Organizational Learning, Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah)

This webinar will leave you with a better understanding of the importance of evaluation in philanthropy, and empowered with tools for using metrics for effective evaluation. Participate in a discussion with other funders who use metrics effectively. Learn how to:

• Set measurable goals
• Get the right information from organizations
• Track the impact of your dollars

Speakers:

Mirele B. Goldsmith, independent evaluator

Jim Heeger, Board Chair, Moishe House

Rella Kaplowitz, Program Officer for Evaluation and Learning, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation

Wendy Rosov, Founder and Principal, Rosov Consulting, LLC

JFN’s young funders in Israel are invited to kick-start a process of thinking together about existing and potential issues that we share and can constructively address as a group. This could be supporting the next generation of engaged children funders, ways to maintain legacy across generations, finding inspirational philanthropy, looking for best practices in funding, and more—whatever you feel would help you in your philanthropic journey. We would like to connect the young funder community and hear your opinions. The morning will include an opportunity to join working groups (if you wish) and hear from others on a similar professional and emotional journey. Please feel free to invite partners if you feel they are with you on this path. Whether you are an experienced funder of just getting started, please join us on Friday December 23, 9:30 – 11:30am.

Hanukkah is the holiday of light. Make yours shine even brighter at Latkepalooza!, a family-oriented interactive event featuring food, theater, and hands-on activities for families.

Presented by The Museum of Jewish Heritage, The Workmen’s Circle and National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.

By special arrangement, the entrance fee will be waived for JFN members only. Contact Merav Fine for details.

Imagine a Jewish community that welcomes new babies (and their parents) into the Jewish community with a personal visit & gift of highly-sought after baby products, provides a financial voucher for families to make high-quality Jewish preschool more accessible and offers a wide range of programs, inviting families to connect Jewishly in ways that resonate them.

Spend an hour—virtually—in Chicago, where  Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago (JUF)staff share their community-wide approach to engaging young families, from the successful and replicable JUF Right Start program to the community-oriented approach to strengthening Jewish early childhood and the pipelines that lead both to and from Jewish early childhood experiences. Deborah Cooper, Associate Vice President & Anna Hartman, Director of Early Childhood Education Excellence will lead this discussion and invite your active participation and questions.

Speakers:

Debbi Cooper is the Associate Vice President, Community Outreach & Engagement of the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago. In this capacity, she oversees the young family engagement department which connects over 10,000 families annually to Jewish life in Chicago. Deborah oversaw the implementation of PJ Library in Chicago, growing it to the largest program in North American and recently launched jBaby Chicago, an innovative approach to serving expectant and new parents, which is now being replicated in communities nationwide.

Anna Hartman is the Director of Early Childhood Excellence at the Jewish United Fund in Chicago, where she cultivates communal resources and convenes educators and leaders to focus on vision and strategy for Chicago’s Jewish early childhood schools. Her work is grounded in the big ideas of Judaism and social-constructivist education. Anna is also a founder of the Paradigm Project, a grassroots change initiative in Jewish early childhood education, and has worked as a consultant, mentor, and early childhood director.

This meeting will be a fascinating encounter with Kate Mitchell—entrepreneur, venture capital fund partner, and leader in the movement to further equality in the labor market. Ms. Mitchell will be interviewed by JFN member Alan Feld.

Hosted by The Ted Arison Family Foundation in Tel Aviv. This event will be conducted in English.

Sexual abuse affects one out of three girls and one out of seven boys. Sexual abuse triggers psychological, social, and economic consequences that can fester for generations. But the Jewish community, including the funder community, has yet to forge a comprehensive strategy to address the scourge of sexual abuse. Our communities remain vulnerable and our constituents continue to suffer.

Jewish Funders Network and the Friedberg Charitable Foundation invite JFN members (trustees and/or professional staff) to learn more about sexual abuse in the Jewish community and participate in a brainstorming session at Safe Horizon’s Brooklyn Child Advocacy Center on Wednesday, December 7. Meet world experts and share your insights on how philanthropists can work together strategically to address sexual abuse in the Jewish community. 

Tentative schedule:

• 10: 00 - 11:00: Understanding Sexual Abuse. Information, statistics, impact and intervention methods, including a zoom-in on Jewish communities.
• 11:00 - 11:30: Tour of the Brooklyn Child Advocacy Center with members of the Safe Horizon Multidisciplinary Team.
• 11:30-12:30: Brainstorming Session for trustees and professional staff on strategic approaches to addressing sexual abuse in the Jewish community (Kosher lunch will be served.) 

Background:

The Friedberg Charitable Foundation has been leading and supporting numerous efforts to address and prevent sexual abuse in Jewish communities in Israel, the US, and Canada since 2011. To date, the foundation has invested significant funding in developing safety programs and policies for schools, camps, and communities; funding trauma treatment for hundreds victims of child sexual abuse; guiding victims and their families in reporting to proper authorities; training therapists in trauma treatment; and creating community awareness.

Safe Horizon is a federally funded national organization dedicated to providing support, preventing violence, and promoting justice for victims of crime and abuse, their families, and communities. It offers shelter, advocacy, counseling, and legal services. Its Child Advocacy Center is an exemplary model for addressing sexual abuse in a sensitive, suitable, and comprehensive way. Safe Horizon's collaborative multidisciplinary team investigates, prosecutes, and treats the most serious cases of abuse by offering culturally-sensitive services to different communities (including the Jewish community) to ensure families are provided with appropriate medical, legal, and mental health services, and ensure they feel safe and supported throughout the investigation.

How can we bring disability rights into more of our conversations about Jewish values? How can we energize the funding community to more fully invest?

Join legendary violinist and 2016 Genesis Prize Laureate  Itzhak Perlman and funders from the human rights, disability, and Jewish communities to discuss how these issues intersect and can reinforce one another. Presentations will be followed by breakout discussions.

Part of the Breaking Barriers Matching Grant Initiative in Honor of 2016 Genesis Prize Laureate Itzhak Perman

Speakers:

Itzhak Perlman
Legendary violinist & 2016 Genesis Prize Laureate

Robert Bank
President and CEO, American Jewish World Service

Judith E. Heumann
Special Advisor for International Disability Rights, U.S. State Dept

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi
Co-Founder & Director, Mizrahi Family Charitable Trus

Tirza Leibowitz
Associate Director for Legal Advocacy, Open Society Foundations

Rabbi Dov Linzer
Rosh HaYeshiva, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School

Pamela Schuller
Internationally known inclusion advocate

Agenda:

• Welcome from Itzhak Perlman
• Presentation of JFN's Guide to Jewish Values and Disability Rights by Tirza Leibowitz, with Q&A
• Panel discussion with Judith Heumann, Rabbi Dov Linzer, and others TBA
• Group discussion addressing concrete next steps for philanthropy

Related resource: JFN Guide to Jewish Values and Disability Rights >>

Join Jewish Funders Network for the inaugural half-day convening of Los Angeles-area philanthropists in a day of conversation and learning on Sunday, December 4, at a private home in Beverly Hills.

Throughout the day, individual funders and foundation principals will explore the values that ground your work, the challenges ahead for giving, and the opportunities to build a philanthropic community of funders in Los Angeles. Our hope is that this facilitated forum will deepen your own grant making while helping to create relationships between funders who may be searching for fellow travelers in the quest for effective and impactful funding.

RSVP to tzivia@jfunders.org >>

This event is open to funders only.

Join LAVAN for an evening of food, drinks, and discussion on using our financial, human, and political capital to achieve social impact.

How can we amplify our philanthropic impact, both with giving and investment? Join us for an intimate conversation with two experts in strategic change-making.

Joe Levin of BlueStar Indexes will discuss Amplifying Philanthropy with Triple Bottom Line Investment in Israel. Maximize your impact by connecting your portfolio to your Jewish values. Explore how Israel is a potential triple bottom investment—one that is good for your portfolio, strengthens the State of Israel, and helps promote positive social change.

Evan List of Bernstein will discuss Your (Jewish) Philanthropy, Empowered. Establishing an effective giving strategy to meet your philanthropic goals is more important than ever, given modest expected returns for all asset classes and the threat of rising inflation. Learn how to (1) define your philanthropic mission; (2) understand your giving capacity; and (3) implement your mission effectively.

Space is limited, so RSVP now.

As both a funder and as the inaugural Chief Innovation Officer of the Office of Innovation at Hillel, JFN member Rabbi Dan Smokler is deeply passionate about engaging young Jews in communities that are rich with meaning. Join Rabbi Smokler, along with Base Innovation Fellow Faith Leener and Prof. Steven M. Cohen, to learn about the unprecedented success of Base Hillel in reaching young adults around the country. Base is a cutting edge Jewish engagement model in which a rabbinic couple use their home as a center for vibrant and pluralistic Jewish life, centered on three core values of hospitality, learning, and service. Prof. Cohen will present research detailing the effects of Base programs, and the model’s potential further impact on the community.

The "Why Be Jewish" research project was carried out by Jerusalem U, with the support of the William Davidson Foundation (a JFN member organization).  An outside research company, Finch Brands, was hired to conduct third-party research through focus groups, one-on-one interviews and surveys.  The research question was: What interests and what does not interest young Jews about Judaism? Specifically, what informs Jewish identity and what are the roadblocks and onramps to Jewish living?

This webinar presenting the findings, hosted by the lead researcher from Finch Brands, is available to Davidson Foundations grantees and JFN members.

Speakers:

Dina Rabhan President, Jerusalem U

John Ferreira Senior Vice President and General Manager, Finch Brands

Information: slingshotfund.org/slingshotday

Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly 2016. Info: generalassembly.org

Recent news from Turkey has been volatile, with a failed military coup and a subsequent crackdown in response, as well as interesting developments in Turko-Israeli relations. Join us for a briefing current events in Turkey with a focus on the Turkish Jewish community. As a kind of case study or synecdoche for the broader Turkish Jewish community, we will zoom in on one Jewish day school in Turkey, and explore how it has been impacted and implications for future.

Speakers:

Metin Bonfil is founder of Total Finans, a finance firm focusing on cross-border mergers and acquisitions. A board member of the Ulus Jewish Schools Foundation, Metin serves on the Chief Rabbinate's advisory board. He is also a columnist in the Jewish community newspaper Salom.

Lina Filiba began her career in insurance and manufacturing, serving the Jewish community as a volunteer leader before becoming involved as a professional. In 2001 she inaugurated the position of executive vice-president of the Chief Rabbinate's advisory board—the top Jewish professional post, in which she served from 2001 to 2011.

Rifat Hasan is President of Inteks (imports, finance, and real estate) and one of the founders of the Ulus Jewish School in Istanbul. A funder of many Jewish organizations, he has long served on the Chief Rabbinate's advisory board.

Rone Kaspi is Education Coordinator of the Ulus Jewish School in Istanbul.

Are you a funder who is already engaged in impact investing, or interested in beginning an impact investing journey? Do you want to learn which JFN members are engaged in impact investing to learn from their successes and challenges? Have you read our Program Related Investment Guide and want to engage in a deeper conversation?

Call in for an informal conversation among funders interested in impact investing. No presentations, no agenda, no PowerPoint slides—just funders coming together to explore this topic.

Building on the success of previous engagements in Hong Kong 2014 and Singapore 2015, join other Jewish business leaders, investors, funders, foundation professionals, and volunteer activists who care deeply about Jewish peoplehood, international networking, and Jewish-Asian relations. Participants from across Asia, Australia, Canada, the United States, and Israel will come together to consider the role China (and Asia more broadly) is increasingly playing in the global Jewish conversation, and its relationship with Israel.

This forum will be a non-fundraising, non-solicitation, and non-denominational event, but it will be pro-discovery, pro-innovation, and pro-brainstorming in an intimate but structured setting.

Register by October 1 >>

The Fairmont Peace Hotel has arranged special rates for participants, room categories and prices are outlined at registration. Kosher meals will be provided for the duration.

Speakers:

Dr Robert Lawrence Kuhn  is a public intellectual, international corporate strategist and investment banker, and a China political/economics commentator featured on the BBC, CCTV, CNN, Bloomberg, and other media, and as a columnist in the South China Morning Post and China Daily. He recently gave the keynote address at the “China-Israel Cooperation Conference’, hosted by the China-Israel Task Force and Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office. 

Amotz Asa-El is the Jerusalem Post's senior commentator and former executive editor, is Middle East commentator for Dow Jones' MarketWatch; political commentator for Israeli TV's Chanel 1 English News; and a senior editor of the Jerusalem Report newsmagazine. He is author of "The Diaspora and the Lost Tribes of Israel" (Universe 2004), a history of the Jewish people's wanderings.

Join this critically important conversation, and be at the forefront of connecting the global Jewish world with the potential of Asia and the power of philanthropy. 

Keep the momentum building from the Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and Families Matching Grant Initiative in honor of 2015 Genesis Prize Laureate Michael Douglas. Help lay the groundwork for continued efforts toward expanding the inclusivity of the Jewish community for intermarried couples and families.

There is a broad spectrum of intermarried couples and families; what are the factors that complicate the issue of engagement? How do we address inclusivity beyond that of young families and millennials? What does our community look like in 20 years if we think about engaging intermarried families in positive terms? What  lessons can we learn from funders whose gifts were matched as part of the initiative with the Genesis Prize Foundation? Where do we as a funding community go from here? What resources do we need? What expertise are we missing? How do we continue to push this agenda forward?

Program schedule:

9:00am: Breakfast and Mingling (Dietary laws will be observed,)

9:30am: Presentations & Q&A

Dr. Keren McGinity will speak about intermarriage and gender.

Keren McGinity, PhD, is Director of Interfaith Families Jewish Engagament at the Shoolman Graduate School of Jewish Education at Hebrew College

Paul Golin will speak about the Jewish community 20 years in the future.

Paul Golin is Executive Director of the Society for Humanistic Judaism. Paul previously served as associate executive director of Big Tent Judaism/Jewish Outreach Institute.

10:45am: Break

11:00am: A moderated panel discussion featuring funders whose gifts were matched as part of the “Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and Families” Matching Grant Initiative in honor of 2015 Genesis Prize Laureate Michael Douglas

12:00pm: Group discussion addressing concrete next steps for the field

12:30pm: Adjourn

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Join us for a conversation with David & Cindy Shapira, to learn about their philanthropic journey—how they got started, how they bring their professional expertise and life experiences to their philanthropic work, and what advice they have to share. David and Cindy will be joined by Eric Fingerhut, President of Hillel International, for a deep-dive into how the Shapiras and Hillel are partnering to transform organizational culture around using data to improve organizational outcomes.

Please RSVP to merav@jfunders.org >>

Please note, this event is for funders only. Space is limited, so RSVP now.

Cynthia D. Shapira is President of the Shapira Foundation. With her husband David, she leads the development and implementation of the foundation’s initiatives, such as Onward Israel (which transforms young adults through professional summer internships with Israeli businesses) and the Comprehensive Excellence project with Hillel International (creating a data-informed culture to define and achieve a new standard for non-profit operational excellence).

Cindy serves as Chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and on the Board and executive committee of the Jewish Agency for Israel. She is a trustee of Brandeis University. Her Jewish community work also includes board and executive committee member and Jewish Education & Engagement Unit Chair of the Jewish Federations of North America, and member of the board of Jewish Funders Network and Leading Edge.

During his thirty-plus years as chairman, chief executive officer and president, David Shapira positioned Giant Eagle, Inc. as an industry leader, and grew the company from a local chain of 50 grocery stores to an organization with more than 420 locations and $9.6 billion in revenue. Mr. Shapira joined Giant Eagle in 1970, a company founded by his grandfather with four others. Named president and CEO in 1980 and Chairman of the Giant Eagle Board of Directors in 1992, David led the company during its peak years of growth and transformation.

Since stepping away from day-to-day operations of Giant Eagle in 2013, David has applied the entrepreneurial approach he developed at Giant Eagle to the world of philanthropy. Through the Foundation he leads with his wife Cindy and in partnership with the Beacon Foundation, David has led the development of a number of projects that demonstrate real and meaningful positive impact on civic challenges of our day.

David’s civic involvement reflects his and Giant Eagle’s commitment to advancing and investing in the many communities the company and Foundation serve. David currently serves as Chair of Hillel International's Board of Governors and Onward Israel. He is past chairman of Carnegie Mellon University, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, and founding co-chair along with Cindy of the Pittsburgh Promise Campaign.

Eric Fingerhut is the President and CEO of Hillel International. He has devoted his entire professional life to public service and higher education. He came to Hillel after a distinguished and varied career. As Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents from early 2007 to 2011, Fingerhut led Ohio’s system of public universities and colleges. Most recently, he was Corporate Vice President of Education and STEM Learning business at Battelle. Battelle, based in Columbus, Ohio, where it was founded in 1929, is the world’s largest independent research and development organization. From 1997 to 2006, Fingerhut served as an Ohio state senator, where he worked on initiatives ranging from higher education to human services and economic development.

From 1993 to 1994, he represented Ohio’s 19th congressional district in the U.S. Congress and in 2004, he was the Democratic Party’s candidate for U.S. Senate. Fingerhut received a juris doctorate from Stanford University Law School and a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University.

JFN's Breaking Barriers Matching Grant Initiative in honor of 2016 Genesis Prize Laureate Itzhak Perlman offers $1 million in matching grant funds to organizations and projects that foster inclusion of people with disabilities within the Jewish community. Nonprofits and funders together apply for matching funds. This webinar will cover everything nonprofits need to know in order to apply for matching funds. (A separate webinar for funders will follow on another date TBD soon.) Please note, only North American nonprofits are eligible for this initiative.

This comprehensive webinar will cover:

• Goals of the initiative
• Eligibility guidelines
• How to apply
• Timeline
• Your questions

Background:

The Genesis Prize honors individuals who have attained excellence and international renown in their chosen professional fields, and who inspire others through their engagement and dedication to the Jewish community and the State of Israel. On June 22nd in Jerusalem, Itzhak Perlman received this prestigious award for his outstanding achievement as one of the most preeminent classical musicians in the world and for his unceasing dedication to improving the quality of life and opportunities available to people with disabilities. In lieu of accepting the prize money, Mr. Perlman has allowed for the funds to be used promote inclusion and breaking barriers in both North America and Israel. In Israel, an additional $500,000 will be dispersed through grants from Matan-United Way Israel. In North America, a fund of $1 million was created with the additional generosity of philanthropist Roman Abramovich. This combined approach will generate over $3 million in new philanthropic investment through the matching grant initiative and the activity in Israel.

Studies show that a strategic approach to talent management and an overall commitment to workplace culture have clear benefits, namely a greater level of employee engagement and productivity, and a significantly lower turnover rate. But how “great” are our Jewish workplaces and how might they become even better?

Leading Edge set out to find out by conducting a groundbreaking pilot employee engagement survey of nearly 3500 employees across 55 Jewish organizations in the United States. Join us to learn more about the results from the pilot survey.

With Gali Cooks, Executive Director, Leading Edge

Gali Cooks is the inaugural Executive Director of Leading Edge, an organization formed in 2014 by foundations and federations to influence, inspire and enable dramatic change in attracting, developing and retaining top talent for Jewish organizations. Gali’s professional experience spans the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

Her career began as a speechwriter at the Embassy of Israel and a Legislative Assistant at AIPAC. She then joined the Harold Grinspoon Foundation as Founding Director of the PJ Library. From 2007-2013, Gali was Executive Director of the Rita & Stanley Kaplan Family Foundation. In the private sector, Gali was VP of Operations at an education technology startup. Most recently, Gali was Director of Business Operations in the Youth Division of URJ.

Gali serves on the Boards of Keshet and the Joshua Venture Group, and holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an M.B.A. from the NYU Stern School of Business.

Join JFN and the Jewish Communal Fund of New York for the first session of a three-part series: Tools for Philanthropic Impact.

In Session 1: Strategic Philanthropy, we'll discuss how to focus your philanthropic giving on mission, to find organizations that match your passion, to ensure that an organization is legitimate, to examine the governance of an organization, and to compare and contrast organizations in the field.

Speakers:

Sally Gottesman has been involved in the not-for-profit sector for nearly 30 years as both a professional and lay leader. Professionally, Sally had a 15 year career as a consultant to not-for-profit organizations, working both at KPMG Peat Marwick and The Eleemosynary Group. She also served as the first NY/Tri-State Regional Director of the New Israel Fund and the first employee of the Israel Women’s Network in Jerusalem. As a lay-leader, Sally is the Co-Founder and Chair of Moving Traditions. Sally is also the Incoming Chair of Encounter, an educational organization cultivating informed and constructive Jewish leadership on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sally’s past Board service includes The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC), Kolot at RRC where she was instrumental in the creation of ritualwell.org, Congregation B’nai Jeshurun (NYC), The Jewish Funders Network, American Jewish World Service, Americans for Peace Now and The Jewish Women’s Archive. Sally is also committed to research in Neurofibromatosis (NF-1) and is a key leader of N-TAP, the Neurofibromatosis Therapeutic Acceleration Program at Johns Hopkins. Sally is also involved with her family-owned-business, Edison Properities, LLC which owns and operates Manhattan Mini Storage and Edison/Park Fast Parking, primarily in Manhattan and Newark, NJ. Sally’s articles on philanthropy, Judaism, Israel, feminism, and class have been published in a variety of books and newspapers. A graduate of Wellesley College, Sally double majored in Economics and Religion. She received her MBA from The Yale School of Management. She lives in NYC with her three children, Alice (9), Ezra (8) and Charlotte (5).

Aliza Mazor is the Executive Director of Bikkurim: Advancing New Jewish Ideas, a joint project of Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and the Kaminer Family. Bikkurim has supported 33 innovative start-ups that contribute significantly to the diversification and reinvigoration of Jewish life. Through Atid Hazak (Strong Futures), Bikkurim prepares the most promising new initiatives in Jewish life to grow their impact. Previously, Aliza served as an independent organizational consultant to philanthropies, capacity-builders, and social justice organizations. A Chicago native, Aliza spent fifteen years living and working in Israel and holds an MSW from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She currently lives in New York City

Scott A. Shay has served as a founder and is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Signature Bank since its inception. Signature Bank has grown in less than 12 years from its formation to $20 Billion in assets without any acquisitions. It is one of the few banks to have grown its earnings each year from 2008 through 2011. Since 1980, Shay has been involved in the investment banking and venture capital industries. He has served as Managing Director of Ranieri Partners and its predecessors since 1988. He is also an officer or director of related entities of Ranieri Partners. Prior to joining Ranieri Partners, Shay was a director and senior member of the mergers and acquisitions department of Salomon Brothers, Inc. Shay serves on the board of directors of Super Derivatives.From 1997 until 2005, Shay served as a director of Bank Hapoalim, Signature Bank’s former parent company. From December 1988 until February 2001, Shay served as a director of Bank United of Texas. He was part of the group that organized the purchase of Bank United of Texas and grew the bank to almost $20 billion in assets prior to its merger in 2001. Mr. Shay is consulted by legislators on both sides of the political aisle and has appeared as a financial commentator on network television. Mr. Shay is also actively involved in a Jewish formal and informal education. As part of his involvement, he serves or has recently served as a board member of the UJA-Federation of New York, the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education, the Jewish Agency, the Birthright Israel Steering Committee and the American Hebrew Academy. He is past chair of the Commission on Jewish Identity and Renewal of UJA-Federation and the Fund for Jewish Education (a joint venture of UJA and the Gruss Life Monument Fund). Mr. Shay is the President of Chai Mitzvah and is the Chairman of the Lapid Advisory Board Coalition of non-profit Israel Teen trip groups. He, and his wife Susan, are the founders of the Jewish Youth Connection. He is the author of “Getting Our Groove Back: How to Energize American Jewry” (Devora, 2nd Edition 2008). Mr. Shay received a B.A. degree in economics from Northwestern University in 1979 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In l980, he received a Master of Management degree from Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Moderator: Jeffrey R. Solomon, Senior Advisor, Chasbro Investments.

How can funders and the nonprofits they support use lobbying to effect change? How can 501(c)(3) organizations work on Capitol Hill without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status?

Join us for a webinar with JFN members Stephan Kline and William Daroff of JFNA to discuss issues surrounding nonprofit advocacy on the Hill, including the "H1 provision" and the difference between "political activity" and "legislative activity". Joel Braunold of ALLMEP (The Alliance for Middle East Peace), a coalition of peace-building organizations inside Israel and Palestine, will also join us to discuss how his organization navigates issues surrounding lobbying and advocacy as a nonprofit.

• William Daroff is Senior Vice President for Public Policy & Director of the Washington Office, The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)
• Joel Braunold is Executive Director at Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP)

Photo above by Desmond Reich

This call is a chance for JFN members to gain greater insight into the new opportunities, advocacy, programming and vistas that Jews of Color are creating‎ for themselves and for the Jewish community at large. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the challenges that Jews of Color contend with when engaging in the Jewish community, and the ways they are building new pathways to Jewish experience. The conversation is an opportunity to develop new skills for being inclusive of Jews of Color in our lives, organizations, and with grantees. Through hearing about the Jews of Color Convening of June 2016, as well as from experts organizing Jews of Color ongoing, JFN members will learn about the status of the work today and its potential future. As funders, JFN members can come to better understand what role they may play in this important work.

Speakers:

• Leo Ferguson, Community Organizer, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice
• Chava Shervington, President, Jewish Multiracial Network
• M. Dove Kent, Executive Director, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice
• Michael Hirschhorn, President, Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation (JFN member

How can Jewish funders support Project-Based Learning to revolutionize the educational experiences of students, teachers, administrators, and parents?  Project-Based Learning is a dynamic pedagogical approach in which students engage directly with real-world problems. Students work collaboratively with peers to investigate problems in depth and produce an end project that has relevance in the real world. With this type of active and engaged learning, students are inspired to obtain a deeper knowledge of the subjects they’re studying and apply it to something meaningful to them. Learn how—and why—Jewish schools and other educational programs are integrating Project-Based Learning into their educational approaches to deepen student learning.

Speakers:

• Tikvah Weiner, Chief Academic Officer of the I.D.E.A schools network
• Matt Williams, doctoral candidate at Stanford University studying Jewish education and a consultant to the project
• Dr. Susan M. Kardos, Senior Director of Strategy and Education Planning at The AVI CHAI Foundation
• Dr. Jane Willoughby, Vice President and Director of Education, Program Research and Development for the Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education

The Jewish Federation of Greater Baton Rouge will provide an update on the state of Baton Rouge’s Jewish community in the three weeks after unprecedented flooding occurred across a 20-parish (county) area. Representatives from the Baton Rouge Flood Relief Task Force, along with one of the flood survivors, will discuss the magnitude and scope of the disastrous, unnamed storm (including personal accounts), the response of the local Jewish community for the affected families and the issues that now face the second largest community in the state of Louisiana.

Did you know that one in five Americans has a disability? Did you know that almost 70% of the 22 million working-age Americans with disabilities don’t have jobs?

Join RespectAbility CEO Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, a JFN member, for a webinar to discuss how Jewish funders can and must effect positive change, for the sake of a stronger and more inclusive community, within and beyond the Jewish world.

Related from the JFN blog: watch Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi on PBS Newshour >>

Nexus is a group of over 3,000 young wealth holders, social entrepreneurs, and impact investors from around the world who convene to pursue strategic philanthropy in partnership with the White House, the UN, 10 Downing Street, and other governmental and international power centers.  The Nexus Global Youth Summit will convene at UN Headquarters in New York, July 20–22. For more information visit nexusyouthsummit.org

To discuss attending this event with other JFN members, email Merav Fine, Program Manager for Member Services:merav@jfunders.org

JFN member Aliza Mazor is one of the presenters in this Foundation Center webinar about nonprofits and the issue of scaling. Register >>

Should I Stay or Should I Grow? Nonprofits Weigh the Benefits of Scaling

Foundation Center webinar; $69

 Register >>

Presenters:

Aliza Mazor, Executive Director, Bikkurim

Lani Santo, Executive Director, Footsteps

Michele Giordano, Executive Director, Choices in Childbirth.

Enjoy live Israeli music and light refreshments with colleagues who share your interest in philanthropy and the arts, at this casual rooftop get-together hosted by Justine Karp.

RSVP

Co-sponsored by Jewish Funders Network & America-Israel Cultural Foundation

JFN members are invited for cocktails & conversation celebrating

American Masters — Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You

with special guest Norman Lear

Please RSVP to merav@jfunders.org

 co-presented by JFN & WNET

Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You opens theatrically in New York on July 8 and premieres on PBS nationwide in October.

It's the age old battle: work versus a happy life. The Rabbis faced it too—and wrote about it! We'll examine the stories of how the Rabbis attempted to balance home life, children, and work—which for them meant Torah study—and just what happens when the balance is out of joint.

(Part 2 in a series of lunch-and-learn sessions with Rabba Yaffa Epstein, Director of Education North America for the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies.)

Join us for a “fireside chat” with the newest members of the Slingshot Guide to Jewish Innovation in LA .

We will speak with local organizations in various stages of evolution about what it is to be in this space, and with funders about the role they play in seeding, supporting, and sometimes challenging these innovators.

Generously co-hosted by Courtney Mizel and Alexandra Shabtai

Were you involved in past JFN Jewish educational technology events? Do you want an update on what is happening with funders in this field at JFN? Join us to hear from the author of an upcoming Greenbook on Jewish Ed-Tech and to hear about the Jewish Ed-Tech session being planned for the JFN 2016 Conference.

Join JFN President & CEO Andrés Spokoiny and Board Co-Chair Avi Naor for an evening reception at the home of Emily & Dr. Dan Einhorn in La Jolla.

Enjoy light cocktails, network with other funders from the area, and get a sneak preview of the Conference April 3-5.

Andrés and Avi will discuss "The Power of Philanthropy: Superheros or Mad Scientists?"

Please join us for cocktails, appetizers, & desserts.

JFN President Andrés Spokoiny & JFN Board co-chair Avi Naor will discuss "“The Power of Philanthropy: Superheroes or Mad Scientists?”

What does it mean to be a philanthropist in the twenty first century? What does it mean to be a Jewish philanthropist? For some, these two identities feel intrinsically connected; for others, they could not be further apart.

Source Sheet >>

About Rabba Yaffa Epstein:

R' Yaffa serves as the Director of Education, North America for the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. She received rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Maharat and holds a law degree from Bar-Ilan University. She has studied at the Pardes Kollel, the Advanced Talmud Institute at Matan and the Talmud Department of Hebrew University.Yaffa has been a teacher of Talmud, Jewish Law, and Liturgy at Pardes for over a decade, and has served as the Director of the Beit Midrash at the Dorot Fellowship in Israel. She has taught Talmud and Jewish Law at Yeshivat Maharat, The Drisha Institute, The Wexner Heritage New Members Institute, Kayam Farm Kollel and Young Judaea. R' Yaffa has lectured at Limmud Events around the world, has written curriculum for the Global Day of Jewish Learning and has created innovative educational programming for Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life.

Whether in business (seeking financial returns) or in philanthropy (seeking social returns), we always need to measure how well we're doing. But working with the right metrics is easier said than done.

What are we measuring and why? How are we defining success? How do the answers to these questions impact giving and field growth? These are just a few of the questions we will explore in this luncheon discussion.

Panel:

Michael Weinstein, PhD, Chief Program Officer of the Robin Hood Foundation, will detail the disciplined system that Robin Hood has developed over years to maximize impact of its grantees.

Judith Samuels, PhD, Managing Director for the Impact and Performance Assessment Department at UJA-Federation of New York, will elaborate on the importance of metrics in the Jewish community specifically, along with the Jewish Evaluation Network initiative that her team recently launched. 

Moderator: Gary Rosenblatt, Editor and Publisher, The Jewish Week

Event sponsor: Mark Pearlman, JFN member and business strategist. A devotee of transparency, efficiency and accountability in philanthropy, Mark was a creator of The Jewish Week's "Jewish GDP Project," which seeks to help organize and frame an intelligent/informed discussion on our community’s finances and performance. The January 12th event is part of this Jewish Week initiative. For background on the Jewish GDP, please refer to articles by Edieal Pinker, Jack Ukeles, Jeffrey Solomon, Seth Chalmer, and Mark Pearlman.

Learn about the COJECO BluePrint Fellowship, a year-long program for Russian-speaking Jewish adults ages 25-40 to explore personal and collective identity through the creation of Jewish community projects, supported by group workshops, one-on-one mentorship, and a mini-grant.

Part of the Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and their Families matching grant initiative in honor of 2015 Genesis Prize Laureate Michael Douglas.

How can funders, and the projects they support, create a more welcoming Jewish community?

Recent research has underlined the continued fact of intermarriage as the predominant reality among young American Jews. How can we better engage and welcome intermarried couples, families, and children? Join other funders to explore the "hows" and "whys" of welcoming intermarried families.

Over the course of the afternoon, we will learn about the field, hear presentations about current research as well as funder implications, and have time for small group conversations and networking before breaking for a holiday cocktail party. 

Discussion topics will include: practical efforts to make our communities more welcoming to intermarried families, policy changes our institutions can make, and creative strategies to engage intermarried families in the Jewish community. 

Speakers:

Naomi Schaefer Riley: "Challenges & Opportunities"
Author, Til Faith Do Us Part: How Interfaith Marriage is Transforming America

Rabbi Rick Jacobs: "Audacious Hospitality"
President, URJ

Fern Chertok: "Millennial Children of Intermarriage"
Research Scientist, Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies (Brandeis)

Isabeau Lalonde: "Understanding Today's Interfaith Families"
Senior Experience Strategist at Wolff Olins

Breakout sessions led by:

• Paul Golin (Big Tent Judaism)
• Jodi Bromberg (InterfaithFamily)
• April Baskin (URJ)
• Rabbi Joy Levitt (JCC in Manhattan)
• Isabeau Lalonde (Wolf Olins)
• Mamie Kanfer Stewart (Lippman Kanfer Family Foundation)
• Archie Gottesman (Co-Founder, STARCH Branding, LLC and Marketing Jewru)
• Fern Chertok (Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, Brandeis)
  
  

Where are the success stories of children who were raised with wealth and went on to lead productive, motivated, and independent lives?

Certain levels of wealth come with certain parenting challenges. We’ve all heard stories of difficulties with children who can be entitled, unproductive, or dissipative. But what about the success stories—children raised with wealth who grew up to be productive, self-motivated, financially independent, and content? Wealth advisor Covie Edwards-Pitt sought out these success stories and collected the key lessons they revealed in her recently published book, Raised Healthy, Wealthy & Wise. In this session, she will share what works when raising wealthy children to lead fulfilling and productive lives.

The recently launched Alumni Playbook by the Schusterman Foundation aims to create meaningful touch points for alumni to engage with after their active participation in a program. Their strategy includes a new website with best practices, toolkits, and ample research to back up the methodologies.

Join us for a conversation with the Schusterman Family Foundation, along with one of its grantees, to learn how this methodology came about and how it has successfully been applied.

See materials from the conference >>

Can powerful leadership change the world? Does a Jewish lens for leadership alter the way we effect change?

The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation has long held a commitment to social welfare and Jewish communal life. Through philanthropy, the Foundation promotes "the improvement of society so that the sum total of human welfare and wisdom may be increased,” as stated by Lucius N. Littauer, founder. Working with AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps, the Littauer Foundation is exercising Jewish leadership with the bold goal of alleviating poverty.By engaging and training leaders interested in tikkun olam (repairing the world), the Littauer Foundation and AVODAH are working together to support leaders for social change whose work is anchored in Jewish values.

Join us for a conversation with these two organizations to learn about the landscape of poverty across the US, and about how philanthropy and Jewish leadership can effect positive change in this arena.

Alan Divack is Program Director of The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, a private foundation based in New York City.  He is responsible for the full range of program operations of the Foundation, which works in NYC and Israel in the areas of education and workforce, Jewish communal life, and libraries and archives. Before joining the Foundation, Alan worked as a Project Manager at the Ford Foundation International Fellowships program, and as a development consultant.  He spent much of his career before that at the Ford Foundation, working in archives, research and program.

Cheryl Cook has twenty five years of experience as a leader, manager, fundraiser and program planner in the Jewish community. At the beginning of 2015, she joined AVODAH as Executive Director, and has been excited to be a part of AVODAH’s work of building leadership capacity for the Jewish and social justice communities. Before joining AVODAH, she was COO at Hazon, helping Hazon grow from a small national organization with 6 staff and a $650K budget in one city to a much larger organization with close to 80 staff, a budget that is over $8 million, and bases in 8 cities. She has worked across the innovative sector of the Jewish community: at Makor, New Israel Fund, JESNA, Hillel and the 92nd Street Y. Cheryl is passionate about creating a vibrant Jewish community that opens doors, engages people from across all backgrounds and plays a significant role in making the world a more just and caring place for everyone.

Suzanne Feinspan is the Deputy Director at AVODAH, an organization which develops and engages a network of Jewish leaders fighting poverty and promoting social justice in the United States. Suzanne got her start as a Jewish social justice activist when she participated in AVODAH’s Jewish Service Corps in 2003 in Washington, DC. She returned to AVODAH as a staff member in 2007, initially running the DC Jewish Service Corps, then serving in a variety of national programmatic and managerial roles, including as Acting Executive Director this past year.

Jessica Schaffer (AVODAH alumna) is the Director of HIAS Chicago, where she oversees a team providing services to diverse immigrant and refugee communities. Jessica previously led student service learning and adult global justice fellowship programs with American Jewish World Service. From 2012 until early 2015, Jessica worked as the Safer Communities Project Coordinator at Jewish Child and Family Services, where she developed a comprehensive abuse prevention program that communities around the country have looked to as a model. Her worked earned her the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago's Samuel A. Goldsmith Award for young leadership in September 2014.

Despite its tremendous contributions and assets, the State of Israel faces a persistent branding crisis. The Jewish State’s image around the world remains overwhelmingly defined by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—or, rather, by inaccurate or incomplete narratives about that conflict. Yet research by BAV consulting, under the direction of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shows that a global supermajority, perhaps 60–70% of the world’s population, does not (yet) hold a definitive or inflexible view of Israel or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The same research suggests that non-political strategies that approach Israel as a brand may be most effective in creating positive interest in Israel, and in opening minds to the complexities of the conflict. How do we evaluate our portfolio of strategies for the current environment?

Join other funders who support Israel for an open discussion of new models of targeted Israel engagement. To frame the discussion, three practitioners will offer presentations:

• Anna Blender, Senior Brand Consultant, BAV Consulting. BAV's goal is to change the way the world thinks about brands. Marrying the discipline of financial management with the art of brand management, BAV helps businesses understand and mine their most important asset: the relationship between their customers and their brands. BAV research has been utilized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for over 10 years and was the inspiration and strategy behind the Brand Israel project, which provided the vision for both Vibe Israel and Israel & Co.
  
  
• Joanna Landau, CEO & Founder, Vibe Israel. Vibe Israel is a philanthropic-business initiative to change the way people think and feel about Israel. Utilizing place branding and marketing techniques, Vibe Israel works with Israeli businesses and pro-Israel philanthropists to promote the innovative spirit of the country as well as Israeli businesses and products, connecting people to Israel through their own interests. For the past 4 years, Vibe Israel has focused on bringing international online opinion leaders on a week-long personalized experience of Israel. Each tour is subject matter-specific in an area in which Israel has a competitive advantage, such as environmentalism, wine, social entrepreneurship, tourism, the arts, fashion, gastronomy, and more. Building on this success, Vibe Israel will be implementing new initiatives based on this strategy in 2016.
  
  
• Rafi Musher, Founder, Israel & Co. Israel & Co. builds greater understanding of and appreciation for Israel among global leaders and rising leaders by empowering them to visit the country to experience for themselves Israel’s global contributions, innovative culture, and complex reality. They connect influential people to inspiring Israeli thought leaders, innovators, and policymakers. Participants return to their personal, professional, and civic lives with a new appreciation of Israel which they share with their networks. They focus on segments that have strong track records for turning out future leaders and change-makers, such as top graduate schools in the fields of business, law, and public policy.
  
  

Are you a funder or foundation? Do you want to leverage your philanthropy? Join us to explore the important issue of engaging intermarried families and to learn about how funders and foundations can participate in the Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and Families matching grant initiative.

Hosted by the Rose Community Foundation and the Oreg Foundation.

For more information, contact Tzivia Schwartz Getzug, West Coast Director, Jewish Funders Network at 818-473-9192 or tzivia@jfunders.org. 

Learn how donor-advised funds can work for your philanthropic strategy.

A donor-advised fund is a charitable giving vehicle administered by a public charity created to manage charitable donations on behalf of organizations, families, or individuals. Join us for a webinar to learn about the who, what, and how of donor-advised funds.

Presenters:

Ellen Smith Israelson, Vice President of Philanthropic Services & CMO, Jewish Communal Fund of New York, the donor advised fund of the Jewish community. Ms. Israelson oversees JCF’s Marketing & Business Development Group and Client Relations team, and under her leadership assets have grown 38% in the past five years. Her responsibilities include the formation and implementation of the marketing and business development plans. In addition, she oversees JCF’s innovative philanthropic services, including educational resources and individual advising. She created and spearheads JCF’s Private Client Group, and helps HNW individuals and their families be more strategic and intentional with their giving.  Ms. Israelson developed the Center for Next Generation Philanthropy (CNGP), which provides resources to help Jewish teens and young professionals increase their engagement in charitable giving and co-authored JCF’s highly acclaimed Teen Philanthropy Guidebook. Ms. Israelson established the JCF Advisors Network which provides educational resources and networking opportunities to professionals in law, accounting, wealth management and finance.  She serves on the national board of board Advisors in Philanthropy (AiP), and is a member of NYSSCPAs, NY Estate Planning Council, and PPGGNY (Philanthropic Planned Giving Group of NY).

Scott A. Shay, founding partner at Ranieri Partners Management LLC (who utilizes a DAF for his own philanthropic giving). Mr. Shay has served as a founder and is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Signature Bank since its inception. Signature Bank has grown in less than 12 years from its formation to $20 Billion in assets without any acquisitions. It is one of the few banks to have grown its earnings each year from 2008 through 2011. Since 1980, Shay has been involved in the investment banking and venture capital industries. He has served as Managing Director of Ranieri Partners and its predecessors since 1988. From 1997 until 2005, Shay served as a director of Bank Hapoalim, Signature Bank’s former parent company.  From December 1988 until February 2001, Shay served as a director of Bank United of Texas. Mr. Shay is consulted by legislators on both sides of the political aisle and has appeared as a financial commentator on network television. Mr. Shay is also actively involved in a Jewish formal and informal education.  As part of his involvement, he serves or has recently served as a board member of the UJA-Jewish Federation of New York, the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education, the Jewish Agency, the Birthright Israel Steering Committee and the American Hebrew Academy.  He is past chair of the Commission on Jewish Identity and Renewal of UJA-Jewish Federation and the Fund for Jewish Education (a joint venture of UJA and the Gruss Life Monument Fund). Mr. Shay is the President of Chai Mitzvah and is the Chairman of the Lapid  Advisory Board Coalition of non-profit Israel Teen trip groups. He, and his wife Susan, are the founders of the Jewish Youth Connection. He is the author of “Getting Our Groove Back:  How to Energize American Jewry” (Devora, 2nd Edition 2008).

Are you a funder or foundation? Do you want to leverage your philanthropy? Join Dr. Ron Wolfson and recent participants from Honeymoon Israel to explore the important issue of engaging intermarried families and to learn about how funders and foundations can participate in the Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and Families matching grant initiative. For more information, contact Tzivia Schwartz Getzug, West Coast Director, Jewish Funders Network at 818-473-9192 or tzivia@jfunders.org. 

Hosted by Marcie and Howard Zelikow.

Are you on the board of a foundation with multiple generations of the same family? Join us for an intimate conversation with two families who excel in navigating the waters of multigenerational giving.

Hubert Leven and his son Francois Leven of the Rashi Foundation will be joining Georgette Bennett and her son Joshua-Marc Tanenbaum of the Polonsky Foundation to discuss their philanthropic values, the importance of Jewish giving, and navigating multigenerational board dynamics.

At JFN we value respect, derech eretz, and strive to listen carefully and respectfully to one another. Hubert, Francois, Georgette, and Joshua-Marc engender this value in their relationships with one another serving on their respective boards. We hope to learn from their example.

The Rashi Foundation is an independent private foundation dedicated to assisting the underprivileged in Israel with a focus on children and youth, focused on creating opportunities for individuals on the periphery and promoting social mobility for this sector of the Israeli population. Hubert Leven has led the Foundation as President since its establishment in 1984. He also serves as Vice-President of Alliance Israelite Universelle and as a member of the Board of KIAH (Kol Israel Haverim). In his professional career, Mr. Leven was CEO of a Parisian brokerage firm and served on the executive board of Source Perrier. Francois Leven serves on the Executive Committee of the Rashi Foundation. In his professional life he works with Banque Paris Bertrand Sturdza. 

The Polonsky Foundation supports charitable giving in causes ranging from higher education to arts and culture, focused primarily in the UK, Israel and the US. Among its major commitments are the democratization and preservation of knowledge, as expressed through large scale projects that have digitized collections of major libraries of the world. Georgette Bennett serves on the Board of the family’s foundation and is Vice Chairman of the JFN board. She is Founder and President of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding and founder of the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees. She also serves on Boards of International Rescue Committee, Third Way, and the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, among others. Her son Joshua-Marc Tanenbaum, serves on the junior board of the Polonsky Foundation as well as the Board of the Council of Young Jewish Presidents, the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and is active in Nexus Youth Summit, Tanenbaum Center and various other organizations. He also is founder of a social impact advisory business, LEGACY Advisory. His full time work is in Executive Search focusing on Asset Management and Impact Investing at Korn Ferry. 

The conversation will be moderated by Jewish Funders Network President & CEO Andres Spokoiny. Cocktails and Kosher hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Were you a matched funder in the 2013-2014 Workforce Development Matching Grant? Are you interested in learning more about services in the United States and Israel that aim to provide tools and opportunities for individuals to lift themselves from poverty into solid self-support, preferably on a career track?

If so, we invite you to join us for an exclusive and intimate luncheon hosted by The Heckscher Foundation, to learn more about the field, and to network with other funders who are involved in this funding field.

We have the unique opportunity to hear from Hubert Leven, President of the Rashi Foundation. Rashi is dedicated to supporting individuals in Israel’s geographic and social periphery. We'll also hear from Peter Sloane, Chairman and CEO of the Heckscher Foundation, who will share his experiences in this field and the opportunities he envisions for funder collaboration in the workforce development field.  Both Peter and Hubert will share best practices, lessons learned, and case studies from each of their perspectives, and the luncheon will include a lively discussion.

JFN and the Ruderman Family Foundation will host a funders convening on Sunday, Nov 1, 2:30pm-4:30pm EST (before the opening plenary). Speakers will include Michael Stein and Diana Samarasan, and Tirza Leibowitz will moderate.

The Ruderman Inclusion Summit on Nov 1-2 will bring together all stakeholders in our community to foster strategic advocacy and awareness, peer to peer learning, best practice, networking and more. The Summit will feature internationally recognized leaders in the field, speaking and engaging with attendees on the critical issues of education, housing, employment, community and religious life. Five hundred people from around the world are expected to participate in the conference. See this year's plenary speakers...

Join us for an intimate roundtable conversation to learn more about the New Profit Innovation Fund. JFN members who are curious about venture philanthropy, which takes concepts and techniques from venture capital finance and business management and applies them to achieving philanthropic goals, are invited to this breakfast to learn about the relationship between New Profit and its portfolio organizations. 

New Profit is a 16 year-old venture philanthropy firm that has provided early financial and strategic support to more than 40 nonprofit organizations, including Teach For America, Health Leads, KIPP Schools, and Year Up. Its mission is to break down the barriers that stand between people and opportunity in America. The discussion will be led by Mora Segal, CEO of Achievement Network and a social entrepreneur from the New Profit portfolio, who will reflect on her special relationship with New Profit and the impact her organization has in the social sector. Eliza Greenberg, the architect of New Profit's core Innovation Fund, will comment on New Profit's unique "value-add" for selected nonprofits that are expanding social mobility and closing the opportunity gap. 

One of our core values is areyvut, partnership, and JFN encourages partnerships amongst philanthropists within the Jewish community and beyond. We are pleased to have the opportunity to learn more about venture philanthropy together with New Profit.

Please join us in Washington, DC for a conversation with Sigal Yaniv Feller, the Director of Advisory Services at our Israel Office as we discuss our recently released Greenbook on "Funding Environmental Stewardship in Israel."

At this discussion, you will have the opportunity to sit with other funders to discuss the unique, critical, exciting, innovative, and challenging aspects of funding environmental programs in Israel.

Sigal comes to JFN with extensive expertise in environmental studies and science, most recently as the Executive Director of the Green Environment Fund (GEF) in Israel. She will share some of her experiences in the field and visions for future potential.  An expert in giving and in innovative funding opportunities in Israel, this is an opportunity not to be missed.

This will be a lively and engaging discussion about funding the environmental field. This is a great opportunity to network with other JFN members, learn, discuss, and expand your knowledge of this exciting field.

At JFN we value responsibility, tikkun olam, and view this Greenbook as one of many ways that Jewish funders can participate in repairing the world for future generations. Sigal will provide important insight as to how American Jewish funders can connect with their Israeli peers on the subject of Environmental stewardship in Israel and beyond.

Are you interested in giving in Israel? Do you want to learn about trends in Israeli philanthropy? Our Director of Advisory Services in Israel, Sigal Yaniv Feller, will be leading a conversation on these topics and more on Friday, October 16th from 9am-10:30am EST.

Sigal comes to JFN with extensive expertise in environmental studies and science, most recently as the Executive Director of the Green Environment Fund (GEF) in Israel. An expert in giving and in innovative funding opportunities in Israel, this is an opportunity not to be missed.

At JFN we strive for areyvut, or partnership, with philanthropists, connecting members to each other and to philanthropic issue areas across the globe. Sigal Yaniv Feller can provide important insight as to how American Jewish funders can connect with their Israeli peers.

Presentation will be held in the home of a JFN member in NYC, details provided upon RSVP. Space is limited to 14 members on a first come, first served basis. Kosher breakfast will be provided.

Please join us in New York City for a conversation with Sigal Yaniv Feller, the Director of Advisory Services at our Israel Office as we discuss our recently released Greenbook on "Funding Environmental Stewardship in Israel."

At this lunch time discussion, you will have the opportunity to sit with other funders to discuss the unique, critical, exciting, innovative, and challenging aspects of funding environmental programs in Israel.

Sigal comes to JFN with extensive expertise in environmental studies and science, most recently as the Executive Director of the Green Environment Fund (GEF) in Israel. She will share some of her experiences in the field and visions for future potential.  An expert in giving and in innovative funding opportunities in Israel, this is an opportunity not to be missed.

This will be a lively and engaging discussion about funding the environmental field. This is a great opportunity to network with other JFN members, learn, discuss, and expand your knowledge of this exciting field.

At JFN we value responsibility, tikkun olam, and view this Greenbook as one of many ways that Jewish funders can participate in repairing the world for future generations. Sigal will provide important insight as to how American Jewish funders can connect with their Israeli peers on the subject of Environmental stewardship in Israel and beyond.

Jewish Funders Network is pleased to be working in partnership with the GANDYR Foundation as they begin to work on an exciting new initiative: Working Together. This initiative has been developed in partnership with the Israeli government to encourage cross-sector coordination and cooperation integrating at-risk youth into meaningful places of employment. The GANDYR Foundation is committed to supporting education as a pathway to meaningful employment. By bringing government, private sector, and philanthropists together to work on this project, we have a unique opportunity to develop a lasting program to improve the long-term employment opportunities for youth in Israel.

At JFN we value partnership, areyvut, and strive to help donors to connect with each other and to root their giving in Jewish traditions, ethics, and values. We believe that the Working Together program exemplifies this value, and look forward to your invaluable participation.

Join us at the JFN offices on October 15, 9am-11:30am EDT, for a breakfast to learn more about how we can support this important initiative as a community.

Presenter: Debra Schwartz, Managing Director, Impact Investments, The John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

What are Program Related and Mission Related Investments (PRIs & MRIs)? Why should foundations consider them? This webinar will introduce the basics of investing for mission-relevant, and financially sustainable, social return.

After years of suffering under Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship, a Syrian resistance movement arose in 2011 as part of the Arab Spring. Four years later, the complex and multilateral war between Assad, ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra, the Free Syrian Army, and countless splinter groups has caused a refugee crisis that amounts to an international catastrophe. Over 250,000 civilians have been killed, over half of the Syrian population has been displaced by the ongoing civil war, and refugees are desperately seeking new homes in nearby countries such as Lebanon and Jordan, and farther destinations such as the European Union.

At JFN we value responsibility, tikkun olam, and we face the many pressing problems that exist in the world as a united front. We are committed to helping funders in determining the responsible, ethical use of philanthropic dollars towards positive change.

Join us for a webinar with Shadi Martini, a displaced Syrian businessman turned refugee and activist, and Dr. Georgette Bennett, President of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding and founder of the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees. MFA is an interfaith response to this humanitarian refugee crisis. Its mission is to mobilize multi-faith support for displaced people while raising awareness of the situation and pressing for actions that will lead toward stability for Syrians and the region. In this webinar we will learn about the current state of organizing for relief on behalf of Syrian refugees seeking new lives and homes in Europe.

Shadi Martini: As it has with so many other victims of this crisis, the Syrian war turned businessman Shadi Martini into a refugee, an activist, and an advocate for greater cooperation across faith and cultural lines.  When the Assad regime cracked down on protesters in March 2011, Mr. Martini and his comrades secretly started aiding wounded and ill civilians. This covert network was eventually discovered in mid-2012, forcing Mr. Martini to flee his country. Mr. Martini went to a neighboring country to organize assistance for Syrian refugees. While his work in the Middle East continues, he is also coordinating a major relief effort on behalf of Syrian refugees flooding into Europe. For some years, he has also partnered with Jewish organizations in the U.S. and abroad, which involved him in multifaith relief work.

Dr. Georgette Bennett, President of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, is a sociologist by training who has spent the past 22 years advancing interreligious relations. She founded the Tanenbaum Center in 1992 and under her leadership it has become the go-to organization for practical, cutting-edge programs that combat religion-based hatred and misunderstanding in schools, workplaces, areas of armed conflict, and healthcare settings.

In 2013, Dr. Bennett founded the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees, utilizing the moral authority of religious leaders to mobilize support for alleviating the suffering of Syria's war victims. Today, there are forty-three organizations in the Alliance. Dr. Bennett is also a founding Board member of the Global Covenant on Religion, where she serves as Treasurer. In addition, she serves in the U.S. State Department Religion and Foreign Policy initiative’s working group on conflict mitigation. Most recently, Dr. Bennett spearheaded a Christian-Jewish initiative that opposes the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Africa, and antisemitism in Europe and elsewhere.

Are you a donor interested in funding programs or organizations serving intermarried couples, families, or individuals from those families? Do you want your funding leveraged dollar for dollar? Then this webinar is for you.

JFN and the Genesis Prize Foundation's Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and their Families Matching Grant Initiative in honor of 2015 Genesis Prize Laureate Michael Douglas offers $1.65 million in matching grant funds to organizations and projects that support and enhance avenues to Jewish engagement for intermarried couples and their families. This webinar will cover everything you need to know in order to apply for matching funds.

The Genesis Prize honors individuals who have attained excellence and international renown in their chosen professional fields, and who inspire others through their engagement and dedication to the Jewish community and the State of Israel. On June 18, in Jerusalem, Michael Douglas received this prestigious award and announced that the prize money, along with a generous donation from businessman and philanthropist Roman Abramovich, will be used to promote activities that encourage the inclusion of intermarried families in Jewish life. 

This comprehensive webinar will cover:

• Goals of the initiative
• Eligibility guidelines for donors
• Timeline
• Your questions
  
  

JFN’s past matching grants initiatives have generated over $90 million to support Jewish education, services for the Jewish elderly poor, advocacy and environmental protection in Israel, and more. We encourage you to learn more about this venture and ask questions during this one-hour informational webinar.

Please join this intimate roundtable conversation to learn more about the New Profit Innovation Fund. This conversation is for JFN members who are curious about venture philanthropy, which takes concepts and techniques from venture capital finance and business management and applies them to achieving philanthropic goals. Members interested in this topic and in learning more about the relationship between New Profit and its portfolio organizations are invited to join us for breakfast on Sept 16th from 9:00-10:00 am in NYC.

New Profit is a 16 year-old venture philanthropy firm that has provided early financial and strategic support to more than 40 nonprofit organizations, including Teach For America, Health Leads, KIPP Schools, and Year Up, etc. Its mission is to break down the barriers that stand between people and opportunity in America.

The roundtable will feature brief comments by Eliza Greenberg, the architect of the Innovation Fund, and Mike O'Brien, founder / CEO of iMentor, a NY-based nonprofit in New Profit's portfolio of investments. Half of the hour-long conversation will be reserved for Q and A. Space is extremely limited and will be offered on a first come, first served basis.

At the Jewish Funders Network we’re pleased to engage our members in programs that will grow their philanthropic toolbox.  One of our core values, areyvut, focuses on partnership amongst philanthropists within the Jewish community and beyond. We are pleased to have the opportunity to learn more about venture philanthropy  together with New Profit.

Are you a nonprofit organization serving intermarried couples, families, or individuals from those families? Do you want to energize your current program or create a new one for this population? Are you a funder who cares about this issue and you want your funding leveraged dollar for dollar? Then this webinar is for you.

JFN and the Genesis Prize Foundation's Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and their Families Matching Grant Initiative in honor of 2015 Genesis Prize Laureate Michael Douglas offers $1.65 million in matching grant funds to organizations and projects that support and enhance avenues to Jewish engagement for intermarried couples and their families. This webinar will cover everything you need to know in order to apply for matching funds.

The Genesis Prize honors individuals who have attained excellence and international renown in their chosen professional fields, and who inspire others through their engagement and dedication to the Jewish community and the State of Israel. On June 18, in Jerusalem, Michael Douglas received this prestigious award and announced that the prize money, along with a generous donation from businessman and philanthropist Roman Abramovich, will be used to promote activities that encourage the inclusion of intermarried families in Jewish life. 

This comprehensive webinar will cover:

• Goals of the initiative
• Eligibility guidelines
• How to apply 
• Timeline
• Your questions
  
  

When making the decision to leave an ultra-orthodox Jewish community, many individuals face devastating realities: the loss of spouses, access to children, parents, etc. Beyond these familial ties, there has been significant press in recent years about the psychological and fiscal impact of severing these ties. The decision to leave orthodoxy can be an incredibly lonely one, and the results can be fatal, as we have most recently seen in the case of Faigy Mayer z”l.

The Jewish Funders Network values inclusion, eilu v’eilu, and strives to create a safe space for proactive conversations around even the most controversial topics. With this value set in mind, we have brought together a group of individuals experienced in this field to discuss how philanthropists can effect positive change in incidences such as these.

Join us on September 8th at 2pm EST for a webinar with Lani Santo, Executive Director of Footsteps, an organization committed to helping former ultra-orthodox Jews find their way in secular society; Shulem Deen, author of All Who Go Do Not Return, a memoir of his personal story of leaving ultra-orthodox Jewry; and Juliet Eurich, Executive Director of The Alvin and Fanny B. Thalheimer Foundation, an organization that supports Footsteps and its mission to aid individuals such as Shulem and Faigy.

To read more about this issue, please see these resources:

http://www.jta.org/2015/04/08/arts-entertainment/hasidic-rebel-shulem-deen-on-leaving-orthodoxy-and-losing-his-children

http://forward.com/news/317900/the-brave-life-and-shocking-death-of-faigy-mayer/  

http://gothamist.com/2015/08/12/ultra_orthodox_jewish_struggle.php

Following the Wall Street collapse in 2008, Greece became a central figure in the European debt crisis that followed. This collapse has had a particularly devastating impact on the Jewish community in Greece. The Balkan Jews and the Romaniot Jews of Greece trace their ancestry to the 15th and 16th centuries, and are an integral part of the community there. Many rely heavily on income from the real estate market, which has suffered significantly, and the result has been difficulty funding important Jewish institutions such as their community school.

In 2010 the Greek government was issued a number of bailouts with harsh long term impacts on taxes and deep budget cuts. In the last few months this has all come to a head and the Greek government reached an agreement on July 13th to resolve the current situation.

To learn about the impact of these events on the Jewish community from an inside perspective, Diego Ornique, Regional Director of JDC-Europe, along with Josh Spinner, Executive Vice President and CEO of the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, will be joining us for a call on August 6, at 12:00 p.m. EDT.

JFN Israel will be holding an evening of networking and inspiration for Israeli funders, on Monday, June 22, at the home of Dafna Meitar-Nechmad -- Co-Chair of the 2016 JFN International Conference in San Diego -- and her husband Amir Nechmad. The evening will include a lecture on "The Road to Happiness" by Professor Yoram Yovell of the University of Haifa.

This event will be held in Hebrew, and is by invitation only. Spouses are welcome!

For further details or to RSVP, email jfnisrael@jfunders.org.

About the presenter:
Professor Yoram Yovell is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst with a PhD in neuroscience. He is a founder and an active member of the International Neuro-Psychoanalysis Association. He is a co-director of the Institute for Study of Affective Neuroscience (ISAN) at the University of Haifa.

Why are Jewish nonprofit institutions struggling to find the talent they need, particularly at the most senior ranks? In the winter of 2013, a group of funders, mostly CEOs of Jewish foundations, came together to brainstorm ways they could help. As a result of this initial conversation, they hired The Bridgespan Group to explore these questions and to develop a plan to move from discussion to action. The result was this report and the founding of the Jewish Leadership Pipelines Alliance. But, the Jewish community is not alone in its quest to attract, develop, and retain high-quality leaders for nonprofits. The Talent Philanthropy Project, launched in 2014 by former Executive Director of EPIP, Rusty Stahl, and backed by some of the nation's largest and most esteemed foundations, aims to explore these issues and work with funders to channel their investments into supporting grantee talent. 

Learn more about the Alliance's efforts and the work of the Talent Philanthropy Project, and find out how two JFN members, Cindy Chazan, Vice President at The Wexner Foundation, and Adam Simon, Director of Leadership Initiatives at the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, approach funding talent and strengthening our sector.

Speakers:

• Cindy Chazan is Vice President for The Wexner Foundation.
• Gali Cooks is the inaugural Executive Director of the Leadership Pipelines Alliance.
• Adam Simon is the Director of Leadership Initiatives for the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation.
• Rusty Stahl is President and CEO of Talent Philanthropy Project.
  
  

The lack of affordable housing is one of Israel’s most pressing domestic issues, documented most recently in the State Comptroller’s Report on the Housing Crisis. Because there is no multi-family rental market in Israel, almost all rental apartments are owned by individuals -- an unregulated market where neither landlords nor tenants have legal protection. Israelis who do have means are investing in more than one apartment, as rental income is only taxed above 5080 NIS. Since it can take upwards of 13 years for the planning process and permits needed to construct a new building, it is no surprise that rents saw a 50% increase (30% increase in real terms) from 2008 to 2013. Demand for housing is soaring while supply is thwarted.

In most Western countries, including the United States, there are legal frameworks that support stable rental markets, balancing the needs of tenants with those of owners. In Israel, the government, in effect, removed itself from the housing market in 1977 when the country began to move from a socialist to neo-liberal economy, resulting in the current crisis. Lack of affordable housing is causing new immigrants, young couples, students, and single-parent families to despair of their future--when they are Israel’s future.

A flourishing affordable housing market can also be the lever for community revitalization in underdeveloped Israeli cities that are close to the country’s center of employment.

Since 2008, the Revson Foundation has been deeply engaged in the challenges associated with affordable housing in Israel. In Israel’s new government, affordable housing—especially rental housing—is likely to be a top item on the agenda.

Join Julie Sandorf, Revson’s president, for a debriefing on affordable housing in Israel, its challenges and opportunities, as well as what models and tools can be adapted from decades of successful American experience in New York, Boston, St. Louis, and other urban settings. Julie will be joined by Dr. Emily Silverman, founder of the Urban Clinic at Hebrew University, an an academic body that provides state of the art knowledge about what works in housing, urban regeneration, and community planning, to ensure that the current and next generation of urban practitioners are equipped with effective tools and skills.

About the presenters:

Julie Sandorf, Charles H. Revson Foundation

Dr. Emily Silverman, Hebrew University

Were you a matched funder in the 2013-14 Workforce Development Matching Grant? Did you attend the workforce development session at this year's conference in Tel Aviv? Are you interested in learning more about services in the United States, Israel, or elsewhere that provide the “life-tools” for clients to lift themselves from poverty into solid self-support, preferably on a career track?

If so, we invite you to join us for an exclusive and intimate luncheon in NYC, hosted by The Heckscher Foundation, to learn more about the field, and to network with other funders who are involved in this funding field.

We will be joined by Angie Kamath, CEO of Per Scholas NY, who will discuss how Per Scholas engages with employers, evaluates programs, and has scaled up to a national level. We'll also learn what lessons might be applied to other organizations in the field. We'll also hear from Peter Sloane, Chairman and CEO of Heckscher Foundation, who will share their experiences in this field and the opportunities they envision for funder collaboration in the workforce development field.  They each will share best practices, lessons learned, and case studies from each of their perspectives, and the luncheon will include a lively discussion.

This is an in-person event, and will not be recorded or live-streamed.

https://soundcloud.com/jfunders/news-briefing-ethiopian-protests-in-israel

On Sunday, May3, a riot erupted at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. What was initially an anti-police brutality protest became violent as Ethiopian Israelis made heard their years of frustration with a system that simultaneously invites them in and pushes them to the fringe. The riot on May 3 was not an isolated incident; on Monday, May 18, another protest erupted in the same area. The number of Ethiopians demanding equality and an end to police brutality grew from a few hundred to over 1,000 individuals in the streets of Tel Aviv.

Following two mass migrations of Ethiopians to Israel, both funded by the Israeli government in 1984 and later in 1991, over 125,500 Israelis of Ethiopian descent now reside in Israel. Ethiopians are full citizens, but the outcry nearly two weeks ago in Rabin Square indicates that there is a great deal of unrest and frustration from this community. Seeking equality, justice, and the same rights and freedoms as their peers, the Ethiopian community has taken to the streets to make itself heard.

To learn more about this challenge, JFN has asked two experts on this topic to provide us with a briefing on the current situation. Both individuals are of Ethiopian descent and have spent many years working hard in Israeli society to engender a more equal and tolerant society through legal advocacy and community development.

Join us on Tuesday, June 2, at 2:00 p.m. EDT for a news briefing conference call with:

• Fentahun Assefa-Dawit, Executive Director, Tebeka – Equality and Justice for Ethiopian Israelis, and
• Shira Shatto, Director of Aluma's "Zinuk BaAliya" program.
  
  

Ever since the days when Jacob and Esau struggled over their birthright, the Jewish religion has taught us the responsibility that comes with receiving and then building a personal Jewish legacy. Join us for part three of our exclusive "Jewish Texts & Philanthropy" webinar series, where Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks will explore this concept as it relates to the history of Jewish legacies in the Torah and  the modern world of today. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks was Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991-2013. Along with his writing and speaking, he holds academic positions at New York University, Yeshiva University, and King’s College London.

Join us for a presentation on current U.S. workforce policy. If you are a workforce funder or looking into this sector in the United States, this webinar will provide:

• A general overview of the structure of the U.S. workforce development system (with a focus on programs that aim to/have the potential to address the needs of low-skilled, low-income, and/or under- or un-employed individuals);
• A summary of some of the key workforce policy issues currently facing states and the federal government;
• Highlights of current opportunities to affect policy and systems change in workforce development.

Our presenters are two workforce experts from the National Skills Coalition (NSC):

Andy Van Kleunen is CEO of NSC which he founded in 1998 as The Workforce Alliance. Sarah Oldmixon is Chief of Development and Strategic Growth at NSC.

Please join us in New York City for a conversation with Yael Shalgi from Yad Hanadiv in Israel as the Jewish Funders Network releases its new guide for funders, a Greenbook on "Funding Environmental Stewardship in Israel."

At this lunch time discussion, you'll have the opportunity to sit with other funders to discuss the unique, critical, exciting, innovative, and challenging aspects of funding environmental programs in Israel.

Yad Hanadiv has been an active supporter of environmental causes in Israel for over a decade. Yael will share some of her experiences in the field and visions for future potential. This will be a lively and engaging discussion for funders, both new and experienced,  in funding the environmental field. This is a great opportunity to network with other JFN members, learn, discuss, and expand your knowledge of this exciting field.

People Matter Most! We may say that, but is it really true at your foundation? Moreover, is it true of your grantees?

Without realizing it, many organizations distance themselves from their own people, making their work harder and lonelier. The antidote is a leadership practice called Matterness, a kind of fearless leadership that begins with making other people matter more and results in more relevant, influential and sustainable organizations?

Allison Fine, author of Matterness: Fearless Leadership for a Social World, will answer the following questions during this webinar. 

• How can we become fearless in a world seemingly overwhelmed with incivility and uncontrollable people?
• How can we learn to work with rather than at our constituents to have a greater impact?
• What does it take to keep the daily churn of internal processes not overwhelm us and our work?
• How can we find out if people feel like they matter to us and our efforts?
  
  

To learn more about Matterness, click here to read the Introduction of Allison's book.

In the seventy years since their liberation, American survivors of the Holocaust have raised families, built businesses, strengthened professions, helped their Jewish communities through their leadership and philanthropic support, and otherwise contributed to the fiber of American life.

Now numbering about 130,000, with an average age in the mid-80s, these survivors have benefitted from the tremendous support of the Claims Conference via the German government, and from the Jewish Community in general. Despite this, tens  of thousands of them live either in poverty or near poverty.

This seminar will provide information on the current status of survivors of the Holocaust, three scores and a decade after their liberation, from the top authorities in the field.

Presenters:

• Stuart E. Eizenstat (Senior Counsel, Covington)
• Stuart C. Kaplan (CEO, Selfhelp Community Services, Inc.)
• Elisa Spungen Bildner (member)
  
  

Were you a matched funder in the 2013-14 Workforce Development Matching Grant? Did you attend the workforce development session at this year's conference? Are you interested in learning more about services in the United States, Israel, or elsewhere that provide the “life-tools” for clients to lift themselves from poverty into solid self-support, preferably on a career track?

If so, join us for an interactive webinar featuring Marci Hunn, Program Director for Workforce Development at The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. She will present an overview of current trends in the field, explain the Weinberg Foundation's funding priorities in this program area, and share best practices she's learned over the years.

Through this briefing, learn about some of the work being done by the Jewish community to combat Ebola in West Africa. Members of the staff of American Jewish World Service (AJWS) will report from Liberia and New York City on their efforts to halt the spread of the disease. As a grantmaker inspired by the Jewish commitment to justice, AJWS has supported 14 organizations in Liberia that have helped stop the virus and save lives. Today, as the number of new Ebola cases continues to wane, attention is turning toward repairing the damage to Liberia’s health care system and economy left in the epidemic’s wake.

You will hear a first-hand account of Ebola’s impact in Liberia, lessons learned from the front lines of this epidemic, and plans for the future.

We will hear about efforts to:

• Use trusted community networks to educate tens of thousands of people to prevent infection and get help for the sick
• Collaborate with the Liberian government on a national Ebola response
• Provide trauma counseling and support for survivors
• Bolster Liberia’s shattered economy, health care system and infrastructure to enable the country to recover after Ebola is fully contained

Featuring:

• Ruth Messinger, AJWS President
• Daguyar Johnson, AJWS’s staff in Liberia
• Shari Turitz, AJWS Vice President for International Programs
  
  

Q&A to follow.

The political and military crisis in eastern Ukraine continues to escalate, over a year after the conflict began. Now, more than ever, Ukrainian Jews are desperately in need of critical supplies like food, medicine, and other basic services. In a follow-up to our webinar that took place last May, join JDC's Amir Ben Zvi, Deputy Director of Field Operations, on a call where he will provide an update on the conflict, the current needs within the Jewish community, and how JDC is responding.

The issue of freedom of choice in marriage in Israel is a critical one, not only for Israelis but for Diaspora Jews as well. The criteria of the Rabunut involving Jewish background and practice, as well as the absence of civil marriage in Israel, can make the process of getting married quite challenging for some. Please join us for a brief historical overview and discussion of how the culture and policies around marriage in Israel are affecting Jews around the world today. Presenters will include Susie Gelman, Co-Chair of JFNA’s Israel Religious Expressions Platform (iRep), and Karen Brunwasser, an Israeli olah who will speak about her personal experience of trying to get married in Israel.

Join MK Ruth Calderon for a discussion introducing the concept of Shmita during the biblical era and learn how the custom has evolved in this day and age, to have social credibility for families whose debt endangers their future. Ahuva Yanai, CEO of Matan – Investing in the Community, will explain how this concept was turned into an active project with contributions from all three sectors. Join us for this interactive webinar to learn the special role the philanthropic community can have in this tradition, as well as the challenges faced by the business sector in its efforts to reduce debts during the year of Shmita.

College campuses have become hotbeds of criticism and bias against Israel, both in the classroom and on the quad. This call will explore how the growing field of Israel studies is contributing to more informed, fair and multi-dimensional teaching, study and scholarship about Israel, as well as to building knowledge and understanding of Israel at universities across the U.S. and around the world. Pioneering leaders in the Israel studies field, together with funders who have both created and supported innovative initiatives, will share insights about how investing in and promoting the study and teaching of Israel can change the intellectual and public discourse on campus and well beyond.

The call is sponsored in partnership with the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, Leichtag Foundation and Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation.

Presenters include:
Lisa Eisen (Moderator) -  Vice President, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation
Charlene Seidle - Vice President, Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego
Ilan Troen - Stoll Family Chair in Israel Studies and Director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, Brandeis University
Ariel Roth - Executive Director, Israel Institute
Marty Blank - The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation

On January 19, 2015, Alberto Nisman, the Argentine federal prosecutor who was chief investigator of the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires, was found dead in his home from a gunshot wound to the head. Nisman was scheduled to testify later that day at a Congressional hearing to offer evidence that supported his previous assertion that Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had conspired to cover up Iran’s role in the terrorist attack.

Authorities cannot confirm whether his death was suicide or murder. The day Nisman was found dead, President Kirchner posted a message on Facebook that claimed Nisman had committed suicide, but two days later she said that she is convinced he was murdered.

While Argentina has plunged into turbulence, the Jewish community worldwide is mourning the loss of Alberto Nisman, and urging for concrete answers. Meanwhile, the families of the 85 victims of the AMIA massacre feel that truth and justice are further away than ever before.

Join us for a brief, 30 minute conference call with Sergio Widder, Director for Latin America for the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Buenos Aires, for an exclusive update on the events that led up to Nisman’s death, the current situation on the ground in Argentina, and the work that the Wiesenthal Centre and others are doing to address it.

In the wake of the recent tragedies at Charlie Hebdo and the Hypercacher Kosher market in Paris, tensions in Jewish communities across Europe and the world have reached new heights. The terrorists who carried out these barbaric acts not only attacked freedom and democracy, but they also targeted Jewish values. While more and more details of wider-ranging plots continue to emerge, and Jews across the region are faced with a terrifying new reality, the French Jewish community is fortunate to have a strong and healthy infrastructure.

Join us for a conference call with Roger Cukierman, president of Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France (CRIF), the leading umbrella organization of the French Jewish community, for an exclusive briefing on the latest developments on the situation on the ground, and CRIF’s response to the ongoing crisis. Roger has agreed to take time out of his incredibly busy schedule to join us, so this truly is a unique opportunity.

Also on the call will be Dorothy Tananbaum, JFN Board Co-Chair, who will introduce Roger, Andres Spokoiny, JFN President, who will provide some JFN context, and Sonia Cummings, JFN Board member and trustee of The Nathan Cummings Foundation, who will moderate Q&A.

Join Eric Rosenthal, founder and Executive Director of Disability Rights International and Dr. Hanita Zimrin, Founder and Executive Director of ELI: Israel Association of Child Protection for a presentation about abuse and protection of children with disabilities in Israel and around the world.

Dr. Hanita Zimrin will shed light on the issues of abused children with disabilities. Why they are abused more than others and the difficulties in identifying, reporting and proving it. How the issue is being dealt with in Israel and what are some unique elements of intervention in cases of abuse of children with disabilities.

Eric Rosenthal will discuss lessons from international experience in preventing abuse and protecting the rights of children with disabilities.  The discussion will include a review of common pitfalls and practical suggestions for the use of legal oversight and enforcement mechanisms, independent advocacy and self-advocacy, and the role of health-care and social service system improvements to reduce and combat abuse.

If you are not ready to divest of some of your traditional investments, take advantage of your power as shareholders by engaging in Shareholder Activism. Learn more about how organizations are utilizing their fiduciary responsibility to vote the proxies associated with their investment stocks. Join Laura Campos, Director of Shareholder Activities at the Nathan Cummings Foundation, Julie Tanner, Board Member of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), and Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster, Director of Programs at T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, to learn more about opportunities to promote Jewish values, including those of accountability and transparency, through shareholder proxies, resolutions and dialogues between shareholders, nonprofits and corporate managements.

Join JFN for the second installment in our three-part webinar series that will take your philanthropic journey in some unexpected but thoroughly intriguing directions, as we look at Jewish texts to see how they inform our views on Jewish giving. We'll be joined by Dr. Elana Stein Hain, Director of Leadership Education at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, who will talk about "The Recipient of Charity: From Object to Subject." 

Much of the Jewish discourse about philanthropy centers around the donor – his/her obligations, prerogatives, needs to prioritize giving, etc. In this webinar, however, we will examine how Judaism conceives of the recipient of charity, not only in terms of rights and responsibilities, but more fundamentally in terms of his/her identity as an active subject.

How can funders and organizations stay mission-focused while remaining nimble enough to respond to emergencies? With anti-Semitic incidents on the rise and increasing tensions in Israel, this question is now more relevant than ever. This event, jointly sponsored by The Paul E. Singer Foundation and the Jewish Funders Network, will address how to maintain organizational flexibility for crisis response, and the importance of doing so.

Presenters will include:

Introduction
Terry Kassel – Director, The Paul E. Singer Foundation

1st panel
Moderator: Andres Spokoiny – President and CEO, Jewish Funders Network
Cindy Shapira – Vice President,The Shapira Foundation
Lisa Eisen –  Vice President, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation

2nd panel
Moderator: David Rittberg – Senior Program Officer, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation
Steve Malter, PhD – Associate Dean and Director of Undergraduate Programs, Olin Business School & Founder, Israel Summer Business Academy
Avi Green – North American Director, Authentic Israel
Carrie Filipetti – Director of Portfolio Management, The Paul E. Singer Foundation

Join us for a presentation by Jo Richler about the Inclusion Campaign and other inclusion initiatives of The Judith Trust, a UK based trust (www.judithtrust.org.uk).

The Inclusion Campaign is an initative in the UK that works with synagogues and other Jewish organisations to promote the inclusion of people with learning disabilities and/or mental ill-health, and their families and carers, in whatever aspects of Jewish community life they choose. Jo will also talk about other initiatives of the trust.

About the presenter:
Jo Richler is the Policy Manager and Inclusion Campaign Coordinator for The Judith Trust.  She is also a Governor with the Delamere Trust and a member of the JSENSE Steering Committee; both charities are based in Manchester and support Jewish children with Autism and/or other Special Educational Needs.

Jo’s work and research has focused on the management of change, with a specific focus on education, special education and inclusion. She has worked for twenty five years in further and higher education as a tutor and senior manager, and she has an excellent reputation as a leader and innovator in the field of independent learning and learning resources. In 2004 she was awarded the Learning Resources Manager of the Year by the prestigious World of Learning Awards (other shortlisted nominees included the BBC and Toyota), and in 2006 she was short-listed for the DfES STAR Award for Outstanding Leadership and Inspiration.