The listings below cover past JFN events through December 2015. Click here for upcoming events.
poverty peer network
Grantmaking Professionals Virtual Meetup 1/13

Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals. This event takes place on the second Wednesday of every month.
We will dig deeper into the conversation we began in December about the relationships between grantmaking professionals and grantseekers. This power dynamic is not new; in fact, the rabbis considered a similar case in the Talmud. Together, with special guest Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, President and CEO of The Hadar Institute, we will explore this Talmudic case and its implications for our own philanthropic relationships.
We look forward to coming together for shared learning and community building.
Speakers:
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer
President and CEO
Hadar Institute
More speakers TBA
Facilitators:
Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network
Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network
Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC
Impact Investing Roundtable 1/12/21

Time:12-1pm ET/9-10am PT/ 7-8pm Israel
Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, federations and non-profits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.
Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.
Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.
Moderator:
Vanessa Bartram, Managing Director, ZORA Ventures
Speakers for January 12:
Yaron Neudorfer
CEO
Social Finance Israel
Rafi Musher
CEO
Stax, Inc
Doug Stewart
Executive Director
Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation
Canvas peer network meeting
Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty Series: Key Success Factors

12-1 pm ET/ 9-10 am PT / 7-8 pm Israel
This is the first in a new National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty webinar series, "Key Success Factors in Addressing Jewish Poverty" in which we will highlight specific case studies and bright spots from throughout North America, with a particular focus on meeting the enormous challenges posed by the Covid pandemic and its economic effects. Future sessions will explore such issues as measurement and evaluation, advocacy and awareness building, virtual program delivery, convening for impact, and engaging people with lived experiences. Save the following dates (all Thursdays, from 12-1 pm ET) for the next four sessions: January 21, February 4, February 18, March 4. More dates will be announced soon.
In this session, we'll learn about the unique challenges and opportunities of providing human services in small, less urban Jewish communities.
Speakers:
Rabbi Rachel Isaacs
Director of the Center for Small Town Jewish Life at Colby College
Spiritual leader of Beth Israel Congregation in Waterville, ME
Rabbi Erica Asch
Rabbi of Temple Beth El in Augusta, ME
Leslie Dannin Rosenthal
Chair of the National Advisory Committee for Jewish Federation of North America’s Network of Independent Communities
Moderator:
Susan Wolf Ditkoff
Senior Advisor
The Bridgespan Group
Special Event: Dialogue and Performance with the Bridge-Building Jerusalem Youth Chorus

JFN is collaborating with the Jerusalem Youth Chorus on a special project for our 2021 JFN virtual conference in March. To kick off our work together, we’re calling on all members to join us for a special workshop with the Israeli and Palestinian singers of this extraordinary ensemble. Members participating in this workshop will meet these incredible young people, share their own songs, memories, and stories, and through an engaging dialogue, we'll generate the necessary inspiration the chorus will use to create a song to premiere at the March program. Join us for an inspirational conversation you won’t soon forget. (Singing not required!)
This summer, the chorus created a video, "Home - From Home," featuring friends and supporters from all over the world, who came together to share music and feelings in a joyous celebration on that theme. We hope to create something equally meaningful and resonant of the depth and strength of our network, that speaks to the themes of our conference and reflects on this most unusual year.
The chorus has been recognized for its musical innovation and integrity of purpose and process from the New York Times to the "Late Show With Stephen Colbert," and this workshop will bring together JFN heads, voices, and hearts to work together to set our dreams to music.
Impact Investing Roundtable 12/15

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, federations and non-profits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.
Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.
Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.
Moderator:
Vanessa Bartram, Managing Director, ZORA Ventures
Speakers for December 15:
Master Class: James Cummings, Nathan Cummings Foundation: "Zoom to Impact"
Investment Roundup: Lital Slavin. "Beyond Creative: Movies for a Change"
Investment Roundup: Michael Stein and Juliet Stein, Max and Bella Stein Charitable Trust: "Investing in Vegan Alternative Proteins"
Fireside chat
Grantmaking Professionals Virtual Meetup Dec 9
Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals. This event takes place on the second Wednesday of every month.
In this webinar, we will explore the various dynamics that shape our relationships, including personal values and worldview, religious identity, politics, and work styles, to unpack what makes for a healthy rapport. We will break into smaller groups to discuss.
We look forward to coming together for shared learning and community building.
Speakers:
Sara J. Fertman
Director
The Jeffrey H. and Shari L. Aronson Family Foundation
Wendy Platt Newberger
Director of Jewish and Israel Giving
Crown Family Philanthropies
Third speaker TBA
Facilitators:
Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network
Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network
Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC
When the Smoke Clears: JFN West Regional Convening

The Jewish Funders Network is pleased to announce our inaugural JFN West* virtual regional convening. Members in our region will join together to share a dynamic experience with top-level content, critical knowledge sharing, and networking opportunities.
This event will embrace the unique flavor of the Jewish community in the West. We will explore both the challenges and opportunities we face in the wake of Covid-19: wildfires; expanding needs; and constricting resources. With leading experts in the field, we will discuss issues specific to Jewish philanthropy in the West, explore best philanthropic practices during a crisis, and consider a vision for our future, while meeting other JFN West members. Together, we will learn, inspire, and act.
Presenters include:
- Dr. Una Osili, Associate Dean for Research and International Programs at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
- Rachel Levin, President of Fundamental Inc, Executive Director of Righteous Persons Foundation, and co-founder of Reboot
- Alexandra Shabtai, Advisory Board Member for Glazer Philanthropies, Board Member, At The Well
- Ilana Kaufman, Executive Director for the Jews of Color Field-Building Initiative
- Rabbi Mary Zamore, rabbinic leader and author of "The Sacred Exchange: Creating A Jewish Money Ethic"
Learn more here.
Democracy and Media in Israel: A Conversation with Daniel Lubetzky and Lucy Aharish

8:00 PM IL / 10am Pacific
Don’t miss this special conversation between entrepreneur and philanthropist Daniel Lubetzky and Arab-Israeli newscaster Lucy Aharish about the critical role independent media plays in sustaining a healthy democracy. At a time when both journalists and democratic institutions are under attack – in Israel and around the world – creating a space for independent voices to be heard has never been more critical. These leading voices will examine the role of philanthropy in promoting freedom of speech, democratic discourse and transparent media in a polarized era, offer insight into new approaches to enhance civic engagement, and show how vibrant media serves to bring critical issues to the forefront of the Israeli national conversation and support a healthy and thriving democracy in Israel. With introductory remarks from Marcia Riklis, JFN Board Chair.
Speakers
Daniel Lubetzky
Founder and CEO of KIND Snacks
Founder, OneVoice Movement & PeaceWorks Foundation
Lucy Aharish
Journalist and host of DemocraTV
Yuval Lion, moderator
JFN member and former journalist
Jerusalem Youth Chorus Songwriting Workshop

JFN is collaborating with the Jerusalem Youth Chorus on a special project for our 2021 JFN virtual conference in March. To kick off our work together, we’re calling on all members to join us for a special workshop with the Israeli and Palestinian singers of this extraordinary ensemble.
This summer, the chorus created a video, "Home - From Home," featuring friends and supporters from all over the world, who came together to share music and feelings in a joyous celebration on that theme. Members participating in this workshop will meet these incredible young people, share their own songs, memories, and stories, and through an engaging dialogue we'll generate the necessary inspiration the chorus will use to create a song to premiere at for the March program.
The chorus has been recognized for its musical innovation and integrity of purpose and process from the New York Times to the Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and this workshop will bring together JFN heads, voices, and hearts to work together to set our dreams to music. Join us for an inspirational conversation you won’t soon forget. (Singing not required!)
Resilience and Mental Health: A Funders’ Discussion About Covid’s Impact on Ourselves, the Causes We Support, and Society

19:00- 20:30 Israel Time / 9:00AM - 11:30AM PT
The meeting will be held in English, via Zoom.
Please join Jude Yovel-Recanati and Dr. Ariel Kor, JFN Board Members who will open the floor to discussion with funders about their personal well-being. We will then discuss funders' role in ensuring the resilience and sustainability of organizations and professionals during Covid.
Professor Yossi Harel-Fisch, a consultant to the World Health Organization, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and international governments, will provide a comparative perspective on the impact of the pandemic across global societies and demographics, and the behavioral implications on resilience and mental health.
In small groups participants will discuss the short and long-term effects, resources available for those in distress, what dilemmas funders face, and any silver linings from the pandemic.
Funders will share how Covid has influenced their giving strategy, what dilemmas they face, and any silver linings from the pandemic.
Speakers:
Professor Yossi Harel-Fisch
Director of International Research Program on Adolescent Well-Being and Health, Bar Ilan University
Building Normalization: An Exclusive Conversation with NGO Leaders and UAE Funders
Your Role in Nonprofit Mergers: A Workshop for Funders

19:00 - 20:00 Israel Time
*Please note that this webinar will be in English.
This is the first in a series of skill-building workshops to help funders navigate their philanthropic work in an effective and optimal manner, despite the complexity around us.
Our main guest speaker will be Prof. Emeritus Donald Haider from Kellogg University, who has researched the nonprofit sector in the United States over several decades and conducted a comprehensive study about nonprofit mergers over the past decade. Prof. Haider will share his insights on the components for success and failure in nonprofit mergers, and on various models for philanthropic involvement in the field.
During the second part of the session, we will hear selected test cases by JFN members, from Israel and from the U.S who participated in merger processes and will present central insights and tips for donors, such as: What is important to understand before taking action? Where is caution needed? What complexities should you expect? How can donors positively affect merger and partnership processes?
We will dedicate the last part of the meeting to an open discussion of this subject.
fireside chat 11-19
Tools for Impacting Israel's Environment: Part 3

With the growing concerns to Israel’s future due to the consequences of climate change and local environmental threats, JFN's Green Funders Forum is launching a unique series of workshops and individual consultations for funders interested in expanding their knowledge of and impact on Israel’s environment.
In the third and final session (Nov. 18) in the series we will host Gila Gamilel, Israel’s minister of environmental protection, and former MK Dov Khanin. They will discuss the implications of the American elections on the global and local environmental challenges and the role civil society and philanthropy can play.
Please note that sessions will be held in English.
Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities of Affordable Housing

Affordable housing continues to be a complex component in the continuum of poverty. From lack of affordable housing, limited government support, to the challenges those living in poverty have keeping up with rent or mortgage payments, the housing agenda often seems too overwhelming to tackle.
In this webinar, the Housing Workgroup of the National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty will give an update on the dialogue already underway about affordable housing. We will also learn about an innovative model being administered by Jewish Family Services of Rochester that is helping to support and stabilize an affordable housing community there. Finally we will hear from JFN members, Jane and Eddie Lorin, who develop and operate healthy affordable housing communities and who launched a private foundation that collaborates with nonprofits to ensure quality of life for residents living in affordable housing communities.
Presenters:
Lisa Budlow
CEO, CHAI (Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc.) Baltimore
Chair, Housing Workgroup, National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty
Jennie Schaff, PhD
CEO
Jewish Family Services of Rochester
Eddie Lorin
Co-Founder
Alliant Strategic Funds
Jane Lorin
Board Member
HAPI Foundation (Health Apartment Property Initiative)
Moderator:
Susan Wolf Ditkoff
Senior Advisor
The Bridgespan Group
Impact Investing Roundtable 11/16

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, federations and non-profits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.
Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.
Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.
Moderator:
Vanessa Bartram, Managing Director, ZORA Ventures
Speakers for November 16:
Eddie Lorin
CEO, Co-Founder, Alliant Strategic Funds
Exploring the Opportunities of Affordable Housing.
Danny Oren
ESG ETFs: Market Returns with Less Evil.
Sari Miller
CEO, Sarjay, Inc.
Trusty.care: A Smarter Way to Manage Medicare and the Aging Journey.
Grantmaking Professionals Virtual Meetup November 11
Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals. This event takes place the second Wednesday of every month.
In this webinar, we will explore the various dynamics that shape various relationships, including personal values and worldview, religious identity, politics, and work styles, to unpack what makes for a healthy rapport. We will break into smaller groups to discuss.
We look forward to coming together for shared learning and community building.
Facilitators:
Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network
Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network
Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC
The employment crisis and the Corona crisis in Israel

Note: This meeting will be held in Hebrew and will be from 3 am - 4:15 am EST.
What are the five major challenges that are important for us to recognize and understand as funders, and as members of the philanthropic community, about the employment crisis in Israel?
Which sectors does the crisis currently affect? What are the possible solutions and what could be the role of philanthropy and civil society in dealing with the current challenges?
Prof. Karnit Flug, Vice President of Research and the William Davidson Senior Fellow for Economic Policy at the Israel Democracy Institute, a Professor at the Hebrew University and the former Governor of the Bank of Israel, and Tali Nir, Executive Director, 121 – Engine for Social Change, will present the main problems concerning employment in Israel.
The second part of the meeting will be a conversation among JFN members. Noa Yovel Maoz and Dr. Naama Meiran will share insights from Gandyr Foundation's philanthropic work during the COVID crisis pertaining to young adults and employment.
CANVAS Presents ... Cocktails at the Museum

Cocktails at the Museum
An Outside-In Exhibition + Interactive Artist Conversation Featuring Dwelling in a Time of Plagues Works
Clamor in the Desert by Mirta Kupferminc
Shelter in Place by Adam W. McKinney
The Ushpizin of the Silver Screen by Tiffany Woolf
With Reflection and Commentary from CANVAS Founder Lou Cove + Funding Partners
The Jim Joseph Foundation • The Peleh Fund • The Righteous Persons Foundation • The Klarman Family Foundation • The Charles & Lynn Schusterman Foundation
Join us for an evening of art and philanthropy — an evening far outside your typical Zoom experience — where we will tour the coast-to-coast exhibition Dwelling in a Time of Plagues with the artists and museum directors whose collaborative work caught the attention of the art world and received global acclaim this Sukkot.
Dwelling in a Time of Plagues is a Jewish creative response to real-world plagues of our time funded by CANVAS, a Jewish arts and culture funding collaborative incubated by JFN.
Dwelling is a constellation of outdoor art installations at Jewish museum sites around the United States, displayed during Sukkot and Passover of 5781. Collectively, these commissions grapple with contemporary crises: the global pandemic, institutional racism and ageism, forced isolation, global warming, and the crisis for migrants and refugees.
More information about Dwelling in a Time of Plagues at www.PlagueDwelling.com
Session 2: Funding Strategies for Environmental Impact in Israel : A JFN Green Funders Forum

Session 2 - Nov. 4: 19:00-21:00 Israel Time: Funding Strategies for Environmental Impact in Israel
Three workshops: Oct. 21 | Nov. 4 | Nov. 18
Each workshop is at 19:00 - 21:00 IST (9 am PST, 12 noon EST)
Please note: The sessions will be in English and are timed so that participants both in Israel and abroad can attend.
With the growing concerns to Israel’s future due to the consequences of climate change and local environmental threats -- exacerbated by a changing world due to Covid-19 -- the Green Funders’ Forum is launching a unique series of workshops and individual consultations for funders interested in expanding their knowledge of and impact on Israel’s environment.
We will address key questions to support impactful giving:
- What are the main environmental challenges to Israel’s future?
- How can philanthropy best influence these increasing challenges?
- Who are the key players?
- What is the social impact of funding in the environmental field in Israel?
- What are the opportunities to influence?
- What are the lessons and best practices learned from previous and present experiences?
Session 3 - Nov. 18: 19:00-21:00 Israel Time: Taking the Next Steps in Environmental Giving
We invite you to join us in this opportunity to take the next step as individuals and as a Forum to make Israel sustainable for us and for future generations!
The series is coordinated by JFN’s Green Funders’ Forum in collaboration with Life & Environment - The Umbrella Organization for the Israeli Environmental Movement.
RSVP here for all three sessions. Zoom links will be provided for each session upon RSVP.
Young Funders Forum - The Psychology of Social Polarization in Israel and the Role of Philanthropy in Building a Different Reality
JFN’s Young Funders Forum invites you to a nightly talk, on the eve of the US presidential election
A tolerant, inclusive and equal society increases the ability of citizens to comply with guidelines in times of crisis. At the same time, our political system rewards exclusion and polarization that lead us away from the society we strive to build Why is this happening? And how can the division curve be flattened? Leading us in this conversation is Prof. Eran Halperin, founder and head of the aChord Center - Social Psychology for Social Change who will analyse the psychological needs and political interests that push us in opposite directions and look at the role of philanthropy in creating significant social change. (8:45-10:00pm)
We will start the conversation with an opportunity to check-in and catch up with everyone (8:15-8:45pm).
Disaster Relief Funding

In the wake of California’s fires, and America’s intensified hurricane season, natural disaster relief and preparedness has come to the foreground of communal conversations. With relief efforts complicated by COVID, how can funders now work with their municipal and Jewish-communal institutions to effectively provide for present needs as well as to build necessary infrastructure and better prepare communities to withstand disasters down the road? Our panel brings together a U.S. Congressman and leading voices on environmental and disaster funding both inside and outside the JFN community to offer insight into how funders can make the biggest difference in this critical field of work.
SPEAKERS
Rep. Jimmy Panetta
United States Representative, CA-20
Patricia McIlreavy
CEO, Center for Disaster Philanthropy
Roxanne Cohen
Managing Director, Community Impact, Jewish Community Federation and Endowment, San Francisco Bay Area
Peter Teague
PT Philanthropic, moderator
Collaboration and Creativity in a Time of Crisis: An Update on the Jewish Community Response and Impact Fund

The Jewish Community Response and Impact Fund (JCRIF), a $91 million partnership of eight Jewish foundations and the Jewish Federations of North America, was created to address the many challenges facing Jewish institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. JCRIF has been distributing grants and no-interest loans to a wide range of Jewish institutions since April. These grants and loans were used to address emergency needs and help organizations to adapt and innovate in the face of unprecedented challenges.
JCRIF's funders and grantees will share key takeaways about the crises and opportunities facing Jewish institutions. Abi Dauber Sterne, Director of Makom: The Jewish Agency for Israel Education Lab, will discuss the new stimulus program created by JCRIF's grant funders enabling more American youth to spend this academic year on gap year programs in Israel.
Speakers:
Barry Finestone
President and CEO
Jim Joseph Foundation
Felicia Herman
Director, JCRIF Aligned Grant Program
Executive Director, Natan
Abi Dauber Sterne
Director
Makom: The Jewish Agency for Israel Education Lab
callinktest
test event
FedLab
More Urgent Than Ever: Confronting Jewish Poverty in the COVID Era

The National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty is pleased to host Sarah Abramson, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Impact of Combined Jewish Philanthropies, will underscore the importance of community-based initiatives and share the journey of CJP’s anti-poverty initiative. Sam Cobbs, CEO of Tipping Point, will share his personal story and how place/community has been a driving theme of his work at Tipping Point. He will also discuss Tipping Point’s approach to COVID-19, alleviating poverty in the Bay Area, and how this work is rooted in place, differentiating it from other philanthropies.
Attendees will leave with relevant takeaways on how to help their local Jewish communities develop initiatives to build back better from COVID-19 and combat poverty now and in the future.
This session is part of the Jewish Federation of North America's GA 2020 Virtual, which is open to all, free of charge. Visit www.generalassembly.org to register for this session and any other sessions or plenaries that interest you.
Broke: The Game. What Would You Do?

Join JFN, the National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty, and Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies, for a special program to learn about a groundbreaking new game that educates people about the realities of poverty in the United States.
"Broke: The Game" simulates the stress and difficulty of attempting to overcome poverty. With a simple setup, this game forces players to challenge their preconceived ideas about poverty and those experiencing it. Hear from the creator of the game about why she was inspired to create this game. Colleagues and funders will then share their impressions of the game after playing.
Speakers:
Reuben D. Rotman
President & CEO
Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies
Dana Gold
Game creator
Chief Operating Officer
JFCS Pittsburgh
JFN West: Coffee with Marcia Riklis, JFN Board Chair

This is the third installment of "Coffee with...," a new series designed to provide a unique opportunity for JFN West members to engage in small group conversation with and among JFN leaders and members.
In August, several members joined us for an important conversation with Andrés Spokoiny about the big-picture future for the Jewish community as we seek to define our direction for the rest of the 21st century and beyond. Last month, we were fortunate to hear from Deena Fuchs, JFN’s Executive Vice President, and had a dynamic conversation on the role of Jewish philanthropists during this time of crisis. We look forward to a meaningful discussion with Marcia.
For many years, Marcia served on the Executive Committee of UJA-Federation of New York, holding a number of positions, including Chair of The Annual Campaign and Founding Chair of Shituf, the grant-making body, which coordinates UJA work in Israel. She is a founding member of Jewish Democratic Council of America and in addition to chairing the Jewish Funder’s Network Board of Directors, she sits on the board of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Peaceworks Foundation.
Spiritual Communities - October

Manny Menchel from the William Davidson Foundation will moderate a panel on the evolution of Jewish life, leadership, and spiritual centers. How did we get here, what is "here", and where are we going?
Speakers:
Amy Sales
Associate Director and Senior Research Scientist
Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University
Moderator:
Manny Menchel
Program Officer, Jewish Education
William Davidson Foundation
Maintaining Human Connection in a World Gone Virtual

As the pandemic restrictions continue, many still find themselves in remote work arrangements. The ongoing effort to maintain human connection in these settings—to co-workers, grantees, family members, and more—is a challenging one. After adjusting to working in Zoom, we now need to recall what's been left behind. In this webinar, JFN’s partner Foundant Technologies and JFN members present on how they’ve evolved their strategies to enable remote work environments that also maintain relationships.
Together we’ll explore:
- Strategies foundations/organizations are using to stay connected with grantees/members and maintain relationships
- How foundations/organizations are engaging partners and key stakeholders in their grantmaking
- What we’re learning about keeping team members engaged in a socially distanced world
SPEAKERS
Michal Werner | Associate Executive Director, Jewish Community Foundation of Greater MetroWest New Jersey
Valerie Rosenberg | Chief of Staff, Board Secretary, Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah
Deena Fuchs | Executive Vice President, Jewish Funders Network
Mark Larimer, moderator | Co-Founder, Foundant Technologies
RSVP AT THIS LINK
Tools & Opportunities for Funders to Impact Israel’s Environment : A JFN Green Funders Forum 3-Part Series

Three workshops: Oct. 21 | Nov. 4 | Nov. 18
Each workshop is at 19:00 - 21:00 IST (9 am PST, 12 noon EST)
Please note: The sessions will be in English and are timed so that participants both in Israel and abroad can attend.
With the growing concerns to Israel’s future due to the consequences of climate change and local environmental threats -- exacerbated by a changing world due to Covid-19 -- the Green Funders’ Forum is launching a unique series of workshops and individual consultations for funders interested in expanding their knowledge of and impact on Israel’s environment.
We will address key questions to support impactful giving:
- What are the main environmental challenges to Israel’s future?
- How can philanthropy best influence these increasing challenges?
- Who are the key players?
- What is the social impact of funding in the environmental field in Israel?
- What are the opportunities to influence?
- What are the lessons and best practices learned from previous and present experiences?
Session 1- Oct. 21: 19:00-21:00 Israel Time: Getting to Know the Issues and Strategies of the Environmental Movement in Israel
Session 2 - Nov. 4: 19:00-21:00 Israel Time: Funding Strategies for Environmental Impact in Israel
Session 3 - Nov. 18: 19:00-21:00 Israel Time: Taking the Next Steps in Environmental Giving
We invite you to join us in this opportunity to take the next step as individuals and as a Forum to make Israel sustainable for us and for future generations!
The series is coordinated by JFN’s Green Funders’ Forum in collaboration with Life & Environment - The Umbrella Organization for the Israeli Environmental Movement.
PLEASE NOTE THAT PARTICIPATION IN ALL THREE SESSIONS IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND THE SERIES.
Exceptions can be made in special cases by emailing Sigal: Sigal@Jfunders.org
RSVP here for all three sessions. Zoom links will be provided for each session upon RSVP.
Impact Investing Roundtable Session 5

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, federations and non-profits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.
Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.
Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.
Moderator for Roundtable Series
Vanessa Bartram, Managing Director, ZORA Ventures
Speakers for October 20:
Yuval Lion
Presenting "Travels with a Pragmatic Values Investor"
Dalia Black
Presenting "Advancing Hi-Tech in the Bedouin Community"
3rd presenter to be announced
This is the fifth in a five-part series. While you are welcome to join us for any of the roundtables, we encourage you to join us for the full series to maximize our shared learning and collaborations.
A Finger On The Pulse, an Eye on the Day After אצבע על הדופק, ועין אל האופק

Covid-19 has commanded the attention of the Jewish community and shifted its priorities. However, the communal issues that were pressing before the pandemic have not gone away. When the immediate crisis recedes, concerns about the growing rift between Israel and Diaspora Jewish communities will once again come into focus, but with new angles to explore.
Philanthropist Charles Bronfman and Jeff Solomon have co-founded a new start-up, Enter: the Jewish Peoplehood Alliance, devoted to ensuring that the Jewish people remain a dynamic, diverse, global community that is united, secure, and inclusive. This program brings together leaders from this exciting initiative to examine some of the complicated issues around peoplehood that will resurface in an altered environment. Our conversation will explore how funders can effectively engage in the field of Israel-Diaspora affairs through agility and adaptation in this most unusual environment.
Speakers:
Dan Shapiro
former U.S. Ambassador to Israel
Enter: the Jewish Peoplehood Alliance
Alon Friedman
Founding CEO
Enter: the Jewish Peoplehood Alliance
Anita Friedman
President
Koret Foundation
Jeffrey R. Solomon
Senior Advisor
Chasbro
Applied Research: A Powerful Tool for Making Change

Strategic philanthropy depends upon good data and research—however it’s not only about the data you have, but what you do with it. In order to make good decisions and work effectively with nonprofit partners to drive change, funders must have a solid understanding of what research and data is available and how to translate that information into action.
This session explores how funders, nonprofits, and researchers can work more effectively together to guide big bets or make targeted interventions. The panel of researchers, funders, and program leaders on the call will help you incorporate applied research into your philanthropic toolbox.
Speakers:
Stacie Cherner
Director of Learning and Evaluation
Jim Joseph Foundation
Arielle Levites, PhD
Managing Director
Consortium for Applied Studies in Jewish Education
George Washington University
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna
Executive Director
Bronfman Center at NYU
New York University
Moderator:
Rella Kaplowitz
Senior Program Officer
Evaluation and Learning
Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation
Grantmaking Professionals Virtual Meetup October 14
Please join us for a monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals. This event takes place the second Wednesday of every month.
We look forward to coming together for shared learning and community building.
Speakers
Rachel Mohl Abrahams
Senior Advisor
Education Grants and Programs
Mayberg Foundation
Aaron Dorfman
President
Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah
Connie Kanter
CEO
Samis Foundation
Facilitators:
Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network
Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network
Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC
The State of Jewish Journalism with Andres Spokoiny, Philissa Cramer and Sarah Breger
Join President and CEO of the Jewish Funders Network Andrés Spokoiny, Editor in Chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Philissa Cramer and Moment Deputy Editor Sarah Breger as they discuss the role Jewish journalism plays inside and outside the Jewish community, how COVID-19 has changed the media landscape and the future of Jewish media.
This is a Moment Magazine event.
RSVP here
On Chaos and Revelation: Toward a Jewish Future

We are living in a moment of both chaos and revelation. As the pandemic has shifted the ground beneath our feet we have learned much about ourselves and our communities. How has living through this experience offered a glimpse into who we are as individuals and as a community? What questions about Jewish life has it brought to the fore that will help us shape the future of our communities?
In this session, we will utilize Jewish texts to consider questions and paradigms that can guide us in shaping Jewish life moving forward.
Speakers
Elana Stein Hain
Scholar in Residence and Director of Faculty
Shalom Hartman Institute of North America
State of Play: Professional Talent in the Jewish Nonprofit Sector

Learn about how Covid-19 has affected leaders and professionals in our community and what it means for the future of the Jewish nonprofit sector. Speakers will share research about employee experience and organizational policy changes during the pandemic and how this has affected the field. Funders will come away knowing how they might support and maximize the potential of the Jewish communal work force at this time.
Speakers:
Amy Born
Chief Strategy Officer
Leading Edge
Randall Kaplan
CEO
Capsule Group LLC
Corinne Irwin
Director of Human Resources
American Jewish World Service
Special Lecture by Dan Ariely: Harnessing the Power of Behavioral Economics

We are pleased to welcome back Dan Ariely, the Israeli-American bestselling author of "Predictably Irrational."
Speaker:
Watch Dan's last lecture for JFN here.
Special Lecture by Dan Ariely: Harnessing the Power of Behavioral Economics

We are pleased to welcome back Dan Ariely, the Israeli-American bestselling author of "Predictably Irrational."
Speaker:
Watch Dan's last lecture for JFN here.
Young Funders Forum: Adaptive Leadership Workshop
andres fireside chat 9-24
JFN West: "Coffee with Deena Fuchs, JFN Executive Vice President"

This is the second installment of "Coffee with...," a new series designed to provide a unique opportunity for West Coast JFN members to engage in small group conversation with and among JFN leaders and members. Our second conversation is "Coffee with Deena Fuchs, JFN Executive Vice President."
Save the date for the next in our series:
- Thursday, October 22, 9 am PT: Marcia Riklis, JFN Board Chair
Impact Investing Roundtable Session 4

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, federations and non-profits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.
Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.
Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.
Moderator for Roundtable Series
Vanessa Bartram, Managing Director, ZORA Ventures
Speakers for September 22 TBA
Charlene Seidle
Executive Vice President
Leichtag Foundation
Avi Deutsch
Managing Partner
Vodia Ventures
Marla Stein
Entrepreneur and supporter of the Israeli impact investing field
This is part of a series that meets once a month. While you are welcome to join us for any of the roundtables, we encourage you to join us for the full series to maximize our shared learning and collaborations.
Date for Future Sessions
- Tuesday, October 20, 12-1pm Eastern (7-8 p.m. in Israel)
Aspire
SPEAKER DETAILS
Rabbi Elka Abrahamson
Rabbi Sharon Brous
Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, Ph.D.
Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum
Rabbi Shai Held, Ph.D.
Manny Menchel
Andrés Spokoiny
Security and Safety: Strategies For Challenging Times

Reeling from attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions in 2018–19, and now facing the impact of Covid-19, leading Jewish organizations and Jewish communities throughout the United States are developing new and innovative approaches to community security. In this session, funders will learn about work being done on the national level to secure Jewish institutions, and virtual communities — including successfully lobbying for a dramatic increase in government funding; a case study from New York, where philanthropists have invested in a serious upgrade of community security infrastructure; and opportunities to harness the energy of volunteers interested in protecting their communities.
Speakers
Carly Maisel
Global CEO
The Kirsh Foundation
Evan R. Bernstein
Chief Executive Officer
Community Security Service
Michael G. Masters
National Director and CEO
Secure Community Network
Mitchell D. Silber
Executive Director
Community Security Initiative
Info Session on Israel's New Keshet Donor Advised Fund

(19:00 - 20:00 Israel)
*Please note that this webinar will be in English. The webinar will be offered in Hebrew on September 14.
JFN Israel is pleased to announce the launch of Keshet Donor Advised Fund, a nonprofit public benefit corporation founded as Israel’s first donor advised fund.
Please join us to learn about the way this donor-advised fund works and about the new services it can provide.
Keshet aspires to significantly boost philanthropy and streamline grant making in Israel to improve the quality and efficiency of philanthropy by both Israeli and non-Israeli funders.
Learn more about Keshet’s low startup and management costs, as well as how Keshet will enable you to make informed donation decisions free of time pressure, while benefiting from the professional services and deep familiarity with the social and philanthropic sector in Israel of JFN Israel.
Speakers include Rafi Rone of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, and Adam Hirsch of the Russell Berrie Foundation, who will discuss why their foundations have opted to use Keshet for their philanthropic work in Israel.
Info Session on Israel's New Keshet Donor Advised Fund

(2 p.m. in Israel)
*Please note that this webinar will be in Hebrew. An identical webinar will be in English on September 15.
JFN Israel is pleased to announce the launch of Keshet Donor Advised Fund, a nonprofit public benefit corporation founded as Israel’s first donor advised fund.
Please join us to learn about the way this donor advised fund works and about the new services it can provide.
Keshet aspires to significantly boost philanthropy and streamline grant making in Israel to improve the quality and efficiency of philanthropy by both Israeli and non-Israeli funders.
Learn more about Keshet’s low startup and management costs, as well as how Keshet will enable you to make informed donation decisions free of time pressure, while benefiting from the professional services and deep familiarity with the social and philanthropic sector in Israel of JFN Israel.
More details, including speaker list, coming soon!
Green Funders Forum Festive Pre-Rosh HaShanah Meeting

9:00-10:30 am EST
We are pleased to have Professor Alon Tal, Israel’s leading environmental activist and founder of Adam Teva V’din, the Arava Institute and former Chair of Israel’s Green Party, speak at this forum. He will highlight environmental challenges and opportunities for the coming year and elaborate on his personal journey as an environmental activist, academic and funder.
We will also have a preview of a series of meetings planned for the fall, which will focus on environmental philanthropy and social action through a range of critical sustainability issues.
In addition, in the spirit of community building, we will dedicate some time to get to know one another in small breakout rooms.
The meeting will be held in English, via ZOOM
Comedy & Catharsis in a Time of Crisis: A CANVAS Conversation

This is the second program in the CANVAS Conversations series, "Why We Invest in Our Creative Community.”
Jews have always relied on humor to endure difficult times—and this is an especially difficult time. But many of the tools the best performers and producers rely on—the theater, the comedy club, a live audience—are inaccessible or compromised in quarantine conditions. For this conversation, CANVAS has invited four masters of the craft to share how they are lifting spirits and finding new ways to work in a time of crisis.
How does the creative community support and elevate the broader Jewish community? How can the philanthropic community better support their work to make us laugh, perceive ourselves in a new light, and distract us from the hardships we face together? Lou Cove, founder of CANVAS and moderator for this discussion explores these and other questions with our guests. (To submit your own questions for our performers, please email hello@bycanvas.org; we will get to as many as we can during the program.)
Guests
Alex Edelman is a comedian, writer, and performer. His most recent creation was Saturday Night Seder, an all-star, musical, streaming Passover Seder to benefit the CDC Foundation’s Coronavirus Emergency Response Fund, which has raised more than $3 million since its premiere in April.
Tiffany Woolf has over 25 years of PR experience in arts & entertainment, film, and public interest communications, She was on the Dalai Lama’s PR team (yes, even the world's most enlightened guru needs some promotion from time to time). In 2018, Tiffany partnered with Reboot to launch Silver Screen Studios, a digital platform of shows, featuring interviews with the legends we love from Carl Reiner, Norman Lear, Marion Ross & Larry King to everyday older role models. Tiffany loves to delight in the absurd, loves old people, a good story or joke, kind people and lobster rolls (kosher of course).
Steve Bodow is an American television writer and producer. Most recently he was Executive Producer and showrunner of Netflix's Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. From 2015 to March 2019 he was executive producer of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, following his 13 years at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as an executive producer, head writer and staff writer. He was also consulting producer for The Opposition with Jordan Klepper, after serving as EP on the hour-long Jordan Klepper Solves Guns special. Steve is a founding member and a past artistic director of the New York theater group Elevator Repair Service, best known for Gatz, its full-text adaptation of The Great Gatsby.
Jena Friedman is an American stand up comedian, writer and filmmaker. She was a field producer at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and has written for Late Show with David Letterman. She developed the television project Soft Focus with Jena Friedman for Adult Swim (where she interviewed John McAfee), the first installment of which premiered in February 2018. Jena has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, Nat Geo Explorer, MSNBC and BBC Two. She has been a contributing writer to The New Yorker. Her critically acclaimed Edinburgh show Miscarriage of Justice premiered in 2019.
CANVAS is proud to support the work of these artists through its philanthropic investments in Reboot, and in the broader Jewish creative community. Join for a JFN webinar where you’ll laugh until you cry, and immediately feel like you’re home.
About CANVAS
CANVAS is a Jewish Funders Network-powered funding collaborative that seeks to encourage, support and promote a 21st-century Jewish cultural renaissance. CANVAS seeks to elevate the ecosystem of Jewish arts & culture in North America through strategic and coordinated giving, education, and cross-sector exposure (between funders and artists, Jewish creatives and secular distribution networks/media, and more). Founding partners of CANVAS include The Righteous Persons Foundation, Jim Joseph Foundation, Charles & Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, Klarman Family Foundation, and the Peleh Fund.
Watch "Literature in a Time of Crisis: A CANVAS Conversation with Nathan Englander, Marra Gad and Rachel Kadish"
the first installment in the CANVAS Conversations series.
Upstart Webinar Series: Strategic Partnerships & Alliance 3

Link to register
The focus of this webinar will be on what it takes to negotiate an effective partnership that leads to increased impact and organizational strength. The long-term positive impact of partnerships can be great, but it requires time, capacity, and intentionality. We will provide an overview of the negotiation process, change management tools, and pitfalls to avoid. During this session we will dive into what can be expected as part of legal and financial due diligence, various implementation options, and the areas of integration — including culture. This webinar will be most useful for organizational leadership, on both the staff and board level. Funders are also welcome to attend.
Grantmaking Professionals Virtual Meetup September 9

The Grantmaking Professionals Virtual Meet-up series returns Wednesday, September 9. As the High Holidays approach and the pandemic rages on, we will come together for personal and professional reflection.
Rafi Rone, of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, will start us off by offering words of Torah reflecting on the upcoming High Holiday season. Please note that this meet-up will be an hour long.
Speakers:
Rafi Rone
Program Director
Israel and Jewish Community, US
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation
Facilitators:
Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network
Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network
Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC
Real Learning: How Jewish Day Schools Are Starting the School Year

"Back to School," is a phrase we've used for generations, and this year's start brings new challenges and opportunities. Whether online or in person, Jewish day schools have spent countless hours preparing their communities for the start of an unprecedented school year. Join Prizmah's CEO Paul Bernstein in a conversation about reopening, student/teacher safety, the logistics of schooling during a pandemic, and changes to the educational approaches and pedagogy.
Speakers:
Paul Bernstein
Chief Executive Officer
Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools
Erica Rothblum
Head of School
The Rabbi Jacob Pressman Academy of Temple Beth Am
Odelia Epstein
Director of the Knowledge Center
Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools
Author of the Fall 2020 Planning Survey
Audrey Maman
Program Manager for CAJE Educational Services
ONLINE EVENT
The New Way to Raise Money for the Causes You Love
Philanthropist Lisa Greer, author of the just-released “Philanthropy Revolution: How to inspire donors, build relationships, and make a difference” (Harper Collins) joins Forward National Editor Rob Eshman and Andrés Spokoiny, President and CEO of Jewish Funders Network, for a conversation on a better way to raise money for the causes you believe in.
When Lisa and her entrepreneur husband Josh found enormous business success, they plunged headfirst into the world of giving. Lisa’s revealing book tells behind-the-scene tales of how not to approach wealthy donors, what works, what doesn't and how a new generation is changing philanthropy.
Hosted by the Forward, cosponsored by JFN.
>>Register here.
Antisemitism in Latin America: In Discussion with Professor Ilan Stavans

Antisemitism has been rising globally, and while we may read about events in Britain, France, or other European countries, reports from Latin America are less frequent.
Professor Ilan Stavans spent several years traveling in Jewish communities throughout Latin America, resulting in his recent book, "The Seventh Heaven: Travels Through Jewish Latin America," the 2020 Natan Notable Book winner. In conversation with JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny, Ilan will reflect on his experiences and discuss how the history and culture of the region distinguishes antisemitism there from the prejudices and attitudes that surface here. When faced with antisemitism and anti-Zionism, how have Latin American Jewish communities acted and reacted? How have these forces shaped communal life, political activities, philanthropy, and religious affiliation across Latin America? These and other important questions will illuminate the similarities and differences facing global Jewry.
Review of The Seventh Heaven at Jewish Book Council
>>RSVP HERE
Speakers:
Ilan Stavans
Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities, Latin American and Latino Culture
Amherst College
Andrés Spokoiny
President & CEO
Jewish Funders Network
Upstart Series: Strategic Partnerships & Alliance

JFN is excited to co-convene with Upstart a three part webinar series focusing on strategic partnerships and alliances. Details and a date for a JFN community debrief will be announced shortly.
Webinar 2 - Taking Stock: Assessing Your Organization and Potential Partners
Wednesday, August 26
12:00 – 1:15 PM ET
Link to register
This webinar will focus on how to assess your organization’s readiness for partnership, as well as your partner’s potential readiness. We will begin by providing guidance for organizational self-assessment including financial stress-testing, staff and board leadership capacity, program sustainability, marketing/communications impact, and infrastructure needed to fulfill mission. Once this has been done, it’s time to identify and assess potential partners. We will share a road map to beginning these conversations, share key criteria for assessing appropriate partners, and discuss the importance of selecting partners that align with your organizational strategy and will increase mission impact. During this session, we will also discuss how organizations might initiate conversations with funders around supporting this work. This webinar will be most useful for organizational leadership, on both the staff and board level. Funders are also welcome to attend.
Webinar 3 - Crafting a Successful and Impactful Partnership
Thursday, September 10
12:00 – 1:15 PM ET
Link to register
The focus of this webinar will be on what it takes to negotiate an effective partnership that leads to increased impact and organizational strength. The long-term positive impact of partnerships can be great, but it requires time, capacity, and intentionality. We will provide an overview of the negotiation process, change management tools, and pitfalls to avoid. During this session we will dive into what can be expected as part of legal and financial due diligence, various implementation options, and the areas of integration — including culture. This webinar will be most useful for organizational leadership, on both the staff and board level. Funders are also welcome to attend.
Impact Investing Roundtable Session 3

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, federations and non-profits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.
Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.
Whether are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.
Moderator for Roundtable Series
Vanessa Bartram, Managing Director, ZORA Ventures
Speakers for August 19 Roundtable
Campe Goodman, Senior Managing Director at Wellington Management
Michael Lustig
Nicky Newfield
This is part of a series that meets once a month. While you are welcome to join us for any of the roundtables, we encourage you to join us for the full series to maximize our shared learning and collaborations.
Dates for Future Sessions
- Tuesday, September 22, 12-1pm Eastern (7-8 p.m. in Israel)
- Tuesday, October 20, 12-1pm Eastern (7-8 p.m. in Israel)
JFN Education Series: Education Challenges of Covid Crisis in Israel's Underprivileged Communities

Around the globe, school leadership, educators, and parents are looking ahead to the 2020-21 school year. After several months of trial and error in the shadow of the Covid crisis, this upcoming school year will be one of huge opportunity as well as many challenges.
Join us for an open discussion between funders and experts in the field. We will discuss what is currently happening and where the gaps are. We will also hear from funders on the role of philanthropy and collaborations during this pivotal time.
In the second of this two-part series, Dr. Gil Pereg, CEO of Darca Schools, will showcase how the crisis is impacting underprivileged communities in Israel’s geo-social periphery. Dr. Pereg will share his expertise and discuss how the crisis has affected schools and their leadership. Using Darca’s work in recent months, he will share some of the challenges and opportunities facing the formal education system in the months to come.
JFN Education Series: Digital Learning in the Social and Geographic Landscape of Israeli Society

Around the globe, school leadership, educators, and parents are looking ahead to the 2020-21 school year. After several months of trial and error in the shadow of the Covid crisis, this upcoming school year will be one of huge opportunity as well as many challenges.
Join us for an open discussion between funders and experts in the field. We will discuss what is currently happening and where the gaps are. We will also hear from funders on the role of philanthropy and collaborations during this pivotal time.
In the first of this two-part series, Yossi Baidatz, CEO of the Center for Educational Technology (CET), will provide an overview of models of digital learning and the data on its various implementations. We will discuss hybrid learning in formal and informal education while addressing the diverse social and geographic needs of Israeli society.
This is the first of a two-part series. The next is Tuesday, August 18th 12-1 pm ET (7-8 pm in Israel). Click here for details.
Israel's Second Wave - Political Uncertainty and Social Unrest in the Wake of COVID-19

Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute, and Professor Tamar Herman, Director of The Israel Democracy Institute, return to JFN to provide an assessment of the new Israeli government. They will outline who the main players are and what legal and political challenges lie ahead. They will also reflect on recent protests and unrest and their implications.
Speakers:
Yohanan Plesner
President
The Israel Democracy Institute
Professor Tamar Hermann
Director
The Israel Democracy Insitute
Director, Guttmann Center for Public Opinion
Read Plesner's latest article for JFN.
Watch Plesner's most recent JFN webinar below:
Giving Trends in the Wake of Coronavirus

How has giving been affected by the Covid crisis? What can we expect in the year ahead? Will we see a catastrophic decline in giving or will the crisis encourage more philanthropy? What can we learn from giving behavior in other times of contractionary crisis, such as the Great Recession of 2007 – 2009? What can we do to avoid the worst-case scenarios? This program brings together a leading researcher in the overall philanthropy space with JFN-member funders from both private philanthropy and federations for a thoughtful conversation on what we can expect and how we can best change giving practices to accommodate or counter these wider trends.
Patrick Rooney
Executive Associate Dean for Academic Programs, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
Jay Sanderson
President & CEO Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
Angelica Berrie
President, Russell Berrie Foundation
Marcia Riklis, JFN board chair
Marcia Riklis Family Foundation
Upstart Webinar Series: Strategic Partnerships & Alliance

JFN is excited to co-convene with Upstart a three part webinar series focusing on strategic partnerships and alliances. Details and a date for a JFN community debrief will be announced shortly.
Webinar 1 - Strategic Collaborations: Forging Connections for Greater Impact
An introduction to strategic partnerships, this session will cover the spectrum of nonprofit collaboration using La Piana Consulting’s Collaborative Map, highlighting eight forms of partnership. This session will include the basic framework for nonprofit collaboration, benefits and challenges associated with various forms of partnership, and motivations/rationale for successful models. Through exploration of the different types of collaborations, attendees can begin to identify possible directions that might be the most impactful for their organization at this moment. This webinar is designed for board members, staff leadership, and funders — helping to create a common language to be used by the broader Jewish community.
Webinar 2 - Taking Stock: Assessing Your Organization and Potential Partners
Wednesday, August 26
12:00 – 1:15 PM ET
This webinar will focus on how to assess your organization’s readiness for partnership, as well as your partner’s potential readiness. We will begin by providing guidance for organizational self-assessment including financial stress-testing, staff and board leadership capacity, program sustainability, marketing/communications impact, and infrastructure needed to fulfill mission. Once this has been done, it’s time to identify and assess potential partners. We will share a road map to beginning these conversations, share key criteria for assessing appropriate partners, and discuss the importance of selecting partners that align with your organizational strategy and will increase mission impact. During this session, we will also discuss how organizations might initiate conversations with funders around supporting this work. This webinar will be most useful for organizational leadership, on both the staff and board level. Funders are also welcome to attend.
Webinar 3 - Crafting a Successful and Impactful Partnership
Thursday, September 10
12:00 – 1:15 PM ET
The focus of this webinar will be on what it takes to negotiate an effective partnership that leads to increased impact and organizational strength. The long-term positive impact of partnerships can be great, but it requires time, capacity, and intentionality. We will provide an overview of the negotiation process, change management tools, and pitfalls to avoid. During this session we will dive into what can be expected as part of legal and financial due diligence, various implementation options, and the areas of integration — including culture. This webinar will be most useful for organizational leadership, on both the staff and board level. Funders are also welcome to attend.
National Affinity Group: A Series of Briefings on Poverty and the Impact of Covid-19

How does poverty impact access to higher education and educational success? In this webinar, we will discuss how the community can help build opportunities and networks for underserved students to support retention and success.
Over the coming months the National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty will be hosting a series of webinars and virtual meetups to discuss the many challenges the coronavirus pandemic has created for Jews facing poverty and the agencies that serve them. We will hear the needs from the service providers on the ground supporting our front lines, share best practices and information, and strategize on ways to respond collectively.
Each webinar is moderated by Susan Ditkoff of The Bridgespan Group Boston.
Speakers
Danielle Ellman
Chief Executive Officer
Commonpoint Queens
Sara J. Fertman
Director
The Jeffrey H. and Shari L. Aronson Family Foundation
Adam Kolett
Executive Director
Hillel of Broward and Palm Beach
From all angles: A peer discussion on the questions posed by donors and foundations in light of the changes in the social field in the face of the Covid-19
A peer discussion on the questions posed by donors and foundations in light of the changes in the social field in the face of the Covid-19
Please join us for a joint meeting of JFN and the Israel Foundations Forum.
We will gather for a peer discussion in small groups focusing on the following funding areas: education, employment, health, young adults, environment, arts and culture, women and human rights.
In the meeting we will delve into these social areas from different angles as we collectively explore, what we, the members of the philanthropic community, need to ask and understand in order to prepare for the emerging changes in the social field in Israel.
The meeting will be held in Hebrew
ONLINE EVENT
An Intimate Conversation with Wes Moore - JCF link

Join us for a conversation with Wes Moore, CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, an anti-poverty organization based in New York City, and author of several best-selling books. In this event, Rachel Garbow Monroe, President and CEO of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation will talk to Wes about his new book “Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City,” Covid-19’s disproportionate impact on communities of color, and how funders can best support racial justice and anti-poverty work at this critical time.
We encourage you to join us for this important conversation and to consider purchasing "Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City" as a learning tool and resource for you and your communities. To learn more about the book, about the aftermath of the April 2015 death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, told through eight characters on the front lines of the uprising that overtook Baltimore and riveted the world, please click the link here.
Note: This event will not be recorded, so please be sure to join us live!
About Wes Moore
A social entrepreneur and CEO, Wes Moore leads Robin Hood, one of the largest anti-poverty forces in the United States.
Wes's first book, “The Other Wes Moore,” a perennial New York Times bestseller, captured the nation’s attention on the fine line between success and failure in our communities and in ourselves. That story has been optioned by executive producer Oprah Winfrey and HBO to be made into a movie. He is also the author of the bestselling books “The Work,” “Discovering Wes Moore,” and “This Way Home.”
Wes grew up in Baltimore and the Bronx, where he was raised by a single mom. Despite childhood challenges, he graduated Phi Theta Kappa from Valley Forge Military College in 1998 and Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University in 2001. He earned an MLitt in International Relations from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 2004. He then served as a captain and paratrooper with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne, including a combat deployment to Afghanistan. He later served as a White House Fellow to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Before becoming CEO at Robin Hood, Wes was the founder and CEO at BridgeEdU, an innovative tech platform addressing the college completion and job placement crisis. BridgeEdU reinvents freshman year for underserved students. Wes remains chairman of the board of directors at BridgeEDU. He has also worked in finance as an investment banker with Deutsche Bank in London and with Citigroup in New York.
Wes has been featured by USA Today, TIME Magazine, People Magazine, “Meet the Press,” “The Colbert Report”, “The View,” MSNBC, and NPR, among many others. He is a consistent news contributor to programs such as "Morning Joe," "Hardball with Chris Matthews," "NOW with Alex Wagner," "Andrea Mitchell Reports," and many others. He has also hosted programs such as “Beyond Belief” on the Oprah Winfrey Network, as well as two shows on PBS: “American Graduate Day 2014” and “Coming Back with Wes Moore”, for which he was the executive producer.
Wes lives in Baltimore with his wife and two children.
About Rachel Garbow Monroe
Rachel Garbow Monroe has been the president and CEO of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, one of the 50 largest private foundations in the United States with approximately $2.9 billion in assets, for nearly 10 years. The Weinberg Foundation is dedicated to meeting the basic needs of people experiencing poverty and provides approximately $125 million annually in grants to nonprofits, primarily in the US and Israel, which provide direct services in the areas of housing, health, jobs, education, and community services.
Rachel leads a staff of more than 60 across offices in Baltimore, Maryland and Honolulu, Hawaii. She has been instrumental in the creation and launch of several new initiatives, including a national convening on Jewish poverty in the United States, as well as a $12 million partnership with the Foundation for Jewish Camp to increase accessibility for campers and staff with disabilities. Rachel also directed the reframing of the Foundation’s grants structure to five focus areas. Previously, she helped conceive and launch the $10 million Baltimore Elementary and Middle School Library Project, as well as the Foundation’s major events, including the Biennial Community Gathering, the Employee Giving Program, the Israel Mission Alumni Scholars Program, and the Small Grants and Baltimore City Community Grants Programs.
Previous professional roles include chief operating officer for The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore; the worldwide director of marketing for the international architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; and marketing manager for the Jewish Community Centers of Chicago. For five years, Rachel also served as an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University where she taught a graduate nonprofit marketing course at the Institute for Policy Studies.
Rachel is married with three children.
ONLINE EVENT
An Intimate Conversation with Wes Moore

Join us for a conversation with Wes Moore, CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, an anti-poverty organization based in New York City, and author of several best-selling books. In this event, Rachel Garbow Monroe, President and CEO of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation will talk to Wes about his new book “Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City,” Covid-19’s disproportionate impact on communities of color, and how funders can best support racial justice and anti-poverty work at this critical time.
We encourage you to join us for this important conversation and to consider purchasing "Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City" as a learning tool and resource for you and your communities. To learn more about the book, about the aftermath of the April 2015 death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, told through eight characters on the front lines of the uprising that overtook Baltimore and riveted the world, please click the link here.
Note: This event will not be recorded, so please be sure to join us live!
About Wes Moore
A social entrepreneur and CEO, Wes Moore leads Robin Hood, one of the largest anti-poverty forces in the United States.
Wes's first book, “The Other Wes Moore,” a perennial New York Times bestseller, captured the nation’s attention on the fine line between success and failure in our communities and in ourselves. That story has been optioned by executive producer Oprah Winfrey and HBO to be made into a movie. He is also the author of the bestselling books “The Work,” “Discovering Wes Moore,” and “This Way Home.”
Wes grew up in Baltimore and the Bronx, where he was raised by a single mom. Despite childhood challenges, he graduated Phi Theta Kappa from Valley Forge Military College in 1998 and Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University in 2001. He earned an MLitt in International Relations from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 2004. He then served as a captain and paratrooper with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne, including a combat deployment to Afghanistan. He later served as a White House Fellow to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Before becoming CEO at Robin Hood, Wes was the founder and CEO at BridgeEdU, an innovative tech platform addressing the college completion and job placement crisis. BridgeEdU reinvents freshman year for underserved students. Wes remains chairman of the board of directors at BridgeEDU. He has also worked in finance as an investment banker with Deutsche Bank in London and with Citigroup in New York.
Wes has been featured by USA Today, TIME Magazine, People Magazine, “Meet the Press,” “The Colbert Report”, “The View,” MSNBC, and NPR, among many others. He is a consistent news contributor to programs such as "Morning Joe," "Hardball with Chris Matthews," "NOW with Alex Wagner," "Andrea Mitchell Reports," and many others. He has also hosted programs such as “Beyond Belief” on the Oprah Winfrey Network, as well as two shows on PBS: “American Graduate Day 2014” and “Coming Back with Wes Moore”, for which he was the executive producer.
Wes lives in Baltimore with his wife and two children.
About Rachel Garbow Monroe
Rachel Garbow Monroe has been the president and CEO of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, one of the 50 largest private foundations in the United States with approximately $2.9 billion in assets, for nearly 10 years. The Weinberg Foundation is dedicated to meeting the basic needs of people experiencing poverty and provides approximately $125 million annually in grants to nonprofits, primarily in the US and Israel, which provide direct services in the areas of housing, health, jobs, education, and community services.
Rachel leads a staff of more than 60 across offices in Baltimore, Maryland and Honolulu, Hawaii. She has been instrumental in the creation and launch of several new initiatives, including a national convening on Jewish poverty in the United States, as well as a $12 million partnership with the Foundation for Jewish Camp to increase accessibility for campers and staff with disabilities. Rachel also directed the reframing of the Foundation’s grants structure to five focus areas. Previously, she helped conceive and launch the $10 million Baltimore Elementary and Middle School Library Project, as well as the Foundation’s major events, including the Biennial Community Gathering, the Employee Giving Program, the Israel Mission Alumni Scholars Program, and the Small Grants and Baltimore City Community Grants Programs.
Previous professional roles include chief operating officer for The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore; the worldwide director of marketing for the international architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; and marketing manager for the Jewish Community Centers of Chicago. For five years, Rachel also served as an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University where she taught a graduate nonprofit marketing course at the Institute for Policy Studies.
Rachel is married with three children.
Grantmaking Professionals Virtual Meetup July 29

Learn from experts in the field and noted historians about how the American Jewish community has responded to and evolved due to crisis over the last 150 years - with a special lens on philanthropy.
Speakers:
Felicia Herman
Executive Director
The Natan Fund
Jonathan D. Sarna
University Professor
Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History
Director
Schusterman Center for Israel Studies
Brandeis University
Annie Polland
Executive Director
American Jewish Historical Society
ONLINE EVENT
Impact Investing Matching Grants Information Session

We are thrilled to announce a new matching grant initiative: Strengthening the Impact Ecosystem Building Social Economic Resilience in Israel a collaboration between the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation (Israel) and Jewish Funders Network (JFN).
Please join us for an information session for funders interested in participating in the matching grant program and supporting social organizations making an impact in this field.
We will share the vision, goals and objectives of the matching grant program and provide an opportunity to hear from a funder who participated the previous matching grant program. We will also provide details about how the program works, answer questions and give an overview of JFN membership and services.
Speakers & Agenda
- Eli Booch, Director of Philanthropy, Edmond de Rothschild Foundation, will discuss the vision for the matching grant program, and explain why growth and support for impact entrepreneurship projects is so significant in this current era.
- Alina Shkolnikov, Impact Entrepreneurship Manager, Edmond de Rothschild Foundation, will explain the matching grant program's objectives.
- Sharon Dwek, Membership Director, JFN IL, will outline the matching grant terms and conditions for donors, will walk you through the application process.
- Noa Yovel Maoz, JFN Member, will explain why she participated in the matching grants program.
- Q&A
Challenges of Funding in Israel Post Covid-19: A Member Consultation Roundtable for Professionals

This roundtable will also be offered on July 21 from 1-3 pm ET. RSVP for the date that is most convenient for you. Please note, this roundtable is tailored for grantmaking professionals. Interested funders should RSVP for roundtables on Tuesday, August 4, from 1-3pm ET and Wednesday, August 5, from 1-3pm ET.
During the current Covid-19 crisis, many JFN members have contacted us seeking advice on the unique situation you were/are facing vis-à-vis your funding in Israel. Some are uncertain about the future scope of their giving, while others have been seeking knowledge and guidance on needs and opportunities for emergency grants. Many have approached us to think collectively of ways to alleviate the stresses of the Israeli NGOs you support, and to help with possible partnerships and collaborations.
As Israel’s economy gradually reopens, these needs and the questions are not disappearing, but rather crystallizing: Transitioning from emergency grants to ongoing support, building the resilience of the social sector, encouraging mergers and collaborations, and figuring out your role and commitment as a funder are just some of the issues you may be confronting in the upcoming period.
This small virtual meeting is designed to dig deeper into your current philanthropic work in Israel, discuss the challenges you face and offer you some initial tips and tools for action. Our goal is to identify and map the most urgent needs of the philanthropic community at this time and in response over the coming months-we will develop content, tools and guidance that would be most helpful for you to face the changing new reality we are all facing.
Please note, this virtual meeting is different from — but complementary to — the webinars we are offering about the Shaldor Report, which outlines expected social scenarios in Israel through a review of key megatrends and suggests how they will impact diverse aspects of society.
Sigal Yaniv Feller, our Director of Advisory Services and Reut Stoller, Director of Programming, both from the JFN-Israel office, will be facilitating the meeting
This virtual meeting is designed for people with experience funding in Israel. If you are new to funding in Israel, we would be delighted for you to attend. Please email ari@jfunders.org, so we can help you in your journey.
Next Year (We Hope!) in Jerusalem: How the Israel Experience Field Has Responded to Covid

https://youtu.be/Uag_QwYZy24
Israel programs — including missions, youth tours and immersive trips for adults of all ages — have long been among contemporary Jewish philanthropy’s major achievements, bringing hundreds of thousands of people of all ages to Israel for immersive, life-changing experiences. COVID’s disruption of travel and large gatherings brought the field to a standstill, and there are significant questions about how and when to restart. This program brings together a group of funders and program providers who have been regularly meeting since the crisis began to share the data, conversations, and concerns they’ve been wrestling with. The dialogue will explore the effects of the crisis, where the gaps are and what’s needed, and creative strategies to consider while travel remains curtailed.
Speakers:
Rina Goldberg
Managing Director, Israel and Overseas
The Jewish Federations of North America
Steven Green
Senior Director, Grants Management and Compliance, Jim Joseph Foundation
Ariella Saperstein
Program Officer
Maimonides Fund
Liz Sokolsky
Executive Director
Birthright Israel North America
Mike Wise
Co-CEO
Honeymoon Israel Foundation
From all angles - a peer discussion of social field in the face of the Covid-19 with FFI
From all angles - peer discussion with FFI
Impact Investing Roundtable Session 2

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, federations and non-profits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.
Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.
Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.
Moderator for Roundtable Series
Vanessa Bartram, Managing Director, ZORA Ventures
Speakers for July 22 Roundtable
Cintra Pollack, Singer Family Foundation
Joshua-Marc Tanenbaum
Elli Booch, Director of Philanthropy, Edmond de Rothschild Foundation (IL).
This is the second in a series that meets once a month through October. While you are welcome to join us for any of the roundtables, we encourage you to join us for the full series to maximize our shared learning and collaborations.
Dates for Future Sessions
- Wednesday, August 19, 1-2pm Eastern (8-9 p.m. in Israel)
- Tuesday, September 22, 12-1pm Eastern (7-8 p.m. in Israel)
- Tuesday, October 20, 12-1pm Eastern (7-8 p.m. in Israel)
Building Trust and Transparency in Grantmaking Through an Agile Mindset

Agile Methodologies is a process used in software development to support thinking and processes to be responsive to changing needs. This webinar from 2020 JFN conference sponsor, the grants management software company Foundant Technologies, explores how this framework can support philanthropists in their work explores how it has adopted this framework to support philanthropists in their work, by helping people and processes align, scale, and reach goals with a clear purpose and outcome. Various agile frameworks can be used to pivot processes and align stakeholders across all functions. Finding the right framework for you means adopting a common language and fine-tuning your processes to create transparency, predictability, and trust. Over the hour, we’ll discuss:
- What does agile look like at an organization or a process level?
- Why do agile methodologies lend themselves to philanthropy so well?
- What does an agile funding process look like?
- How can you implement agile methodologies at your foundation/organization?
"Agile is the ability to create and respond to change. It is a way of dealing with, and ultimately succeeding in, an uncertain and turbulent environment." -- Agile Alliance
Speakers:
Sammie Holzwarth
Product Manager
Foundant Technologies
Mark Larimer
VP of Sales & Marketing
Foundant Technologies
>>RSVP HERE
Challenges of Funding in Israel Post Covid-19: A Member Consultation Roundtable for Grantmaking Professionals

This roundtable will also be offered on July 23 from 1-3 pm ET. RSVP for the date that is most convenient for you. Please note, this roundtable is tailored for grantmaking professionals. Interested funders should RSVP for roundtables on Tuesday, August 4, from 1-3pm ET and Wednesday, August 5, from 1-3pm ET.
During the current Covid-19 crisis, many JFN members have contacted us seeking advice on the unique situation you were/are facing vis-à-vis your funding in Israel. Some are uncertain about the future scope of their giving, while others have been seeking knowledge and guidance on needs and opportunities for emergency grants. Many have approached us to think collectively of ways to alleviate the stresses of the Israeli NGOs you support, and to help with possible partnerships and collaborations.
As Israel’s economy gradually reopens, these needs and the questions are not disappearing, but rather crystallizing: Transitioning from emergency grants to ongoing support, building the resilience of the social sector, encouraging mergers and collaborations, and figuring out your role and commitment as a funder are just some of the issues you may be confronting in the upcoming period.
This small virtual meeting is designed to dig deeper into your current philanthropic work in Israel, discuss the challenges you face and offer you some initial tips and tools for action. Our goal is to identify and map the most urgent needs of the philanthropic community at this time and in response over the coming months-we will develop content, tools and guidance that would be most helpful for you to face the changing new reality we are all facing.
Please note, this virtual meeting is different from — but complementary to — the webinars we are offering about the Shaldor Report, which outlines expected social scenarios in Israel through a review of key megatrends and suggests how they will impact diverse aspects of society.
This virtual meeting is designed for people with experience funding in Israel. If you are new to funding in Israel, we would be delighted for you to attend. Please email ari@jfunders.org, so we can help in your journey.
Sigal Yaniv Feller, our Director of Advisory Services and Reut Stoller, Director of Programming, both from the JFN-Israel office, will be facilitating the meeting.
This virtual meeting is designed for people with experience funding in Israel. If you are new to funding in Israel, we would be delighted for you to attend. Please email ari@jfunders.org, so we can help you in your journey.
National Affinity Group: A Series of Briefings on Poverty and the Impact of Covid-19

https://youtu.be/TFegA45g6fk
In this webinar we will discuss the intersection of philanthropy and government and its role in combating poverty, especially during COVID-19.
Over the past couple of months the National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty has been hosting webinars and virtual meetups to discuss the many challenges the coronavirus pandemic has created for Jews facing poverty and the agencies that serve them. We will hear the needs from the service providers on the ground supporting our front lines, share best practices and information, and strategize on ways to respond collectively.
Each webinar is moderated by Susan Ditkoff of The Bridgespan Group Boston.
Speakers
Louisa Chafee
Senior Vice President
External Relations and Public Policy
UJA- Federation of New York
Jerry Rubin
President and Chief Executive Officer
Jewish Vocational Service-Boston
Ginna Green
Former Chief Strategy Officer
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
Save the dates in your calendar! We have one more webinar planned this summer:
Tuesday, August 4 12-1pm ET
ONLINE EVENT
A Midsummer Night's Shmooze: JFN Members-Only Cocktail Party
Grantmaking Professionals Virtual Meetup 7
Please join us for a bi-monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals.
In this session, Jaré Akchin of the Circle of Service Foundation and Alicia Schuyler Oberman of the Jack Miller Family Foundation and the Board Member Institute for Jewish Nonprofits, will be discussing an ambitious technical assistance program they have created together with other key funders in Chicago, to support local Jewish organizations.
We look forward to coming together for shared learning and community building.
Speakers:
Jaré Akchin
Program Officer
Circle of Service Foundation
Alicia Schuyler Oberman
Foundation Director and Board Member
Jack Miller Family Foundation
Facilitators:
Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network
Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network
Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC
ONLINE EVENT
LA CANVAS conversation
What does art have to do with it all? Our society is confronted with unprecedented challenges, from Covid-19, racial injustice to a climate emergency. Artists are playing a critical role in helping us to cope, to imagine, to be entertained and to hope. Yet artists are some of the first to lose their jobs.
Join JFN member Sonia Cummings; CANVAS founder Lou Cove, and Tzivia Schwartz Getzug, JFN's West Coast director — and some leading Los Angeles-based artists — for a conversation about the ways Jewish creatives are responding to our times.
About CANVAS
CANVAS is a Jewish Funders Network-powered funding collaborative that seeks to encourage, support and promote a 21st-century Jewish cultural renaissance. CANVAS seeks to elevate the ecosystem of Jewish arts & culture in North America through strategic and coordinated giving, education, and cross-sector exposure (between funders and artists, Jewish creatives and secular distribution networks/media, and more).
About the Art Featured Here
"Construction #1," by Shay Arick. C-print assemblages created from
Israeli flora found during quarantine.(Courtesy of Asylum Arts, a CANVAS grantee)
Understanding the Post Covid Social Landscape to Navigate Your Israel Giving

In the aftermath of the corona crisis, what forces and trends are shaping the new social landscape in Israel? Which global processes has the crisis accelerated, and how might these affect the social fields in Israel where philanthropy plays a role? What are the long-term changes we can expect?
These large and ongoing questions continue to accompany day-to-day philanthropic work and influence our ability to make decisions about both the “here and now” and the long term.
Working with JFN Israel and some of our foundation members, Shaldor Strategy Consulting has created a report that sheds light on the social field in Israel after and in light of the coronavirus crisis.
In this session, we will share the latest knowledge that will help you safely navigate your philanthropic activities in the face of new and emerging realities, engage in dialogue with local and national government, and work in small groups to provide you with maximum understanding and tools for a hands-on discussion on the necessary adjustments to your routine giving strategy.
The report outlines expected social scenarios in Israel through a review of key megatrends and suggests how they will impact diverse aspects of society, both with relation to social activities and financial sources. We strongly recommend that you review the report prior to the meeting so that you can benefit the most from your participation.
The meeting will be held in English
Grassroots Organizing to Build Community and Stop Hate

Acts of hate targeting Muslims and Jews have been mounting at an alarming rate in North America and in Europe. Antisemitism and Islamophobia have special urgency today, as conspiracy theories about COVID-19 have proliferated. When Muslims and Jews make common cause, the odds of success in reversing this rising tide greatly increase. This program explores the current problem of hate against Jews and Muslims, how it is being addressed at the grassroots in America, and how these efforts can be replicated elsewhere in the world. Field experts present techniques to strengthen Muslim-Jewish relations and fight hate, as well as identifying the issues around which Muslims and Jews can make common cause, build relationships, and support one another.
Speakers:
Georgette Bennett
Polonsky Foundation
Sheryl Olitzky
Cofounder and Executive Director
Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom
Natalia Mahmud
Assistant Director, U.S. Muslim-Jewish Relations
AJC
George Selim
Senior Vice President of Programs, Anti-Defamation League
***NEW POLICY*** Beginning on July 1, JFN will limit non-member access to some of our events. JFN members have unlimited access, but non-members who are eligible to join JFN are limited to three online programs or two live events per year (maximum three events total). Once this limit is reached, you must become a JFN member to access additional programs. (Please note that the webinars of some affinity groups have more open policies, and participating in those programs will not count against the limit.) Please contact membership@jfunders.org for information.
National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty Presents: A Series of Briefings on Poverty and the Impact of Covid-19

Join us for an important conversation with the leaders of the Jews of Color Initiative COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund. The session will provide an overview of the needs of vulnerable Jews of color and Jewish communal professionals of color amid the pandemic. In addition, panelists will share lessons learned from initial funding rounds and highlight opportunities for how the Jewish community can better support Jews of color moving forward.
This is part of the National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty's ongoing series of webinars and virtual meetups to discuss the many challenges the coronavirus pandemic has created for Jews facing poverty and the agencies that serve them. In this series, we hear the needs from the service providers on the ground supporting our front lines, share best practices and information, and strategize on ways to respond collectively. Watch the previous briefings in this series here.
Each webinar is moderated by Susan Ditkoff of The Bridgespan Group Boston.
Introductions will be made by Paula B. Pretlow, Trustee, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.
Speakers:
Ilana Kaufman
Executive Director
Jews of Color Field Building Initiative
Angel Alvarez-Mapp
Director of Programs and Operations
Jews of Color Initiative
Ginna Green
Former Chief Strategy Officer
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
Save the dates in your calendar! We have two more webinars planned this summer:
- Tuesday, July 21, 12-1pm ET
- Tuesday, August 4, 12-1pm ET
Literature in a Time of Crisis: A CANVAS Conversation with Nathan Englander, Marra Gad and Rachel Kadish

This is the first in a series called "Why We Invest in Our Creative Community: A CANVAS Conversation.
In the wake of unprecedented upheaval and conflict, where do we find answers to the deeper questions we face? As the People of the Book, Jews have historically turned to books to comprehend and process the world, with all the beauty and challenges it presents us. More than ever, we depend on the insights of our authors for interpretation, empathy, and transcendence.
We are excited to present a rare and intimate conversation/reading with three major Jewish authors — Nathan Englander, Marra B. Gad, and Rachel Kadish — as they share their work and their reactions to the crises of our times.
What is the role of an artist in a pandemic? During a period of profound reckoning? How has their response been informed by their Jewish identities? We hope you will join us to learn the answers to these questions, and ask some of your own.
This conversation will be moderated by Lou Cove, Founder of CANVAS, and Naomi Firestone-Teeter, Executive Director of the Jewish Book Council (a CANVAS grantee).
About the Panelists
Nathan Englander is the author of the story collections "For the Relief of Unbearable Urges," an international best seller, and "What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank," and the novels "The Ministry of Special Cases" and "Dinner at the Center of the Earth." His books have been translated into 22 languages, and, among other prizes, he was chosen as one of Twenty Writers for the 21st Century by The New Yorker and is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a PEN/Malamud Award, a Berlin Prize, the Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy of Arts & Letters, the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. He was a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2013. His play "The Twenty-Seventh Man" premiered at the Public Theater in 2012, and his new play, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank," commissioned by Lincoln Center Theater, was scheduled to run at The Old Globe in San Diego now, but is on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic. He is Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University and lives with his family in Toronto.
Marra B. Gad is the author of "The Color of Love: A Story of a Mixed-Race Jewish Girl," winner of the 2020 Midwest Book Award for Memoir. She was born in New York and raised in Chicago. She is an independent film and television producer and now calls Los Angeles home. Ms. Gad is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and holds a master's degree in modern Jewish history from Baltimore Hebrew Institute at Towson University.
Rachel Kadish’s most recent novel, "The Weight of Ink," was awarded a National Jewish Book Award, the Julia Ward Howe Fiction Prize, and the Association of Jewish Libraries’ Fiction Award. Her work has been read on National Public Radio and has appeared in The New York Times, Salon, Slate, Paris Review, Iowa Review, and the Pushcart Prize Anthology. She has been the Koret Writer-in-Residence at Stanford University and a fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. She lives outside Boston and is a co-founder of the Stockholm-based initiative Voices Between: Stories Against Extremism.
About CANVAS
CANVAS is a Jewish Funders Network-powered funding collaborative that seeks to encourage, support and promote a 21st- century Jewish cultural renaissance. CANVAS seeks to elevate the ecosystem of Jewish arts & culture in North America through strategic and coordinated giving, education, and cross-sector exposure (between funders and artists, Jewish creatives and secular distribution networks/media, and more).
Building Bridges: Applying Philanthropic Lessons to the Israel-Diaspora Relationship

For too long, philanthropy's role has been perceived merely as a way of financing activities. However, philanthropy has a significant goal strengthening our communities, and we hope you can join us for what promises to be an insightful discussion. We will be joined by leading practitioners of the secular philanthropic field that have a rich track record in connecting communities. In addition to understanding how large philanthropies act across the United States, we will focus on what this means for the American Jewish community and its relationship with Israel – a field where, for decades, philanthropy has been a significant part of the conversation. This webinar is presented by the Ruderman Family Foundation, in partnership with the Jewish Funders Network.
The event will take place via ZOOM, Monday, July 6, at 11:00 EST.
>>>RSVP HERE
Grantmaking Professionals Virtual Meetup 6

Please join us for a presentation by speakers Batya Kallus and Jenny Cohen as they share a valuable adaptive capacity tool that they've developed to help funders assess their grantees' progress through the COVID crisis and to inform their own portfolio-level decision making.
We will then have a chance to use the tool ourselves and to discuss its application(s) with our peers during small group sessions. We will be breaking into peer learning and support groups twice during this meeting, including near the top of the call. Be prepared to chat!
Speakers:
Batya Kallus
Social Venture Fund Jewish-Arab Equality and Shared Society
Jenny Cohen
Evaluation Capacity-Building Consultant
Facilitators:
Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network
Tamar Frydman
Director, Peer Programs
Jewish Funders Network
Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC
Investing in Israeli Science and Research

Israel's high-tech, medical and science accomplishments are world-renowned, and many of its researchers have been at the forefront in the fight against Covid-19 in Israel and abroad. This global pandemic has impacted all of us and underscores the critical role of medical and scientific expertise. In this introductory webinar, with longtime funders of science, and one leader within Israel’s academic research community, learn different approaches to funding research in Israel and what we have learned along the way. We will also discuss the role funders can play in strengthening the infrastructure needed for research and different opportunities for collaboration.
Moderator
Kim Philbrick McCabe, Executive Director,The Klarman Family Foundation
Speakers
Asher Ragen, Programme Director for the Academic Excellence, Yad Hanadiv
Ruth Salzman, CEO, The Russell Berrie Foundation
Professor Uri Sivan, President of the Technion — Israel Institute of Technology
Jewish Communal Professional Workforce and COVID-19

The Jewish communal workforce has seen serious hardship during the COVID-19 period. With over 20,000 jobs lost, the crisis has created a severe impact on many communal institutions and families. This program brings together speakers who offer a big-picture view of the effects on the workforce, outline what is happening, and suggest ways to support professionals who have been laid off or furloughed from their jobs.
Speakers:
Ilana Aisen
CEO
JPRO Network
Gali Cooks
President & CEO
Leading Edge
Reuben D. Rotman
President & CEO
Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies
Impact Investing Roundtable

Impact investing is an increasingly important way for individuals, foundations, federations and non-profits to powerfully expand their capacity for social and environmental change, all while providing a framework to live their values through how they spend and invest.
Join JFN’s growing community of impact investors for a lively and action-oriented monthly roundtable, each featuring a master class and two investment roundups, all led by JFN members and designed to encourage shared learning and shared action along our impact investing journeys.
Whether you are new to impact investing or a seasoned veteran, the roundtables will help you to build skills, deepen your collaborations and deal access, and add meaning to how you're managing your money.
Moderator for Roundtable Series
Vanessa Bartram, Managing Director, ZORA Ventures
Speakers for June 24
Doug Stewart, Executive Director, Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation
Master Class: A Relatively Spectacular Failure
Beth Sirull, President and CEO, San Diego Jewish Community Foundation
Investment Roundup: Our Investment in Ogen
Gideon Stein, Chief Research Scientist, Mobileye
Investment Roundup: Our Investment in Pivot
This is the first in a five-part series that meets once a month through October. While you are welcome to join us for any of the roundtables, we encourage you to join us for the full series to maximize our shared learning and collaborations.
Dates for Upcoming Sessions
- Wednesday, July 22, 1-2pm Eastern (8-9 p.m. in Israel)
- Wednesday, August 19, 1-2pm Eastern (8-9 p.m. in Israel)
- Tuesday, September 22, 12-1pm Eastern (7-8 p.m. in Israel)
- Tuesday, October 20, 12-1pm Eastern (7-8 p.m. in Israel)
Service for a Strong Future

The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the economy, and amid rising unemployment and hiring freezes, Americans are seeking meaning and a way to help their communities. Join leaders in the field to learn about the importance of national service and volunteerism — and of the needs and opportunities within this critical sector — during the pandemic and beyond.
Moderator:
Laura Lauder
JFN member
Laura & Gary Lauder Philanthropic Fund
Speakers:
Jesse Colvin
CEO
Service Year Alliance
Cindy Greenberg
President & CEO
Repair the World
Natalye Paquin
President & CEO
Points of Light
JFN IL Peer consultation meeting: Challenges of the Israeli funder post Covid-19
In the last couple of months, the Corona crisis presented many challenges to the philanthropic community in Israel and around the world: professional, economic, logistical and emotional. Social reality has changed and so have the ways of philanthropy, identifying needs on the ground and the need to respond quickly and under uncertain circumstances.
The gradual return to economic activity poses the need to address significant questions as they relate to the new reality that the philanthropic sector is facing:
How do I manage my post-Corona funding allocation? What is my role as a funder in dealing with organizations' closures or mergers between NGOs? What channels of cooperation with the government / local authorities do I have as a donor and how do I create collaborations? How to transition from emergency grants to ongoing support? And many other question marks that are raised by these challenging times.
Our goal is to examine together your current philanthropic needs, and to enable a sincere discussion around the challenges while offering you suggestions and tools for action.
The meetings will include likeminded funders with similar giving capacity and experience in strategic philanthropy in order to yield an effective and meaningful dialogue based on shared challenges and common dilemmas.
Day School and COVID-19 Part 3

With the conclusion of the 2019-2020 school year, Jewish day schools and yeshivas are refocusing their attention on the coming year and the financial challenges that have arisen in light of COVID-19. Join Prizmah's CEO Paul Bernstein and a panel of funders to identify the needs day schools are facing and how they are being addressed on a local, regional, and North American level. Hear how we can ensure that Jewish educational providers can open their doors — physically or virtually — in the fall.
This is the third part of a series that JFN is hosting to help donors better understand the impact and needs of day schools during this time.
Speakers:
Paul Bernstein
Chief Executive Officer
Prizmah, Center for Jewish Day Schools
Felicia Herman
Executive Director
The Natan Fund
Connie Kanter
CEO
Samis Foundation
Ann Pava
Immediate Past Chair
Prizmah and Chair
Prizmah's Development Committee
Melissa Rivkin
Director of Day School Strategy
Samis Foundation
Funding with an Inclusion Mindset: A Strategic Conversation Amid COVID-19

The Covid crisis has brought increased attention to and focus on a number of vulnerable populations in the Jewish community. As funders work with organizations to meet these needs, it is clear that many are implementing their interventions and supports without a fully inclusive mindset, which often leaves people with disabilities out of the conversation. As the emergency footing slowly moves toward a new normal, what practices can funders use to become more strategic and thoughtful to ensure that their work allows this critical population to benefit as fully as others? This conversation brings together funders, activists, and the leading sponsor of the Americans With Disabilities Act to reflect.
Speakers:
Tony Coelho
Former U.S. Congressman
Board Member, Epilepsy Foundation
Jennifer Marshall
Executive Director, This Is My Brave, Inc.
Shira Ruderman
Executive Director
Ruderman Family Foundation
Sasha Trump Weiss
Chair
Beit Issie Shapiro
Grantmaking Professionals Virtual Meetup 5

Please join us for a bi-monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals.
We look forward to coming together for shared learning and community building.
Speakers:
Amy Rosenblatt Lui
Executive Director
The Beverly Foundation, Fingerhut Family Foundation and Ronald Fingerhut Family Foundation
Yotam Polizer
Global Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
IsraAID
Facilitators:
Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network
Tamar Frydman
Senior Manager, Programs and Member Education
Jewish Funders Network
Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC
ONLINE EVENT
Donor Retreat: Leading With Your Values

A Three-Session Course for Donors*
Join us on June 3, 10, and 17 for a course focused on placing values at the forefront of your conversations in strategic philanthropy. Facilitated by leading family philanthropy advisors, this seminar helps family funders identify and use core values as a framework to keep them aligned when navigating the challenges of their philanthropic work—particularly around the difficult conversations that arise within families, with grantees, or in aspects of their decision-making and grantmaking. Each session is 90 minutes, and participants should plan to attend all three.
Over the three meetings, participants will:
· Establish the values that can serve as a framework for coherent grantmaking.
· Learn how to develop governance and operating policies, practices, and group norms that support decision-making and power sharing.
· Learn how to better engage in conversations that take place as being part of a foundation board that may potentially be difficult or tense – with grantees, other family members, staff, other trustees, etc.
· Learn how to apply the values to turn the inherent tensions that can arise in philanthropic conversations toward important and healthy deliberations about philosophy and strategy.
* Enrollment is restricted to individual donors and family members/trustees of family foundations.
Free to JFN members
$180 for eligible non-members
FACILITATORS
Samantha Anderson
Ceres Group Advisors
Amy Holdsman
Essential Leadership
Scenario Planning

The Covid-19 pandemic is producing major upheaval, and we don’t yet know where all the chips are going to fall. We do know, however, that the world will be transformed, and the Jewish community will confront momentous changes. That’s why we recently embarked on a scenarios design process that imagines how the United States and the world will look in the next two years. We can’t predict, but we can imagine alternative futures that will affect the Jewish community in different ways — which we can then use to help prepare.
Using scenarios, organizations can make sense of their context and identify trends and factors that might affect them in the future. That allows them to “wind-tunnel” their strategies by asking themselves how they’ll fare in each of the alternative futures they may face. What threats and opportunities may present themselves in each scenario? What do we need to do today to prepare? How do we survive, thrive, and be resilient, knowing that the future is uncertain?
In this webinar, we will be sharing information about scenario planning and providing a mini-training in how to facilitate something similar within your own organization. We also encourage you to consult our materials (including a video summarizing the process) here.
Speakers
Andrés Spokoiny, President & CEO of JFN
Deena K. Fuchs, Executive Vice President of JFN
Jewish Family Giving: Bringing Your Children To The Philanthropy Table

This engaging webinar hosted by the Jewish Teen Funders Network will explore the benefits and impacts of involving the younger generation in the family giving experience. We will share tools, best practices and games in order to engage and enhance conversations around giving.
Speakers
Wayne Green
Executive Director
Jewish Teen Funders Network
Alana Hollander
Community and Special Projects Manager
Jewish Teen Funders Network
Danielle Segal
Senior Program Manager
Jewish Teen Funders Network
New Models for Funding Jewish Media

Jewish media has been a critical pillar of our communal infrastructure for decades. It serves both as the public square of the community and also as an important vector for the transmission of content. As in the secular world, the standard for-profit model of Jewish journalism was sputtering due to market changes, new consumption habits, and the rise of countless alternative free news sources. Even before COVID, Jewish media outlets needed a new way forward; the crisis has only accelerated the challenges. This conversation highlights the importance of true journalism for Jewish life and brings in innovative and exciting new models from the secular world that can make nonprofit journalism both viable financially as well as independent and free from influence. Our conversation brings together experts from the secular world with leading lights of Jewish journalism and funders to explore alternatives for a vibrant Jewish fourth estate.
Speakers
Introduction
Rabbi Eliot Cosgrove
Rabbi
Park Avenue Synagogue
New Models
Peter Lattman
Managing Director—Media
Emerson Collective
Jennifer Preston
VP—Journalism
Knight Foundation
Dialogue with Journalists
Jodi Rudoren
Editor-in-Chief
The Forward
Yair Rosenberg
Senior Writer
Tablet Magazine
Andrew Silow-Carroll
Editor-in-Chief
The Jewish Week
Ami Eden
CEO / Executive Editor
70 Faces Media
Scenario Planning for a Post-Pandemic Future

NOTE: This webinar is also being offered on June 16.
The Covid-19 pandemic is producing major upheaval, and we don’t yet know where all the chips are going to fall. We do know, however, that the world will be transformed, and the Jewish community will confront momentous changes. That’s why we recently embarked on a scenarios design process that imagines how the United States and the world will look in the next two years. We can’t predict, but we can imagine alternative futures that will affect the Jewish community in different ways — which we can then use to help prepare.
Using scenarios, organizations can make sense of their context and identify trends and factors that might affect them in the future. That allows them to “wind-tunnel” their strategies by asking themselves how they’ll fare in each of the alternative futures they may face. What threats and opportunities may present themselves in each scenario? What do we need to do today to prepare? How do we survive, thrive, and be resilient, knowing that the future is uncertain?
In this webinar, we will be sharing information about scenario planning and providing a mini-training in how to facilitate something similar within your own organization. We also encourage you to consult our materials (including a video summarizing the process) here.
Speakers
Andrés Spokoiny, President & CEO of JFN
Deena K. Fuchs, Executive Vice President of JFN
Reopening Economies: Special Lecture by Dan Ariely

The Israeli-American bestselling author of "Predictably Irrational," Dan Ariely provides a special lecture for JFN on the lessons behavioral psychology offers to help governments begin to reopen their economies safely. This writer, researcher, and raconteur will detail experiments that show how the decision-making we do around coronavirus is not as rational as we think it is, explain how governments can help afford people more of a sense of control in this time, and offer predictions as to what habits and behaviors will—and won’t—change. Dan will also share with us his fascinating work beyond the coronavirus, harnessing the power of behavioral economics to address and solve major social problems in Israel.
Speaker:
ONLINE EVENT
National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty Presents: A Series of Briefings on Poverty and the Impact of Covid-19

Over the coming months the National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty will be hosting a series of webinars and virtual meetups to discuss the many challenges the coronavirus pandemic has created for Jews facing poverty and the agencies that serve them. We will hear the needs from the service providers on the ground supporting our front lines, share best practices and information, and strategize on ways to respond collectively.
The next in this series is on Tuesday, June 9th from 12-1pm ET. Each webinar is moderated by Susan Ditkoff of The Bridgespan Group Boston.
Speakers for June 9
Charlene Seidle
Executive Vice President
Leichtag Foundation
Reuben Rotman
President & CEO
Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies
Jewish Imperative for Funding with a Gender Lens Part 2

In the age of #MeToo and #TimesUp, Jewish funders are thinking deeply about how gender dynamics influence philanthropic leadership. Whether you've thought about these issues for a long time or are just beginning to explore how to apply a gender lens to your philanthropy and leadership, this two-part series will provide a deeper understanding of how you can leverage your resources and influence to effect change in all your philanthropy and the Jewish imperative in doing so. The first session focused on the Jewish imperative for giving with a gender lens. This session will provide participants with tangible tools and skills for this work.
Using tools from Slingshot's latest resource, "Money, Gender and Power," the guidebook's author Tuti B. Scott, and Slingshot's CEO Stefanie Rhodes,will lead this interactive workshop to support Jewish funders of all genders in learning how to take concrete actions to advance gender equity, and commit to lifting up women and girls in the philanthropic landscape at large.
Speakers:
Tuti B. Scott
Founder
Changemaking Strategies
Stefanie Rhodes
CEO
Slingshot
JFN YFF- Peer consultation meeting: Challenges of the Israeli funder post Covid-19
In the last couple of months, the Corona crisis presented many challenges to the philanthropic community in Israel and around the world: professional, economic, logistical and emotional. Social reality has changed and so have the ways of philanthropy, identifying needs on the ground and the need to respond quickly and under uncertain circumstances.
The gradual return to economic activity poses the need to address significant questions as they relate to the new reality that the philanthropic sector is facing:
How do I manage my post-Corona funding allocation? What is my role as a funder in dealing with organizations' closures or mergers between NGOs? What channels of cooperation with the government / local authorities do I have as a donor and how do I create collaborations? How to transition from emergency grants to ongoing support? And many other question marks that are raised by these challenging times.
Our goal is to examine together your current philanthropic needs, and to enable a sincere discussion around the challenges while offering you suggestions and tools for action.
The meetings will include likeminded funders with similar giving capacity and experience in strategic philanthropy in order to yield an effective and meaningful dialogue based on shared challenges and common dilemmas.
TEST
Grantmaking Professionals Virtual Meetup

Please join us for a bi-monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals.
We look forward to coming together for shared learning and community building.
Facilitators:
Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network
Tamar Frydman
Senior Manager, Programs and Member Education
Jewish Funders Network
Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC
Hearts and Minds: Building Bridges Between Israel and European Muslim Communities
In recent years, the European Leadership Network (ELNET) launched a special outreach program to Muslim communities in Europe, and in 2019 organized a first-ever delegation to Israel of 40 imams (Muslim clergy) and Muslim community leaders from France and Belgium. The purpose of the visit was to provide these leaders with a deeper understanding of Israel while fostering interreligious dialogue with the Jewish community. On this webinar you’ll hear about this extraordinary event from the head of the delegation, Imam Hassen Chalghoumi, one of the leading moderate imams in France.
Imam Chalghoumi has been actively involved in interfaith work and combating extremism following a series of Islamist terrorist attacks in France and Belgium. During the visit, Imam Chalghoumi asserted that anti-Zionism is antisemitism, stating, "what characterizes anti-Zionism is hatred. If we were simply talking about criticism of the State of Israel, we wouldn't see the hatred and talk of the need to wipe out and destroy Israel."
In conversation the speakers will focus on the strategy to fight antisemitism and build a broad pro-Israel consensus in Europe.
Speakers
Imam Hassen Chalghoumi
Imam of the Drancy municipal mosque in Seine Saint-Denis, France
Founder, Conference of Imams
David Siegel
President
Friends of ELNET
Dr. Arie Bensemhoun
CEO
ELNET-France
Larry J. Hochberg
President
Hochberg Family Foundation
Joseph Braude
Center for Peace Communications
JFN - Peer consultation meeting 3: Challenges of the Israeli funder post Covid-19
In the last couple of months, the Corona crisis presented many challenges to the philanthropic community in Israel and around the world: professional, economic, logistical and emotional. Social reality has changed and so have the ways of philanthropy, identifying needs on the ground and the need to respond quickly and under uncertain circumstances.
The gradual return to economic activity poses the need to address significant questions as they relate to the new reality that the philanthropic sector is facing:
How do I manage my post-Corona funding allocation? What is my role as a funder in dealing with organizations' closures or mergers between NGOs? What channels of cooperation with the government / local authorities do I have as a donor and how do I create collaborations? How to transition from emergency grants to ongoing support? And many other question marks that are raised by these challenging times.
Our goal is to examine together your current philanthropic needs, and to enable a sincere discussion around the challenges while offering you suggestions and tools for action.
The meetings will include likeminded funders with similar giving capacity and experience in strategic philanthropy in order to yield an effective and meaningful dialogue based on shared challenges and common dilemmas.
JFN - Peer consultation meeting 2: Challenges of the Israeli funder post Covid-19
In the last couple of months, the Corona crisis presented many challenges to the philanthropic community in Israel and around the world: professional, economic, logistical and emotional. Social reality has changed and so have the ways of philanthropy, identifying needs on the ground and the need to respond quickly and under uncertain circumstances.
The gradual return to economic activity poses the need to address significant questions as they relate to the new reality that the philanthropic sector is facing:
How do I manage my post-Corona funding allocation? What is my role as a funder in dealing with organizations' closures or mergers between NGOs? What channels of cooperation with the government / local authorities do I have as a donor and how do I create collaborations? How to transition from emergency grants to ongoing support? And many other question marks that are raised by these challenging times.
Our goal is to examine together your current philanthropic needs, and to enable a sincere discussion around the challenges while offering you suggestions and tools for action.
The meetings will include likeminded funders with similar giving capacity and experience in strategic philanthropy in order to yield an effective and meaningful dialogue based on shared challenges and common dilemmas.
ONLINE EVENT
Jewish Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Why it is Key to Our Recovery

The Jewish Innovation sector has fueled a renaissance in Jewish life over the past 20 years, enabling millions of individuals to find new ways to connect and stay connected to Judaism, Jewish experiences, and Jewish communities by reimagining Jewish life.
In this time of crisis, it is critical to not only preserve and advance the core system that nurtures new leaders, ideas and ventures, enabling them to help Jewish institutions of all kinds adapt to contemporary realities, but we must also embrace Jewish innovation as a core mindset of recovery and rebuilding.
Join Aaron Katler, Stefanie Rhodes and Mamie Kanfer Stewart for a discussion about how we can take the lessons learned from 20 years of nurturing and funding innovation to create a roadmap for the post-COVID Jewish community.
Speakers:
Aaron Katler
CEO
UpStart
Stefanie Rhodes
CEO
Slingshot Fund
Mamie Kanfer Stewart
Founding Director, Vice Chair
Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah
JFN - Peer consultation meeting 1: Challenges of the Israeli funder post Covid-19
In the last couple of months, the Corona crisis presented many challenges to the philanthropic community in Israel and around the world: professional, economic, logistical and emotional. Social reality has changed and so have the ways of philanthropy, identifying needs on the ground and the need to respond quickly and under uncertain circumstances.
The gradual return to economic activity poses the need to address significant questions as they relate to the new reality that the philanthropic sector is facing:
How do I manage my post-Corona funding allocation? What is my role as a funder in dealing with organizations' closures or mergers between NGOs? What channels of cooperation with the government / local authorities do I have as a donor and how do I create collaborations? How to transition from emergency grants to ongoing support? And many other question marks that are raised by these challenging times.
Our goal is to examine together your current philanthropic needs, and to enable a sincere discussion around the challenges while offering you suggestions and tools for action.
The meetings will include likeminded funders with similar giving capacity and experience in strategic philanthropy in order to yield an effective and meaningful dialogue based on shared challenges and common dilemmas.
San Francisco Bay Area’s Jewish Community and Philanthropic Response to COVID-19

COVID-19 has impacted all sectors of the Jewish community. From summer camps to day schools to social services, everyone is adjusting to a new reality in this unprecedented time.
We hope that you'll join us for a special meeting to discuss how the San Francisco Bay Area philanthropic community is responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Together, we will explore the impact of COVID-19 and how the many foundations and organizations that serve and support the San Francisco Bay Area are pivoting their programs and strategies to meet the needs of our local community.
Participants will include representatives from the Jim Joseph Foundation, the John Pritzker Family Fund, the Bay Area Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund, the Oshman Family JCC, and Hebrew Free Loan.
Moderator:
Barry Finestone
President and CEO
Jim Joseph Foundation
Speakers:
Joy Sisisky
Chief Philanthropy Officer
Bay Area Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund
Cindy Rogoway
Executive Director
Hebrew Free Loan
Amy Rabbino
Executive Director
John Pritzker Family Fund
Zack Bodner
Chief Executive Officer
Oshman Family JCC
ONLINE EVENT
National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty Presents: A Series of Briefings on Poverty and the Impact of Covid-19

Over the coming months the National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty will be hosting a series of webinars and virtual meetups to discuss the many challenges the coronavirus pandemic has created for Jews facing poverty and the agencies that serve them. We will hear the needs from the service providers on the ground supporting our front lines, share best practices and information, and strategize on ways to respond collectively.
This webinar on Tuesday, May 26th from 12-1pm ET will focus on mental health and aging. Each webinar is moderated by Susan Ditkoff of The Bridgespan Group Boston. The final in the series will take place on Tuesday, June 9th from 12-1pm ET.
Speakers for May 26
Jordan Golin
President and CEO
Jewish Family and Community Services (JFCS) Pittsburgh
Paula Goldstein
President and CEO
Jewish Family and Children's Service (JFCS) of Greater Philadelphia
Paula B. Pretlow
Trustee
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation
Young Funders Forum -Democracy, Philanthropy and the Social Contract that Connects Us
JFN’s Young Funders Forum invites you to a conversation with Dr. Hillel Ben Sasson, founder of ‘IDEA - the Centre for Liberal Democracy’ on the democratic journey in Israel and around the world in light of the challenging times Covid-19 presents us on our path towards our joint destination.
Zoom link will be sent upon registration
The conversation will be held in Hebrew with English transcription
Grantmaking Professionals Virtual Meetup
Please join us for a bi-monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals.
We look forward to coming together for shared learning and community building.
We will be joined on Wednesday by guest speaker Gali Cooks, President & CEO, Leading Edge for a closer look at themes and trends emerging from the field as we all navigate the current crisis. In our discussion, we will dig into how CEOs, professionals, and lay leaders are weathering unprecedented challenges and share some bright spots in adaptions and collaborations. For background, see here.
Facilitators:
Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network
Tamar Frydman
Senior Manager, Programs and Member Education
Jewish Funders Network
Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC
ONLINE EVENT
Day School and COVID-19

Schools moved to a virtual platform nearly two months ago, and so much has evolved within that time. Are students in Jewish day schools having their needs met academically, emotionally, and spiritually? Join Prizmah's Paul Bernstein and a panel of funders and program providers to learn about success stories from the field and the opportunities being explored to support our schools and improve student experience. Hear why each of these funders believes that these initiatives are critical during the pandemic and well beyond.
This is part of series that JFN is hosting to help better understand the impact and needs of day schools during this time.
Speakers:
Paul Bernstein
Chief Executive Officer
Prizmah, Center for Jewish Day Schools
Rachel Abrahams
Senior Advisor for Education Grants and Programs
The Mayberg Foundation
Debbie Niderberg
Executive Director
George Rohr Foundation
Co- Founder
Hidden Sparks
Natalie Jonas
Founder and Coordinator
Foundations Program
Rabbi Sam Feinsmith
Program Director
Institute for Jewish Spirituality
When COVID-19 is Just One of Many Crises: The Pandemic’s Impact on Displaced Persons

Even before the coronavirus pandemic hit, the world was in the midst of the largest refugee crisis since World War II, with an estimated 70.8 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide. Now, COVID-19 is sweeping through a population with minimal access to medical services and little ability to practice social distancing. How do we start to think about carving out space for displaced populations when in the midst of our own crisis? Please join experts in the field of disaster relief and humanitarian aid to learn about what is being done and what is still needed.
Speakers:
Georgette Bennett
Founder of the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees
Immediate Past Board Chair of JFN
David Miliband
President and CEO
International Rescue Committee
Shadi Martini
Executive Director
Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees
Yotam Polizar
CEO
IsraAid
ONLINE EVENT
National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty presents: A Series of Briefings on Poverty and the Impact of Covid-19

Over the coming months the National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty will be hosting a series of webinars and virtual meetups to discuss the many challenges the coronavirus pandemic has created for Jews facing poverty and the agencies that serve them. We will hear the needs from the service providers on the ground supporting our front lines, share best practices and information, and strategize on ways to respond collectively.
Each webinar will be moderated by Susan Ditkoff of The Bridgespan Group Boston and will feature key leaders and focus on particular needs: The first one one Thursday, May 14th from 1-2pm ET will focus on food insecurity and housing. The following two webinars will be take place on Tuesday, May 26th from 12-1pm ET and Tuesday, June 9th from 12-1pm ET – please hold the dates. More details coming soon.
Speakers for May 14
Lisa K. Budlow
Chief Executive Officer
CHAI Baltimore
Jessica Chait
Managing Director
Food Programs at Met Council on Jewish Poverty
Jeffrey Schoenfeld
JFN Board Member
Covid-19's Impact on Jewish College Students and Young Adults

Jewish college students and young adults face unique challenges in this unprecedented time. Join us for a discussion about the current and anticipated needs of those who are deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We'll explore how programs have pivoted to accommodate the tens of thousands of Jewish students and young adults throughout the country whose lives have been altered by social distancing and shutdowns, as well as what gaps need to be filled, and where there is opportunity for partnership and collaboration. Please come to the conversation prepared to share your questions.
Moderator
Jim Heeger
Immediate Past Board Chair, Moishe House
Speakers
Mimi Kravetz
Chief Experience Officer, Hillel International
Daniel Kraus
Associate Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, Birthright Israel Foundation
David Cygielman
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Moishe House
Rebecca Bar
Executive Director, Challah for Hunger
JCRIF event

To address the widespread disruption of Jewish communal life as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, several Jewish foundations, the Jewish Federations of North America, and the Nonprofit Finance Fund in April established The Jewish Community Response and Impact Fund (JCRIF). This new philanthropic collaboration aims to ensure Jewish education, engagement and leadership remain strong and even flourish at this pivotal time. It will provide more than $80 million in interest-free loans and grants.
JCRIF welcomes new funding partners. Current funders include: Aviv Foundation, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, The Diane and Guilford Glazer Philanthropies, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, Jim Joseph Foundation, Maimonides Fund, The Paul E. Singer Foundation and Wilf Family Foundation.
Join this special briefing to learn more about how the program works and how you can get involved.
Speakers
Lisa Eisen
Co-President
Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation
Felicia Herman
Executive Director of Natan
Manager of JCRIF's grant program
Shira Hutt
Chief of Staff of JFNA
Manager of JFCRIF's loan program
Has Israel's Political Stalemate Come to an End?

The coronavirus has hit Israel in the midst of a major political and constitutional crisis. What does the Israeli public think about these latest developments and will they bring Israel’s warring political parties together?
Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute, and Professor Tamar Herman, Director of IDI's Director, Guttmann Center for Public Opinion, will discuss the recently signed coalition agreement between Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud and Benny Gantz's Blue and White Party, assess the chance of a new government being formed and analyze what types of policies we could see from such a cabinet.
Speakers:
Yohanan Plesner
President
The Israel Democracy Institute
Professor Tamar Herman
Director
The Israel Democracy Insitute
Director, Guttmann Center for Public Opinion
All Together Now: A Matching Grant for Jewish Camp

The timing of the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting Jewish summer camps especially hard. Camp leaders are planning for all contingencies, including the very real possibility that camp will not open this summer, even as they have already invested considerable funds preparing for this season. Few camps have endowments or reserves sufficient to make up for the revenue shortfalls they will face if Summer 2020 is cancelled. Without significant community support, many Jewish summer camps could fold.
The Harold Grinspoon Foundation, a longtime leader in the field of Jewish camp, sees this moment as the time to dig deep. The HGF board has approved a new $10 million infusion of funds for overnight camp as a matching grant. The grant, called All Together Now, offers camps the chance to leverage the $10 million to raise matching gifts from donors who know the value of camp and its importance for the future.
Join this special briefing to learn more about how the program works and how you can help.
Speakers
Andrés Spokoiny
President and CEO
Jewish Funders Network
Winnie Sandler Grinspoon
President
Harold Grinspoon Foundation
Sarah Eisinger
Director of JCamp180
Harold Grinspoon Foundation
The Greatest Gift We Can Give: Inspiring Conversations on Family Philanthropy

This Mother’s Day, JFN celebrates the special bond between mothers and daughters with an inspiring conversation on family giving with Mem Bernstein, chair of Keren Keshet, and her daughters Suzanne Felson and Jennifer Smorgon. In partnership with the Jewish Future Pledge, JFN is proud to showcase this extraordinary philanthropic family to explore how each generation inspires the other, expresses its Jewish values in its giving, and the role mothers play in family giving. Moderated by Dr. Erica Brown, director of the Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership, leads the conversation.
Additionally, Danielle Segal, Senior Program Manager of the Jewish Teen Funders Network presents JTFN’s resources for inspiring values-based conversations on family giving—how to engage the whole family (kids, teens, adults and elders) around the table in making philanthropic decisions.
Grantmaking Professionals Virtual Meetup 2
Please join us for a bi-monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals.
We look forward to coming together for shared learning and community building.
We will be joined on Wednesday by guest speaker Kelly Greenwood, Founder & CEO of Mind Share Partners, who will provide some ideas and tools for supporting mental health at work during this crisis.
We will also outline our plans on Wednesday's call for these meet-ups moving forward, including the creation of ongoing peer support groups to enable you all to connect regularly with a small group of colleagues.
Facilitators:
Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network
Tamar Frydman
Senior Manager, Programs and Member Education
Jewish Funders Network
Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC
Synagogues and Spiritual Communities During COVID-19

How is the coronavirus impacting synagogues and spiritual communities? Learn about the innovative ways this sector has deepened caring community and created/modified rituals to respond to the moment. In addition, hear about the current and anticipated needs as synagogues consider how to thrive in the uncertain "new normal." Please come to the conversation prepared to share your questions, current thinking, and actions you may have already taken.
Speakers:
Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal
Chief Executive of the Rabbinical Assembly
(Recently appointed joint CEO of USCJ and the Rabbinical Assembly effective July 1, 2020)
Rabbi Sharon Brous
Senior Rabbi
IKAR
Amy Asin
Vice President and Director of Strengthening Congregations
Union for Reform Judaism
Nadine Kochavi
Director of Synagogue Strategy
UJA-Federation of New York
Ari Rockoff
Director of Strategic Partnerships
The Orthodox Union
Adina Frydman
Executive Director of Community Resources
UJA-Federation of New York
Haredi Society in Israel During COVID-19

*18:30-20:00 Jerusalem
Join us for a discussion on the unique needs relating to Israel’s ultra-Orthodox society in light of the Corona crisis. We will address the prominent aspects that emerge in the face of the crisis: the socioeconomic development of ultra-Orthodox society, the engagement of local authorities and local leadership, and the role of Haredi civil-society organizations in providing solutions tailored to the needs of ultra-Orthodox society.
We will hear from leading experts and professionals in the field led by the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs and joined by the Haredi Employment Coalition (a partnership started by JFN through members of the network) and followed by JFN funders involved with the philanthropic efforts supporting the Haredi society.
Speakers
Eli Paley
Chairman of the Paley Family Foundation
Chairman of the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs
Owner of Mishpacha Media Group, and JFN member
Chaviva Eisler
Director, the Haredi Coalition
Yisrael Tzishinsky
Founder and Chairman of the Refua Vesimcha and JFN member
From the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs:
Roy Cohen – CEO of the Haredi Institute| Nitsa Kaliner Kasir – Vice Chairman, Haredi Institute; Former Head of the Labor Market and Social Policy Divisions at Bank of Israel | Yitzchak Pindrus – Former Mayor of Beitar Illit; Former Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem | Major General (Res.) Roni Numa –Head of Bnei Brak's emergency team and the IDF Central Command Unit |Yehudit Miletzky – Senior Researcher at the Institute
RSVP to receive the ZOOM link
Funding with a Gender Lens

In the age of #MeToo and #TimesUp, Jewish funders are thinking deeply about how gender dynamics influence philanthropic leadership. Whether you've thought about these issues for a long time or are just beginning to explore how to apply a gender lens to your philanthropy and leadership, this two-part series will provide a deeper understanding of how you can leverage your resources and influence to effect change in all your philanthropy and the Jewish imperative in doing so. This first session will focus on the Jewish imperative for giving with a gender lens and the second session, held on June 4 at 12pm EST, will provide participants with tangible tools and skills for this work.
Using tools from Slingshot's latest resource, Money, Gender and Power, the guidebook's author Tuti B. Scott, Slingshot's CEO Stefanie Rhodes, and Rabba Sara Hurwitz, will lead you through two interactive workshops to support Jewish funders of all genders in learning how to take concrete actions to advance gender equity, and commit to lifting up women and girls in the philanthropic landscape at large.
Speakers:
Tuti B. Scott
Founder
Changemaking Strategies
Stefanie Rhodes
CEO
Slingshot
Rabba Sara Hurwitz
Co-Founder and President
Maharat
Israel’s Arab Society – Update on Needs, Activities and Philanthropic Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis

*Out of respect for our speakers’ Ramadan Iftar meal, our webinar will begin later than usual
On March 31, Arab civil society leaders and mayors established a dedicated Emergency Situation Room for Arab Society to coordinate a national Coronavirus response. Its purpose is to address the specific needs and realities in Arab communities and find ways to support local authorities in meeting related health and welfare priorities. In parallel, a situation room was established in the Negev to address the specific crisis-response needs in Bedouin society.
Join us for a discussion from leaders in the field about the unique needs of Israel’s Arab citizens and the work of both the national Arab Emergency Situation Room and the Negev Situation Room two months into the crisis. We will also hear from JFN members who are involved in crisis relief efforts in Arab society.
In partnership with the Inter Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues and Social Venture Fund for Jewish Arab Equality and Shared Society.
Moderators:
Alan Divack
Co-Chair
Social Venture Fund for Jewish Arab Equality and Shared Society
Speakers:
Professor Nihaya Daoud
Public Health
Ben Gurion University
Ahmed Al Sheik
Executive Director
Galilee Society
Kher Albaz
Chair of the Board
AJCEEC
Batya Kallus
Israel Director
Social Venture Fund
Adina Shapiro
Board member
Bader Philanthropies and Mubadarath Foundation
Green Funders Forum Meeting

Join us for a meeting exploring the relationship between environmental philanthropy, responsible investing and Covid-19.
What can we learn from the Corona crisis regarding resilience - both in the present and the future? The discussion will include a review of ESG / SDG concepts and how can we use these tools to have a positive impact on the environment and on our portfolios. We will hear from two veteran finance and impact experts and will focus their remarks on impact in global public equity. We will also hear from funders on their personal experiences in the field and will include time for a group discussion.
Speakers:
Elah Alkalay
Vice President
IBI Investment House
Noga Levtzion Nadan
CEO and founder
Greeneye and Value Squared Responsible Investment Fund
Please email Sigal for RSVP: sigal@jfunders.org
(zoom info will be sent to registrants closer to the program date)
ONLINE EVENT
Israel's At-Risk Children and Youth During Coronavirus

Join us to learn more about how the coronavirus crisis is affecting at-risk young adults and children, and how philanthropists can help.
Vered Windman, Executive Director of the Israel National Council for the Child and civic society representative on the Inter-Sectoral Roundtable Subcommittee, will present an overview of the challenges, issues, and needs in dealing with the coronavirus crisis.
Iris Florentin, Senior Vice President, Head of Social Services at the Ministry of Social Affairs, will present the government angle on the issue.
Leora Propper, JFN member, social investor and Chair of Propper Family Foundation, will share her views about the place of philanthropy in helping to address the challenges facing children and youth at-risk in Israel.
Renana Levine Pashkus of the Schusterman Foundation, will propose philanthropic responses to the face this crisis.
Briefing Series: Supporting Israeli Nonprofits During COVID-19 – Focus on Loan Funds

Please join us for an important briefing on how nonprofits in Israel are being impacted by COVID-19 and what interventions are being created to help.
We will hear about the Emergency Fund for Nonprofits a joint project of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the nonprofit lender Ogen, formerly known as the Israel Free Loan Association. We will also learn how impact investing can help Israeli entities at this time.
Moderator:
Andres Spokoiny
President and CEO
Jewish Funders Network
Speakers:
Misha Galperin
Philanthropic Advisor
Amira Ahranovich
CEO
Jewish Agency
Sagi Balasha
CEO
OGEN
Beth Sirull
President and CEO
Jewish Community Foundation
Ruth Salzman
CEO
The Russell Berrie Foundation
Virtual Conversation: (Jewish) Journalism in (the Coronavirus) Crisis

Never has independent, empathetic reporting on our communities been more important. Readers are responding to our work in record numbers. And yet: Jewish and other news organizations are cutting salaries, cutting staff — even closing, as the pandemic intensifies the challenges the industry was already grappling with. As we think about “saving” nonprofits like JCCs, camps and cultural institutions, what is the role of philanthropy in supporting media?
Join Jodi Rudoren, editor-in-chief of The Forward, and Andrés Spokoiny, president of the Jewish Funders Network, for a conversation about the future of community news with Ben Smith, media columnist for The New York Times (and former Forward intern!); Sue Fishkoff, longtime editor of San Francisco’s J Weekly; and Prof. Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis University.
RSVP here
Grantmaking Professionals Virtual Meetup
Please join us for a bi-monthly virtual convening for grantmaking professionals.
We look forward to coming together for shared learning and community building.
Facilitators:
Deena Fuchs
Executive Vice President
Jewish Funders Network
Tamar Frydman
Senior Manager, Programs and Member Education
Jewish Funders Network
Mike Berkowitz
Co-Founder & Principal
Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, LLC
Special Yom HaShoah Briefing and Commemoration

Too many of our Holocaust survivors are living in poverty. This situation has become dire.
Join JFN's CEO and President, Andrés Spokoiny,, Seed the Dream Foundation, and KAVOD SHEF Funding Partners for a special briefing and Yom HaShoah commemoration. It is not too late for us to come together and talk about some of the ways that we, as a funding community can amplify our efforts to work together to address this critical issue.
We will commemorate Yom HaShoah with a special session on the “new shapes of memory,” including Pinchas Gutter, Holocaust Survivor, and Stephen D. Smith, PhD, of the USC Shoah Foundation.
Israeli Tech Ecosystem and COVID-19

Responding to requests by countries and organizations around the world, Start-Up Nation Central has published a growing index of Israeli technologies helping the world combat coronavirus, and launched “CoronaTech,” an online knowledge-sharing platform facilitating rapid collaboration and implementation of innovative Israeli anti-virus solutions.
Join JFN's President and CEO Andres Spokoiny and JFN Board Member Terry Kassel, in a discussion with Start-Up Nation Central CEO Professor Eugene Kandel as they focus on tools philanthropists can use to deal with this crisis. They will discuss what the Israeli tech ecosystem needs right now, how funders can get involved, and provide tips on how to identify Israeli companies doing real work.
Women at-risk in Israel
Young Funders Forum Pesach corona session
Day School and COVID-19

How is the coronavirus pandemic impacting Jewish day schools now, and what will its future impact be?
Join us for an open discussion between funders and experts in the field. Presenters will share day schools' needs as they look at what we know now and what are the anticipated needs. We will discuss what still needs to be learned, what is currently happening, what gaps need to be filled, and explore opportunities for partnership and collaboration. Please come to the conversation prepared to share your questions, current thinking, and any actions you may have already taken.
Moderator:
Debra Shaffer Seeman
Prizmah, Center for Jewish Day Schools
Speakers:
|
|
|
Asylum Seekers in Israel During COVID-19

During this coronavirus pandemic, asylum seekers in Israel find themselves in an even more precarious spot.
JFN Israel has organized a discussion by experts and funders in the field to provide an overview of the situation- mapping the needs on the ground, the government's action plan as it relates to refugees, and sharing possible philanthropic responses. Register Here
* The meeting will be held in English.
Speakers:
Dr. Ayelet Oz
Executive Director
The Hotline for Refugees and Migrants
Civil Society Representative
Inter-sectoral Roundtable Subcommittee
Dina Dominic
Director
Human Trafficking Prevention Unit in the Ministry of Justice
Government Representative
Inter-sectoral Roundtable Subcommittee
Adina Shapiro
Board Member
Bader Philanthropies and Mubadarath Foundation
ONLINE EVENT
Jewish Arts & Artists In A Time Of COVID-19

In a prolonged moment of social distancing and sheltering in place, we find ourselves turning to artists for help. Artists and creatives are actively providing entertainment and distraction when we are stranded in our homes. They are helping us empathize with those who are suffering, process our own feelings, and let us try to come to terms with our new reality, together.
But artists are also among the first to suffer in this moment.
Working artists have seen their incomes evaporate. Performances, gallery openings, standing gigs, book releases, all have been cancelled or put on indefinite hold.
This conversation, hosted by CANVAS -- a new collaborative giving fund devoted to Jewish arts & culture and incubated at JFN -- will give participants a firsthand account of how these issues are playing out in real-time, and how funders within the Jewish community and beyond are rising to the occasion.
Speakers:
Lou Cove Lou Cove is an author, speaker, and fundraising guru. He has devoted his career to the intersection of creativity and capacity-building, helping launch and grow countless creative ventures. |
Tzivia Schwartz-Getzug |
Ben Gundersheimer |
Naomi Firestone-Teeter |
Shayna Rose Triebwasser |
Malka Aliza Travaglini |
ONLINE EVENT
Camp and COVID-19

How will camps be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic?
Join us for an open discussion between funders and experts in the field. Presenters will share camps’ needs as they look at what we know now, what still needs to be learned, what is currently underway, what gaps need to be filled, and where there is opportunity for partnership and collaboration. Please come to the conversation prepared to share your questions, current thinking, and any actions you may have already taken.
Speakers:
|
|
|
Supporting Vulnerable Populations During COVID-19: How We Can Help

During this coronavirus pandemic, already vulnerable populations find themselves in an even more precarious spot.
Join us for a discussion by funders and experts in the field of human services where they share what they are seeing firsthand, the evolving needs, what they are doing to address the growing challenges, and what needs to be done moving forward.
This conversation is hosted by The National Affinity Group on Jewish Poverty, a collaborative of funders, central agencies, direct service providers, researchers, media outlets, and advocates dedicated to fighting poverty in the American Jewish community.
Moderator:
Susan Ditkoff, Senior Advisor, The Bridgespan Group Boston
Speakers:
Managing Director, Caring Department UJA-Federation of New York Alexandra Roth-Kahn is the Managing Director of the Caring Department at UJA-Federation of New York. In this capacity, Alex advances the organization’s commitment to ensure that those struggling with life’s challenges are supported by the Jewish community. Through strategic planning, grant making, and convening, the work of the Caring Department supports members of the Jewish community and beyond who struggle with issues related to poverty, employment, aging, disabilities, mental health, and end-of-life. Alex develops new models of care to respond to these challenges and stimulates innovation in the field. The work of the Caring Department is actualized in New York, Israel, and the Former Soviet Union. |
Program Director, Israel & Jewish Community, US Rafi Rone serves as a Program Director for The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. In his role, he is responsible for grantmaking in Israel and the Jewish community at-large in the United States. Rafi directs the grantmaking for the Foundation in Israel, which includes Older Adults, Jobs, and Women At-Risk. Domestically, Rafi oversees the Foundation’s Jewish community services initiatives. Rafi joined the Foundation in January 2016, after serving as the Vice President of Jewish & Israel Initiatives for the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds for five years. He has more than 25 years of community relations and community development experience working on behalf of the Jewish community, covering four continents and dozens of Jewish communities. Rafi was stationed in the Former Soviet Union, Israel, and Eastern Europe for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), and he previously worked at the Baltimore Jewish Council as Deputy Director, at the Jewish Federations of North America as Director of Education and Training, and at Birthright Israel. |
Associate Vice President for Public Policy and Interim Director of the Washington Office |
President & CEO
|
Young Funders Forum online session: Leadership in Times of Crises
JFN Convening - L.A. Philanthropic Response to the Crisis

First and foremost, the coronavirus pandemic is a public health crisis. But it is also creating significant economic and logistical challenges for institutions and vulnerable populations within and beyond the Jewish community. In this webinar, we will explore how the Los Angeles Jewish philanthropic community is responding to the COVID19 crisis. Participants will include private foundations, the Jewish Federation, Foundation for Jewish Camps, as well as hybrid and direct service providers such Jewish Family Service, Jewish Free Loan and the Builders of Jewish Education.
LIVE EVENT
Investment Institute 2020
Immediately following JFN 2020 (and in the same venue), 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.
ONLINE EVENT
JFN 2020 Virtual Convening

Amid the uncertainty of the coronavirus, we can’t risk traveling and meeting face to face, which is why we made the difficult decision to cancel our annual conference. But it’s important that in this time of crisis we share our perplexities, our fear, our ideas, and our hopes. Above all, it’s critical to discuss what we, as funders, can do to help the community and each other. That’s why we are convening virtually on March 23 and March 24.
LIVE EVENT
JFN 2020 International Conference
The Jewish Funders Network 2020 International Conference will convene March 22–24, 2020 in Palm Beach, Florida. Please see our March 6 statement on JFN 2020 and the coronavirus.
JFN’s annual conference is the premier event in Jewish philanthropy.
Hundreds of funders and foundation professionals come together to leverage the power of networks and immerse themselves in a vibrant dialogue about the pressing issues. Every conference is a place to connect, reunite, and bond with other Jewish funders, and a time for active learning. Panel discussions and programs feature leading experts in philanthropy illuminating tools and techniques that can make your giving more impactful and meaningful.
Community Response to COVID
ONLINE EVENT
Israel’s Elections: Take Three! Post-Election Scenarios & Opportunities

Join Yohanan Plesner, president of the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute and a former Member of Knesset, for an in-depth analysis of the March election results in Israel. Plesner will discuss who won, who lost, and what the future holds in store for Benjamin Netanyahu, Benny Gantz, and the State of Israel.
ONLINE EVENT
JFN How to Best Use the 2020 Conference App Webinar
Join David Ezer, Senior Director of Programs for Jewish Funders Network, to learn how to best use and navigate the website and mobile app that was created for the conference. These tools will help you get the most out of your experience at the conference. You will learn how to look up session, set up networking meetings and more!
Webinar login and dial-in information will be provided upon RSVP.
preparation meeting for the 2020 international philanthropy conference
We invite you to join us for an enriching learning opportunity that will give us knowledge to build
relationships and collaborations with American Jewry.
In light of the recent guidelines published by the Ministry of Health, regarding attending international conferences, it is doubtful that we will be able to travel to the Palm Beach.
We invite you to get to know American Jewry closely without getting on a plane and without fear of quarantine and to discuss the connection between Israeli and American philanthropy.
ONLINE EVENT
JFN 2020 First Time Conference Attendees Webinar
Never experienced a JFN conference? Never fear! This webinar will empower you to make the most of your time in Palm Beach. We'll discuss everything you need to know to have an enjoyable and productive experience, and we'll show you how to use and navigate the conference website and mobile app.
Webinar login and dial-in information will be provided upon RSVP.
JFN Young Funders Forum
JFN Young Funders Forum is happy to invite you to a morning on
Jewish/Israeli Identity and Philanthropy
Featuring Shmuel Rosner
Researcher, journalist and co-author of
#IsraeliJudaism: Portrait of a Cultural Revolution
ONLINE EVENT
Seeding Opportunity: Growing the Jewish Future on the Farm

What’s so Jewish about a farm? A lot it turns out. A new study reveals new metrics on the effectiveness of Jewish farms in engaging with new generations of Jews and addressing important social justice and community food system goals. Please join us for a first look at the data and analysis by practitioners in the field.
Moderator:
Charlene Seidle, Executive Vice President, Leichtag Foundation
Speakers:
Jakir Manela, Executive Director, Pearlstone Conference and Retreat Center, Baltimore
Yoni Yefet, Founder and CEO, Kaima Farm, Jerusalem
Nati Passow, Founder, Jewish Farm School
This program is part of a series on sustainable food systems and creating impact through food. Look for more programs on this subject at the JFN 2020 Conference in Palm Beach.
Beyond Money- Donors on board’s
Practical tools workshop for donors who serve/ are exploring serving as Ngo’s board members
For additional details please contact: sigal@jfunders.org
ONLINE EVENT
Impact Investing Virtual Meetup: ESG Funds

Join us for a one-hour, participatory video/conference call with other JFN members where we will discuss ESG funds in the impact investing space.
Funders have a full range of tools to invest capital for good. Some philanthropists use impact investing as a complementary tool with their grantmaking to diversify their portfolio or to use the returns as a way to fund more giving. Either way, the attraction is the same: investing to make a difference. For funders engaged in this work, peer learning can help us achieve more.
This call is not a traditional webinar — it will be an interactive opportunity to learn and share with one another. We’ll begin with a 30-minute briefing by JFN Member Marla Stein and Noga Levtzion Nadan, CEO, Greeneye and Value^2 as they take veteran impact investors on a "deeper dive" into the data behind ESG funds.
Participants will then have an opportunity to ask questions, share their methods and approaches, and get feedback from other participants.
Marla Stein Entrepreneur and passionate supporter of the Israeli impact field. Committed social justice activist and philanthropist. Member of the Jewish Funders Network, the Forum of Foundations, and Toniic. |
Noga Levtzion Nadan Co-founder and Managing Partner of Value^2, Founder and CEO of Green Eye - For more than 15 years Noga is leading the Israeli impact and responsible investment field. In 2016 she received the Green Globe Business Award for her groundbreaking work. |
ONLINE EVENT
Book Club—Ben Hecht: Fighting Words, Moving Pictures

In the second meeting of the JFN Book Club, we'll discuss Ben Hecht: Fighting Words, Moving Pictures, and we'll be joined by the book's author, Adina Hoffman.
About the book: From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a vibrant portrait of one of the most accomplished and prolific American screenwriters, by an award-winning biographer and essayist He was, according to Pauline Kael, “the greatest American screenwriter.” Jean-Luc Godard called him “a genius” who “invented 80 percent of what is used in Hollywood movies today.” Besides tossing off dozens of now-classic scripts—including Scarface, Twentieth Century, and Notorious—Ben Hecht was known in his day as an ace reporter, celebrated playwright, taboo-busting novelist, and the most quick-witted of provocateurs. During World War II, he also emerged as an outspoken crusader for the imperiled Jews of Europe, and later he became a fierce propagandist for pre-1948 Palestine’s Jewish terrorist underground. Whatever the outrage he stirred, this self-declared “child of the century” came to embody much that defined America—especially Jewish America—in his time. About the author: Adina Hoffman is an award-winning essayist and biographer. The author of four previous books, including Till We Have Built Jerusalem: Architects of a New City and My Happiness Bears No Relation to Happiness: A Poet’s Life in the Palestinian Century, she lives in Jerusalem and New Haven. |
LIVE EVENT
Community Development in Israel’s Mixed Cities

Israel’s mixed cities face some of the country's most complex social and economic challenges, while representing some of the greatest opportunities to strengthen Jewish-Arab community relations. In January, the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood in Lod, one of Israel’s lowest-income neighborhoods, will be the site of a new model for social urban revitalization efforts in Israel, including mixed-income housing, and public schools, facilities and social services catering to a mixed population. Join the Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues, in partnership with UJA-Federation of New York and Jewish Funders Network, to hear from the project’s local civil society and government leaders, Avital Blonder of JINDAS and Ben Mayust of the Lod Economic Corporation, and renowned American urban revitalization expert Richard Baron about the prospects and scalability of such community development initiatives in Israel.
Green Funders Forum: Renewable Energy 101
“The How’s and Why’s” of different energy sources — what do we need to know?
Including how the various solutions Impact the environment and climate change
Specific considerations and challenges for Israel
Join us for a funders discussion with former MK and CEO of the Green Movement, Yael Cohen Paran and Dr. Shachar Dolev, CEO of the Israel Energy Forum.
Young Funders Forum
JFN’s Young Funders Forum is happy to invite you to a morning dedicated to
Arab Philanthropy in Israel
Join us for breakfast and conversation with Arab funders and professionals who will share with us their story and provide an inside look into a philanthropic community in the making.
LIVE EVENT
How do we know we're maximizing impact? An evening with Deena Fuchs

Join other funders at the San Francisco home of JFN members Suzanne and Elliot Felson to get to know JFN's new Executive Vice President, Deena Fuchs. Over coffee and dessert, Deena will share insights from her extensive past experience at the AVI CHAI Foundation on how collaboration can enhance impact. Together with Tzivia Schwartz Getzug, JFN’s West Coast Director, she’ll lead a discussion of potential ideas for how JFN members can innovate and collaborate in the future.
Kashrut will be observed.
ONLINE EVENT
Successful Leadership Transitions in the Jewish Community

We are in the midst of a major demographic shift in leadership in the Jewish community. By some counts, 75-90% of our leaders are turning over right now. And a CEO transition can be a time of great potential risk or reward for an organization. So what makes for a successful CEO transition? How can lay leaders ensure a smooth leadership succession process?
Leading Edge, an organization founded in 2014 to address the leadership pipeline challenges in the Jewish community, recently published six case studies that break down successful CEO transitions at American Jewish World Service, Bend the Arc, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, a JCC in the Midwest, Spertus, and Tufts Hillel.
Join our speakers for a conversation about the stories they unpacked and the lessons they learned from these case studies.
Senior Editor at the Harvard Business Review and author of the case study series |
President & CEO of Leading Edge |
ONLINE EVENT
Book Club—Changing the World from the Inside Out: A Jewish Approach to Personal & Social Change

In the first meeting of the JFN Book Club, we'll discuss Changing the World from the Inside Out: A Jewish Approach to Personal & Social Change, and we'll be joined by the book's author, David Jaffe.
Please note: while everyone is encouraged to read the entire book, the discussion will focus chiefly on two chapters: Chapter 4 ("The Power of Choice") and Chapter 7 ("Creative Discomfort").
About the book: Winner, 2016 Jewish Book Council Award for Contemporary Jewish Life & Practice An inspiring and accessible guide, drawn from Jewish wisdom, for building the inner qualities necessary to work effectively for social justice. The world needs changing—and you’re just the person to do it! It’s a matter of cultivating the inner resources you already have. If you are serious about working for social justice and change, this book will help you bring your most compassionate, wise, and courageous self to the job. Bringing positive social change to any system takes deep self-awareness, caring, determination, and long-term commitment. But polarization, the slow pace of change, and internal conflicts among activists and organizations often leads to burnout and discouragement among the very people needed to make a difference. Changing the World from the Inside Out distills centuries of Jewish wisdom about cultivating and refining the inner life into an accessible program for building the qualities necessary to accomplish sustainable change. Through explorations of deep motivation, inner-drive, and traits like trust and anger, this book engages the reader in a journey of self-development and transformation, demonstrating that sustainable activism is indeed a spiritual practice. Jaffe offers accessible and meaningful guidance for this journey—with exercises, contemplations, and discussion points that can be used individually or in a group. About the author: David Jaffe is a rabbi, a social worker, and an educational consultant to many major Jewish institutions in North America. He's a nationally recognized leader in the field of Mussar and applied Jewish ethics, and he is a frequent speaker at synagogues and Jewish conferences around the country. He's spent twenty-five years teaching and working in various areas of social justice outreach, including homelessness and interfaith community organizing. |
Art for Social Change in Israel: Exclusive Sotheby's Exhibit Preview & Salon

Join other funders for a breakfast salon and a tour of an Israeli art exhibit before it opens to the public!
Rivka Saker, a longtime advocate of Israeli art and culture and founder of the Sotheby's Israel office, will join Israeli visual artist, Izhar Patkin for a conversation over breakfast on the role of art and culture in the changing political climate around the world.
This will be an opportunity to discuss the Greenbook: Arts as a Driver for Social Change in Israel and to showcase diverse Israeli voices in art and film.
The talk will be followed by an exclusive tour of a tour of the Israeli and International Art Auction at Sotheby’s, which will be opening an exhibit and auction to the public on November 21st.
Rivka is the Chair of the Board of Artis. She also serves on the Board of Governors of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. She is the Co-Chair of the Israel Museum’s Here and Now Contemporary Art Acquisitions Committee and serves on the Boards of the The Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv; The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra; Kunst-Werke, Berlin; and the Middle Eastern Circle of the Guggenheim Museum. Born in Tel Aviv, Saker has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Haifa in Economics and History of Art. She also earned a Master of Arts degree in Urban Planning from Technion in Haifa.
|
ONLINE EVENT
Impact Investing Virtual Meetup: Investor Advocacy

Join us for a one-hour, participatory video/conference call with other JFN members who are involved in impact investing. Virtual Meetups are not traditional webinars — they are interactive opportunities to learn and share with one another.
We’ll begin with a 30-minute briefing by Julie Hammerman & Rabbi Jacob Siegel of JLens. They’ll discuss investor advocacy, an increasingly influential strategy used by impact investors to change corporate behavior. Powerful economic entities, namely institutional investors and large companies, have become key levers for advocacy on a range of social and environmental concerns. Unlike other faith communities, the Jewish community has largely been absent from the investor advocacy arena. This has been a missed opportunity for pursuing positive change, and a critical gap in our community’s ability to respond to concerns ranging from the BDS movement, to antisemitism and religious intolerance.
For the second half hour, the floor will be open to all participants, who can ask questions of the presenters, share your own methods and approaches in impact investing, float new ideas, and get feedback from other participants.
Please note: This virtual meetup is for funders who are actively working on impact investing initiatives, and is not intended to be an introductory conversation.
ONLINE EVENT
Briefing: Antisemitism in Brooklyn and Community Solutions

The startling spike in antisemitic crimes in Brooklyn in the past few months is part of a larger trend occurring more broadly across the country and the world.
Faith and community leaders representing populations in New York’s diverse neighborhoods have banded together to find solutions and reverse this trend. What are some of the best practices that are working and can they be replicated in other communities nationwide?
Please join these leaders in their discussion:
|
|
|
|
|
|
LIVE EVENT
What’s Urban Planning Got to do with it? Solving Housing and Economic Challenges for Israel’s Arab Citizens

Closing economic gaps and addressing housing shortages in Israel’s Arab society, 20% of the population, has become a major priority for Israel’s overall strength. Yet many government efforts to fast-track economic and housing development in Arab communities stall when faced with the mismatch between Israel’s planning procedures and the crowded, under-planned realities on the ground. Why are urban planning needs so different in Israel’s Arab society? How do planning barriers affect economic development initiatives and state-minority relations overall? What solutions are underway or proposed to mitigate these challenges?
Join JFN and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues for a breakfast discussion with urban planning experts Dr. Enaya Banna and Dr. Emily Silverman, who will shed light on one of the most important and most complex issues facing Israel’s Arab society today.
|
CFP family event at LEKET Israel
ONLINE EVENT
Waste Not, Want Not: Strategic Interventions for Sustainable Food Systems

Up to 40% of the food produced in the United States is wasted, while one in five Americans is unsure where their next meal is coming from. Similar statistics are true in Israel and throughout much of Europe.
This webinar brings together field experts Lisa Moon, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Global Food Banking Network, Michal Bitterman, CEO and Co Founder of The Natural Step, and Aviva Paley, Senior Director and Co-Founder of Kitchens for Good, to discuss models for changing how we approach food waste and food rescue, and explore how philanthropy can work towards a more sustainable food system. Mitchell Davis, Chief Strategy Officer of the James Beard Foundation will be moderating.
This program is part of a series on sustainable food systems and creating impact through food. Look for more programs on this subject in the winter and at the JFN 2020 Conference in Palm Beach.
LIVE EVENT
A Powerful Platform and Service: Celebrate the Goodnation Partnership Launch
JFN members are invited to celebrate of the launch of our partnership with Goodnation, a new values-based philanthropic platform that can help you achieve more impact.
We'll also hear introductory remarks by Prof. Jack Wertheimer, Joseph and Martha Mendelson Professor of American Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Among many other works, Prof. Wertheimer is the author of Giving Jewish: How Big Funders Have Transformed American Jewish Philanthropy.
ONLINE EVENT
The Israeli Elections: What Just Happened?

Join Yohanan Plesner, former Member of Knesset and current president of the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), for an in-depth analysis of the September 17 election results in Israel. Plesner will explain who won, who lost, and what are the long-term policy implications for Israel and the Jewish People.
Joining Plesner will be former Justice Ministry official Edna Harel-Fisher, Director of IDI’s anti-corruption program, who will explain the unique legal reality in Israel as the country faces the possibility of a sitting prime minister serving while under indictment, and the implications of such a situation for the political system.
Related:
ONLINE EVENT
Building Community: A New Agenda For Adult Jewish Learning

When you think about adult Jewish education, what comes to mind? Is it Jewish literacy? Jewish History? The weekly Torah reading? Hebrew?
While the enterprise of adult Jewish education may provide different things for different people, there is one significant benefit that is generally not considered:
Rich Jewish learning can actively build community.
Join Ruth Messinger, former president and CEO of American Jewish World Service and inaugural JTS Finkelstein Institute Social Justice Fellow at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and Rabbi Morey Schwartz, International Director of the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning, for an interactive discussion on the impact of Jewish adult learning. JFN member Susan Weiss Firestone will introduce the discussion.
The Jewish landscape is changing. Join us to learn about how adult Jewish education can deepen engagement and strengthen the very fabric of our Jewish communities.
ONLINE EVENT
Redesigning the Jewish Future: A Case Study from Hillel

The future of North American Jewish life is evolving more quickly than ever, and in order to help the Jewish community thrive, funders need to embrace new approaches and perspectives in order to re-position our institutions and initiatives for greater impact.
This webinar will share a high-impact case study piloted with a cohort of Hillels, using quantitative and qualitative data results to show the impact of applying a Design Thinking methodology. With an eye to the future, we will re-imagine how and what we fund and support as community builders.
Speakers:
![]() |
Karyn Cohen, Director, Jewish Life and Israel, One8 Foundation |
![]() |
Yonah Schiller, Executive Director of Tulane Hillel, and Founder & Senior Project Advisor of the Organizational Design Lab |
Background reading: Redesigning Hillel Work: A Report from the Organizational Design Lab Pilot
LIVE EVENT
Family, Money, and Values: A Week of Workshops & Lectures in Israel
Joline Godfrey
From the Center for Family Philanthropy at JFN Israel, this week of English-language events features Joline Godfrey, author of Raising Financially Fit Kids; Our Wildest Dreams: Women Making Money, Having Fun, Doing Good; No More Frogs To Kiss: 99 Ways to Give Economic Power to Girls; and 20 $ecrets to Money and Independence: The DollarDiva’s Guide to Life.
ONLINE EVENT
Israeli Elections 2019, Take 2 — What's at Stake?

Just days before Israel’s unprecedented second national election this year, join former Member of Knesset Yohanan Plesner, president of the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute, for a deep dive into the latest trends and issues impacting this historic vote. This exclusive webinar will feature new polling and data presenting insights into what Israelis are thinking as they enter the polling station and the possible scenarios we can expect to see as the results come in.
LIVE EVENT
The Israeli Philanthropy Conference 2019
The 2019 Israeli Philanthropy Conference is presented by JFN Israel in partnership with Tel Aviv University's Institute for Law and Philanthropy, the Forum of Foundations in Israel, and Committed to Give.
Please note, the conference is conducted in Hebrew.
Click here to read a blog post by JFN member Philippe J. Weil about the first Israeli Philanthropy Conference, which was held in 2017.
ONLINE EVENT
Controversy at the Dyke March: Jews in Progressive Activism

Earlier this month, the DC Dyke March became the second such event to ban the Jewish Pride flag. Are Jews becoming unwelcome in social justice spaces because of a perception for their support for Israel—or are "anti-Israel"/"anti-Zionist" beliefs providing cover for antisemitism? How can progressive Jews work effectively in their communities to stand up for their beliefs without being attacked for being Jewish or Zionist? This webinar brings together two progressive, Zionist activists who led the response to the DC Dyke March; a funder; and the President and CEO of Jewish Council of Public Affairs to discuss what happened and what steps funders might take in their own communities to support full inclusion for Jews and prevent such situations.
Speakers:
![]() Amanda Berman (Executive Director, Zioness) |
![]() David Bernstein (President and CEO, Jewish Council for Public Affairs) |
![]() Archie Gottesman (Co-Founder, JewBelong) |
![]() Tyler Gregory (Executive Director, A Wider Bridge) |
LIVE EVENT
Sports for Peace
An exclusive funders meeting on creative philanthropic approaches for peace alliances through sports
The field of shared society is supported by many JFN members. The goal of this meeting is to meet like-minded funders and present a new assessment of Peace and Sports Alliance, followed by a roundtable discussion to share experiences and various perspectives. Our hope is to explore the opportunity to create an interest group in this area.
Sport have the unique ability to connect, empower and mobilize diverse communities. The universal language of sport promotes people-to-people encounters that are essential for breaking down barriers of hate and building bridges of hope in our region. These encounters help to equip the next generation with the skills and values needed to lead social change in their communities.
History has shown how sport can serve as a catalyst for bringing former enemies together and the global Sports for Peace Community has developed into a powerful movement for social change with a rich network of stakeholders.
Israel needs to use this platform to create a more tolerant shared society and to develop closer ties in the region.
LIVE EVENT
The Transportation Revolution in Israel: Reducing Gaps through Transportation Accessibility
What is the connection between the traffic jams and the housing shortage? The price of parking and the cost of living? How are congestion fees on the roads related to social justice, and what is the correlation between cooperative transportation, productivity and economic growth?
Join us to discuss with experts, entrepreneurs and social activists about the deep problems of Israeli transportation, tomorrow's solutions and their impact on Israeli society.
This event is for JFN members only.
ONLINE EVENT
Arts & Culture for Driving Social Change (Webinar)

Arts and culture are the natural habitat of the human heart and mind. Culture frames, reflects, exposes, enhances, and changes everything about the lives and actions of people and societies, and the arts play a vital role in how cultures evolve.
For funders who want to drive social change, therefore, arts and culture are a powerful and under-appreciated vector.
Join two leaders engaging deeply with arts and culture to make change for a webinar in which we'll discuss their work in particular and principles of social change through culture in general.
Speakers:
-
Isaac Luria, Director of Voice, Creativity, and Culture at The Nathan Cummings Foundation. The Foundation holds a U.S.-focused portfolio in Voice, Creativity, and Culture, which aims to shift culture to transform communities, making them more just, more vibrant, more generative, and more fully realized through arts and culture as well as through spiritual and religious traditions. The Foundation also is exploring how their funding in Israel can nurture narratives of shared belonging and push back on narratives of hate and division.
-
Jenny Steingart, Producer, Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish. Jenny is developing an initiative using the success of Fiddler as a Jewish story of tradition and expulsion, to shine a light onto the international migration and refugee crisis. By partnering with Reboot, a premier Jewish arts and culture organization, Fiddler is using the show as well as a collective of artists, to create mechanisms to capture and share contemporary stories that resonate with Fiddler’s themes. The launch date is World Refugee Day on 6/20 and will extend well beyond.
Related: World Refugee Day information
- Moderator: Lou Cove, Senior Advisor, The Harold Grinspoon Foundation. As Senior Advisor at the Harold Grinspoon Foundation Lou co-founded the PJ Alliance, a partnership of donors supporting PJ Library’s expansion in North America and internationally. He is the author of Man of the Year an Amazon Best memoir of 2017, and previously served as Executive Director of Reboot, Vice President of the National Yiddish Book Center, Senior Producer at Advance Digital, and Associate Publisher at American News Service. Lou also led a partnership with Righteous Persons Foundation and JFN to produce two studies examining the intersection of the Jewish philanthropic community and the Jewish arts & culture ecosystem: "
ONLINE EVENT
What JFN Members Saw at the Border (Webinar)

Hear directly from your fellow funders what they saw at the United States-Mexico border.
On that border, those seeking entry to the United States face enormous challenges and complications in a rapidly-changing environment. On June 2–4, Jewish Funders Network and HIAS brought a delegation of funders and foundation professionals to bear witness to the situation, deepen our knowledge, sharpen our analysis of the issues, and strategize Jewish communal responses.
In this intimate webinar for JFN members only, funder participants will share what they saw and learned, and how we as a Jewish philanthropic community might respond and act. Funders who did not attend the delegation are welcome to participate in this webinar, and to ask questions of those who made the trip.
Speakers:
- Sonia Cummings
- James Cummings
- Others TBD
LIVE EVENT
Taking Your Vision into Philanthropic Action (Purpose & Penty)
Part of the Purpose & Plenty event series
In this last session, we’ll weave together the themes we’ve been discussing and begin to think about how to consider translating values into individual and/or family philanthropic visions. Having clarified issues of identity and mission, we’ll discuss ways to incorporate these concepts into a strategy for philanthropic impact. This session will prepare you to take your vision into action.
Register >>
LIVE EVENT
Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish: A JFN Night at the Theater
Join fellow JFN members for a night of theatre and discussion! We'll attend the critically acclaimed production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish (with English supertitles). Following the performance, join a special talkback with cast members, members of the creative team, and the producer, Jenny Steingart, moderated by JFN Board Chair Dr. Georgette Bennett. They'll discuss how Fiddler, and the Jewish experience more broadly, intersect with the issues of immigration and refugees.
JFN member rate (your purchase through this page includes your Fiddler ticket): $99
Space is limited. Register now.
LIVE EVENT
Black Power, Jewish Politics: Book Talk with Marc Dollinger & Ilana Kaufman
PLEASE NOTE UPDATED TIME & LOCATION (ABOVE).
JFN members and the broader community are invited to a book talk and conversation with Marc Dollinger (author, Black Power, Jewish Politics: Reinventing the Alliance in the 1960s) and Ilana Kaufman (Director, Jews of Color Field Building Initiative).
In this book, Marc Dollinger charts the transformation of American Jewish political culture from the Cold War liberal consensus of the early postwar years to the rise and influence of Black Power-inspired ethnic nationalism. He shows how, in a period best known for the rise of black antisemitism and the breakdown of the black-Jewish alliance, black nationalists enabled Jewish activists to devise a new Judeo-centered political agenda, including the emancipation of Soviet Jews, the rise of Jewish day schools, the revitalization of worship services with gender-inclusive liturgy, and the birth of a new form of American Zionism.
Marc will be joined by Ilana Kaufman in a conversation on these overlooked historical trends and their urgent implications for contemporary social issues. Bringing together history and current events—identity politics and Peoplehood, and disrupting the entire notion that Blacks and Jewish are separate—Marc and Ilana will get into issues of race, power, and what’s really good for the Jews. Ilana will also touch upon findings from the newly released Counting Inconsistencies: An Analysis of American Jewish Population Studies, with a Focus on Jews of Color.
An audience Q&A and book signing will follow the program.
Co-presented by:
Bend the Arc | IKAR | Jewish Funders Network | Temple Beth Am | Temple Israel of Hollywood
LIVE EVENT
JFN Funder Delegation to the U.S.-Mexico Border in Partnership with HIAS

וְאֲהַבְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־הַגֵּ֑ר כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
You must love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 10:19
On the United States-Mexico border, those seeking entry to the United States face enormous challenges and complications in a rapidly-changing environment.
Jewish Funders Network and HIAS are convening a two-day delegation for funders and foundation professionals to bear witness to the situation at our border, deepen our knowledge, sharpen our analysis of the issues, and strategize Jewish communal responses.
Register >>
The home base for this experience is San Diego, the city with the busiest land border crossing in the Western Hemisphere. HIAS resettles refugees in San Diego in partnership with Jewish Family Service of San Diego, an agency that also provides legal representation to asylum seekers.
Potential sites that the group may visit include the shelter for asylum seekers run by Jewish Family Service; an Operation Streamline hearing; and the Consulate General of Mexico. In addition to briefings with HIAS’ leadership — including legal experts and advocates — we will also meet with local organizations that work with asylum seekers, as well as meeting with asylum seekers themselves. Depending on political and security conditions, we may or may not cross the border into Tijuana. Safety will be our top priority.
Cost: $750 per person.
Space is limited to 20 participants, and will be offered at a first-come-first-served basis.
Register >>
We would greatly appreciate all RSVPs as early as possible — and RSVPS must be in no later than May 1.
Logistics:
|
Delegation Co-Chairs: Sonia & James Cummings
Related:
What I Saw with #JewsAtTheBorder: Witnessing the Crisis
ONLINE EVENT
The Threat to Israel's Supreme Court (Web Briefing)

Israel may be headed toward what some are calling a crisis of democracy.
According to media reports, Israel's incoming governing coalition in the Knesset may seek to pass a law that would drastically change Israel’s system of government. Under the proposed law, whenever Israel’s Supreme Court overturns a law passed by the Knesset or an action taken by a government ministry for being against Israeli Basic Law (the rough equivalent of courts ruling laws unconstitutional in the U.S.), the Knesset would be able to vote—by simple majority—to override that Supreme Court ruling. This would severely weaken the judicial branch by effectively removing its power to hold the Knesset and ministries accountable to Israeli Basic Law, and virtually eliminating the important democratic principle of checks and balances from Israel’s political system.
Many Israelis—including JFN members of all political persuasions—are concerned about this development, and funders in the Diaspora are also following the issue with growing concern.
Join Yohanan Plesner, president of the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), for a briefing on state of Israeli democracy, with a focus on the potential coming crisis for judicial independence in Israel.
Scroll down to RSVP.
Related article by IDI: It’s the Knesset, not the Court, that has potentially dangerous, unchecked power
LIVE EVENT
Who’s Your Bubbe Now? And Why Does it Matter?

Come learn about the first ever study of Jewish grandparents in the United States and how the findings can affect our work not only with this overlooked population, but with all generations in Jewish families.
The national study of Jewish grandparents collected data on their attitudes, behaviors, needs and demographics. Two funders active in this space will discuss what the findings suggest about creating experiences that will help unleash grandparent-grandchild “magic” in the Jewish community; ways to put grandparents on the agenda for your grantees; and how your experiences with (or as!) grandparents can help to guide the organizations you feel most passionate about. Scroll down to RSVP.
Speakers:
|
|
-
Lee M. Hendler is a JFN member, a trustee of the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Charitable Funds, and the president and co-founder of the Jewish Grandparents Network, which commissioned the study. She will share results and insights.
-
Winnie Sandler Grinspoon is President of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and a JFN Board member. She will discuss how an exciting pilot program at PJ Library has started to engage grandparents.
We’ll open the floor to questions and discussions after the presentations.
Related article: Who’s Your Bubbe Now? Some Surprising Findings from the 1st National Study of Jewish Grandparents
LIVE EVENT
Growing Goodness: Understanding Ourselves, Raising Our Children (Purpose & Plenty)
Part of the Purpose & Plenty event series
Building on the previous session of the series, we’ll explore how to “grow goodness” in families with considerable wealth, and continue to reap insights from how each of us talks about money and experiences it in our lives.
Facilitator:
Debbie Tuttle Berkowitz
Senior Philanthropy Advisor
“I thrive on helping individuals and families identify their values and connecting these values to philanthropy for meaningful impact in our community and beyond. I believe that each person has the ability to change the world and that philanthropy is an important piece of that journey.”
About Debbie:
- 15 years’ experience in the Jewish and non-profit sector
- Special focus on Family Philanthropy, Multi-Generational, Emerging Philanthropists
- Extensive experience in giving circles and group giving — including running multiple Impact Grants Initiative groups at the Federation; founding board member of the Giving Circles Fund
- B.A. from UCSD in Religious Studies; M.S.W. from the University of Southern California; M.A. in Jewish Communal Service from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles
- Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy and 21/64 Certified Advisor
Register >>
LIVE EVENT
Antisemitism and Israel Hatred in U.K. Politics

Join experts and other funders for a roundtable discussion on antisemitism and Israel hatred within the U.K. Labour party, how the problem evolved, and the implications for Jewish communities worldwide.
Speakers:
- Ken Jacobson, Deputy National Director, Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Full bio >>
- James Sorene, CEO, BICOM (Britain-Israel communications and research centre). Full bio >>
-
Andrew Srulevitch, Associate Director of International Affairs, Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
RSVP required. Scroll down.
LIVE EVENT
JFN 2019 International Conference (San Francisco)

View 2019 conference website >>
JFN’s annual conference is the premier event in Jewish philanthropy.
Hundreds of funders and foundation professionals come together to leverage the power of networks and immerse themselves in a vibrant dialogue about the pressing issues. Every conference is a place to connect, reunite, and bond with other Jewish funders, and a time for active learning. Panel discussions and programs feature leading experts in philanthropy illuminating tools and techniques that can make your giving more impactful and meaningful.
ONLINE EVENT
How to Use the 2019 Conference Website & Mobile App
Join David Ezer, Senior Director of Programs for Jewish Funders Network, to learn how to best use and navigate the website and mobile app that was created for the conference. These tools will help you get the most out of your experience at the conference. You will learn how to look up session, set up networking meetings and more!
Webinar login and dial-in information will be provided upon RSVP.
ONLINE EVENT
First-Time Attendees Webinar: JFN Conference 2019
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.
LIVE EVENT
VIP Reception: Black Power, Jewish Politics
JFN members are invited to take part in a VIP reception with Marc Dollinger (author, Black Power, Jewish Politics: Reinventing the Alliance in the 1960s) and Ilana Kaufman (Director, Jews of Color Field Building Initiative).
The reception will precede an American Jewish Historical Society book talk (7:00pm), which will feature a panel including Dollinger and Kaufman as well as April Baskin (Union for Reform Judaism), Cheryl Greenberg (Trinity College), and Rivka Press Schwartz (Associate Principal, SAR High School and Fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute of North America). More event details >>
This VIP reception for JFN members, American Jewish Historical Society board members, and other VIPs, begins at 5:30pm. Your RSVP to this reception will also entitle you to complimentary tickets to the book talk.
ONLINE EVENT
Holocaust Ignorance: Problems & Solutions (Webinar)

Join us for a webinar on the state of Holocaust knowledge and education in North America, with experts from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany (Claims Conference), Yad Vashem, and the Azrieli Foundation.
On this past Yom HaShoah, the Claims Conference released the findings of a Holocaust Awareness and Knowledge Survey, conducted in the United States. The study revealed alarming gaps in knowledge; while most Americans have some level of awareness of the Holocaust, 41% of those surveyed, and two thirds of Millennials, did not know about Auschwitz, and one third of all those surveyed thought fewer than 2 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. While respondents overwhelmingly believe Holocaust education should be a required topic in classrooms, Holocaust education in the U.S. clearly isn't yet living up to its task. Meanwhile, the Azrieli Foundation has been conducting parallel research on the state of Shoah awareness in Canada. Yad Vashem continues to lead the world in teacher training for Holocaust education, and can address the best ways for the field to counter disturbing trends in Holocaust awareness and knowledge through effective education.
Speakers:
-
Gregory Schneider, Executive Vice President, Claims Conference
-
Dr. Eyal Kaminka, Director, International School for Holocaust Studies and Lily Safra Chair of Holocaust Education, Yad Vashem
-
Dena Libman, Chief Operating Officer, Azrieli Foundation
LIVE EVENT
Strategy Session 2: Cost Effectiveness in Your Philanthropy (Israel)

Tools for funders giving ₪100,000 – ₪2,000,000 (NIS) annually
Most JFN Israel members’ annual giving is between ₪100,000 and ₪2,000,000 (NIS) per year. In order to better understand the needs of these donors and answer them within JFN, we are holding two strategy sessions in which we will discuss and think together about the specific needs of giving in this framework. The meetings will provide an opportunity to think, learn, and discuss the unique interests and characteristics of funders investing in these giving range.
The first meeting will take place on Thursday, January 10th 2019, 3:00 - 5:30pm at the JFN offices in Shefayim
The second meeting will take place on Thursday, January 17th 2019, 3:00 - 5:30 PM in Jerusalem
(Address provided upon RSVP)
This is an invitation-only event for funders. Solicitation of funds is not permitted.
ONLINE EVENT
Impact Investing Virtual Meetup

Join us for a one-hour, participatory video/conference call with other JFN members who are involved in impact investing. This is the second JFN virtual meetup on this topic, but funders who are currently impact investing are welcome whether or not they participated in the first.
Funders have a full range of tools to invest capital for good. Some philanthropists use impact investing as a complementary tool with their grantmaking as a way to diversify their portfolio or to use the returns as a way to fund more giving. Either way, the attraction is the same: investing to make a difference. For funders engaged in this work, peer learning can help us achieve more.
This call is not a traditional webinar — it will be an interactive opportunity to learn and share with one another.
We’ll begin with a 20-minute briefing by two leaders from JFN member organization The Nathan Cummings Foundation, who have inspired the Jewish philanthropic world with their announcement that they would move their nearly half-billion-dollar endowment into 100% mission-aligned investments. James K. Cummings, Secretary and Trustee, and Bob Bancroft, Vice President of Finance, will briefly discuss that decision and its implementation.
Then the floor will be open to participants, who can ask questions of James and Bob, share your own methods and approaches, and get feedback from other participants.
Please note: This webinar is for funders who are actively working on impact investing initiatives, and is not intended to be an introductory conversation.
LIVE EVENT
Strategy Session 1: Cost Effectiveness in Your Philanthropy (Israel)

Tools for funders giving ₪100,000 – ₪2,000,000 (NIS) annually
Most JFN Israel members’ annual giving is between ₪100,000 and ₪2,000,000 (NIS) per year. In order to better understand the needs of these donors and answer them within JFN, we are holding two strategy sessions in which we will discuss and think together about the specific needs of giving in this framework. The meetings will provide an opportunity to think, learn, and discuss the unique interests and characteristics of funders investing in these giving range.
The first meeting will take place on Thursday, January 10th 2019, 3:00 - 5:30pm at the JFN offices in Shefayim
The second meeting will take place on Thursday, January 17th 2019, 3:00 - 5:30 PM in Jerusalem
(Address provided upon RSVP)
This is an invitation-only event for funders. Solicitation of funds is not permitted.
ONLINE EVENT
Funding Interfaith Families Virtual Meetup

Join us for a one-hour, participatory video/conference call with other JFN members who fund in the area of interfaith families.
Opening the tent of the Jewish community comes in many forms. Some philanthropists focus on the participant: families with young children, couples, or the simply "unaffiliated." Others focus on the institutions that serve the community. Either way, the attraction is the same: make a difference and be more inclusive. For funders engaged in this work, peer learning can help us achieve more.
As we learned from the Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and Families Matching Grant Initiative in honor of 2015 Genesis Prize Laureate Michael Douglas, which contributed more than $3.3 million in matching funds to the field, there is a broad spectrum of intermarried families and couples as well as engagement factors to consider. A lot of good work has been done; what comes next?
This call is not a traditional webinar — it will be an interactive opportunity to learn and share with one another. We’ll begin with a 20-minute briefing by Jodi Bromberg, CEO at InterfaithFamily, who will discuss strategies and approaches for engaging interfaith families in Jewish life. Participants will then have an opportunity to ask questions of Jodi, share their methods and approaches, and get feedback from other participants. JFN member Laurie Franz, will moderate the discussion.
Please note: this webinar is for funders who are actively working on interfaith family initiatives, and is not intended to be an introductory conversation.
LIVE EVENT
The Bar/Bat Mitzvah Lab – a Workshop for Parents

The Israeli Center for Family Philanthropy is proud to invite you to a first of its kind workshop. The workshop is for parents whose children will celebrate their Bar/Bat Mitzvah in the next few years (up to 3 years ahead) and are interested in incorporating values of social responsibility in the celebration and the year leading up to it.
As part of the workshop we will present tools, ideas and opportunities to make the Bar/Bat Mitzvah an experiential learning process that includes individual and family social involvement.
נתראה בשמחות!
LIVE EVENT
Funders and "New Power": Philanthropy in a Hyperconnected World

Reception begins 5:15; program begins promptly at 5:45 with a welcome from Rabbi Peter J. Rubinstein, Director of Jewish Community and Bronfman Center for Jewish Life at 92Y.
Join Henry Timms, President and CEO, 92Y and co-author of the bestselling book New Power: How Power Works in Our Hyperconnected World—and How to Make It Work for You, speaking with JFN's President & CEO Andrés Spokoiny for a conversation on how the world of philanthropy is changing with the rise of "new power".
Dorothy Tananbaum, former JFN board chair, current board officer, and friend of 92Y, will facilitate the discussion.
In New Power, Henry Timms and Jeremy Hiemans confront the biggest stories of our time—the rise of mega-platforms like Facebook and Uber; the out-of-nowhere victories of Obama and Trump; the unexpected emergence of movements like #MeToo—and reveal what's really behind them: the rise of "new power." "Old power" was out of reach for the vast majority of people. But our ubiquitous connectivity makes possible a different kind of power: open, participatory, and peer-driven, more like a current than a currency. In this conversation, Henry, Andrés, and Dorothy will discuss how funders can understand new power and use this understanding to unleash powerful change for good.
This event is for JFN members and others by invitation only. Space is limited. RSVP (below) by November 30.

ONLINE EVENT
Who Tells Your Story? Archiving Jewish Philanthropy

Jewish foundations and philanthropists have taken on a critical role in Jewish life around the world, developing visions for the future and bringing those visions to life through their giving. We need to preserve the story of this work in funders' own voices — through their own records — so that future generations of Jewish communal leaders and historians will truly understand funders' visions, values, and activities. This task has taken on new urgency in a digital age as keeping and donating your “papers” is no longer such a straightforward task.
Join fellow funders and a distinguished panel to discuss the critical necessity of including funders' voices in the Jewish historical record, with concrete steps you can take to preserve your and/or your foundation's papers.
Speakers:
- Felicia Herman, Executive Director, Natan
- Lila Corwin Berman, Director, Feinstein Center for American Jewish History
- Annie Polland, Executive Director, American Jewish Historical Society
- Melanie Meyers, Director of Collections and Engagement, American Jewish Historical Society
LIVE EVENT
Communities, Networks & Opportunities (Hong Kong): Asia, Israel, & the Jewish World 2018
This gathering will bring together Jewish funders, lay leaders, communal activists, and entrepreneurs to workshop creative and innovative ways to design community and strengthen the rapidly growing relationship between Israel and Asia.
Meet leading Jewish and Chinese philanthropists, hear from social change-makers, and craft exciting solutions to challenges facing regional and global Jewish communities.
This highly interactive gathering will provide a practical toolkit to bring these innovative solutions to life, consisting of the latest skills in design thinking, lean start-up, adaptive leadership, and creativity that can be applied directly in your personal, professional, and communal life.
Facilitator: David Dabscheck
David Dabscheck is the CEO of GIANT Innovation, which transforms the way organizations and people think and act to become world-class innovators. David has helped a wide variety of Fortune 500 companies, global NGOs, Jewish communal organizations, and public sector agencies develop and implement sustainable innovation and creativity programs.
ONLINE EVENT
Securing Jewish Communities

Join leaders from the Secure Community Network (SCN), an initiative of JFN member organization Jewish Federations of North America, for a briefing on the state of security in North American Jewish communities.
SCN is the North American Jewish community’s homeland security experts, working with hundreds of institutions throughout the 147 Federation communities, and an institution to whom the FBI and DHS turn for their superior alert system, training, duty desk and other programs and services — and who were on the ground in Pittsburgh within hours of the massacre.
While the horrors of Pittsburgh are still fresh in our minds, the FBI also recently released new data showing that hate crime incidents targeting Jews and Jewish institutions in the U.S. increased by 37% between 2016 and 2017, and represent 58% of religious-based hate crime incidents. And though the statistics are still being developed, it is clear that in 2018, things are getting worse. The U.S. faces a virulent rise of anti-Semitism.
But our task is not to despair; it is to be proactive and prepared — without panic or fear — and to ensure that the work of the Jewish community in engaging and inspiring people can proceed with their important work unfettered and secure.
Speakers:
- Michael Masters, Executive Director, SCN
- Doron Horowitz, SCN Senior National Security Advisor
- Patrick Daly, Deputy Director & COO, SCN
ONLINE EVENT
Impact Investing Virtual Meetup

Join us for a one-hour, participatory video/conference call with other JFN members who are involved in impact investing.
Funders have a full range of tools to invest capital for good. Some philanthropists use impact investing as a complementary tool with their grantmaking as a way to diversify their portfolio or to use the returns as a way to fund more giving. Either way, the attraction is the same: investing to make a difference. For funders engaged in this work, peer learning can help us achieve more.
This call is not a traditional webinar — it will be an interactive opportunity to learn and share with one another. We’ll begin with a 20-minute briefing by Dhaval Patel, Investment Manager at Tides, who will present the Tides approach to impact investing and will share several case studies on how their clients have used different methods to achieve social and financial objectives. Participants will then have an opportunity to ask questions of Dhaval, share their methods and approaches, and get feedback from other participants.
Please note: This webinar is for funders who are actively working on impact investing initiatives, and is not intended to be an introductory conversation.
ONLINE EVENT
Briefing: Fires Devastating the Los Angeles Jewish Community

Wildfires in greater Los Angeles have killed people and are destroying thousands of homes, as well as Jewish institutions: Camp Hess Kramer, Gindling Hilltop Camp, Shalom Institute (Camp JCA Shalom), and Ilan Ramon Day School. Join local Jewish communal leaders to learn about the impact of this disaster on the Jewish community in the region and how funders can help.
Speakers:
- Jay Sanderson, President & CEO, Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
- Bill Kaplan, Executive Director, Shalom Institute (Camp JCA Shalom)
- Rabbi Paul Kipnes, Congregation Or Ami
- Seth Toybes, Director, Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps
- Moderator: Tzivia Schwartz Getzug, West Coast Director, JFN
LIVE EVENT
The Future of Jewish Philanthropy: A JFN / JTFN Breakfast
Join other Jewish funders from Greater Seattle to meet with Andrés Spokoiny (President & CEO) and Tzivia Schwartz Getzug (West Coast Director) of Jewish Funders Network, with Wayne Green, Director of Jewish Teen Funders Network, for a breakfast discussion on key issues facing Jewish funders, and a preview of the JFN 2019 International Conference.
LIVE EVENT
Parents & Children in Philanthropy (JFN Israel Young Funders Forum)

LIVE EVENT
Tips, Traps, and Tools: The Whys and Hows of Family Philanthropy

We are excited to invite you to a workshop for funders led by NCFP: The National Center for Family Philanthropy
Based on the extensive experience of working with dozens of philanthropic families in the U.S., Virginia Esposito, Founder & President of NCFP, will share stories of success and failure in family giving.
How have successful families designed policies and structures that can help you reach both your family goals and your charitable goals? What challenges have they faced and how did they get through them? And what makes family philanthropy special?
The workshop will include questions and audience discussions on the whys and hows of family giving.
*This workshop will be held in English
*This is an invitation-only event for funders.
*Solicitation of funds is not permitted.
ONLINE EVENT
Briefing: Pittsburgh Jewish Communal Immediate Needs

Top photo credit: Ryan Loew/PublicSource.
Update (11/02): Video of the briefing is now available:
In the aftermath of the brutal and tragic terrorist attack on the Tree of Life * Or L'Simcha, Dor Hadash, and New Light congregations, the Pittsburgh Jewish community is only beginning a journey of mourning and recovery. The community faces urgent needs related to security, trauma therapy, and more. While funders must think long-term about security in every Jewish community (see this November 8 webinar), for the moment the Jewish world must pay special attention to Pittsburgh's needs.
Scroll down to RSVP.
Join Jeffrey H. Finkelstein, President & CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, for an online briefing on the immediate needs and situation of greater Pittsburgh's Jewish community as a whole as they support one another through this excruciating time.
Update (10/31): We will also hear from Dr. Jordan Golin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jewish Family and Community Services, and Brian Schreiber, President and CEO, Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.
Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Victims of Terror Fund >>
LIVE EVENT
Building & Strengthening the Impact Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Israel Matching Grant: Funder Information Session

If you are a funder involved or interested in the field of Impact Entrepreneurship, you are invited to an information session re the Impact Entrepreneurship matching grant initiative.
In June 2018, The Edmond de Rothschild Foundation (Israel), in partnership with the Jewish Funders Network, has created a $1 million matching grant initiative to help build the ecosystem of impact entrepreneurship in Israel and generate a greater ongoing philanthropic commitment to the field.
Impact entrepreneurship describes an intentional approach to addressing unmet social and environmental needs, alongside a measurable financially sustainable business model. The growing impact innovation ecosystem provides capital, products, tools, and methods to address the world’s most pressing challenges in sectors such as sustainable agriculture, renewable energy and affordable and accessible basic services including housing, healthcare, and education.
The information session will provide an opportunity to get all the details and learn about the field from active investors.
Scroll down to RSVP.
Program: | |
5:00 | Elli Booch, Director of philanthropy, Edmond De Rothschild Foundation Israel |
5:15 | Interview with Linda Streit, Daniel Howard Trust and Lior Shalev, CEO AlgeCore Technologies, Board Member & Investor, Ed Tech Israel |
6:00 | Emily Friedman-Novak, JFN: About the MG program + Q & A |
We look forward to seeing you!
For more information, see the matching grant Website
LIVE EVENT
Driving Student Performance with Innovation in Schools

Join JFN member Marc Rowan, Chairman of Youth Renewal Fund, for a conversation on how innovation in schools can play a pivotal role in student performance. Hear from experts with proven success both in the US and Israel.
- Introduction: Marc Rowan, member of JFN and Chairman of YRF
- Moderator: Hope Taitz, Founding Board Member, YRF; Member, The Flatiron School Advisory Board
- Panelist: Dr. Gil Pereg, CEO, Darca School Network
-
Panelist: Adam Enbar, Co-Founder and CEO, The Flatiron School
-
Hosted at: Sidley Austin LLP
Please note: For building security purposes, if you are bringing guests with you, please email Tamar Frydman with the name(s) of your guest(s).
ONLINE EVENT
Building and Strengthening the Impact Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Israel Matching Grant: Info Session
"Building and Strengthening the Impact Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Israel" is a matching grant initiative which aims to support intentional approaches to addressing unmet social and environmental needs alongside a measurable financially sustainable business model, while spurring new and energized commitment among funders.
To learn more, join us for a webinar with JFN's Melissa Rosen & Emily Friedman-Novak that will cover everything funders need to know in order to apply for matching funds.
For this initiative, eligible organizations and/or projects will:
- Operate in Israel
- Possess a 46A tax designation
- Enhance or expand the Ecosystem infrastructure – this applies to both for-profit, not-for-profit initiatives as well as collaborations between the two.
- The ecosystem of impact entrepreneurship, or the environment in which this operates, includes (but is not limited to): social business investment platforms, microfinance initiatives, social impact bonds, impact startup hubs/incubators/accelerators, social startup hubs/incubators/accelerators, academic & research institutions, etc.
- The ecosystem of impact entrepreneurship, or the environment in which this operates, includes (but is not limited to): social business investment platforms, microfinance initiatives, social impact bonds, impact startup hubs/incubators/accelerators, social startup hubs/incubators/accelerators, academic & research institutions, etc.
This comprehensive webinar will cover:
- Goals of the initiative
- Eligibility guidelines
- How to apply
- Timeline
- Your questions
We look forward to speaking with you!
LIVE EVENT
The Israelization of Judaism (and a Conference Preview)

*Please RSVP below
After the summer break and the chagim, we are thrilled to invite members to an event celebrating the beginning of the JFN Israel Program year!
We have an evening of networking and a thought-provoking discussion planned — about Israel, world Jewry, and the connection between the two.
The evening’s program:
- Sunset cocktail reception
- Prof. Yossi Shain, Head of TAU's School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs & Professor of Comparative Government at Georgetown University — on “The Israelization of Judaism”
- A look at the 2019 JFN International Conference
*Spouses are welcome!
*The event will be held in English
*This is an invitation-only event. Solicitation of funds is not permitted.
*Please RSVP by September 16th, 2018
ONLINE EVENT
Aged Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise: Purposeful Later Lives and Legacies of Meaning

Coventry Edwards-Pitt is a nationally-recognized wealth adviser and the author of Aged Healthy, Wealthy & Wise. Covie has interviewed vibrant elders to bring to life the daily choices they make that allow them to live content, engaged, and purposeful later lives and design legacies of meaning—including and beyond philanthropy.
In this webinar, joining us again following her well-received 2015 JFN webinar on "Raising Responsible Children in an Age of Abundance", Covie shares stories and research to inspire you to take the actions in your own life that will set you on a course not only to age well yourself, but also to help ensure that your family experiences your later years as a gift.
We will also hear from Rabbi Laura Geller, a member of the leadership team at ChaiVillageLA (and Rabbi Emerita, Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills). ChaiVillageLA is a virtual community led by older adults who share their optimism, skills, support and expertise with each other to navigate the challenges and opportunities of aging.
Naomi Strongin, Senior Program Officer at the Center for Designed Philanthropy at Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, will bring a funder perspective to the discussion. The Foundation, a JFN member, is investing in community engagement for older adults.
LIVE EVENT
VIP Reception with Ilana Kaufman & Marc Dollinger
A VIP reception with Jewish Funders Network
before “Black Power, Jewish Politics: Marc Dollinger & Ilana Kaufman in Conversation”
Join JFN members and guests for a VIP reception with Marc Dollinger, Ilana Kaufman and Tzivia Schwartz Getzug, JFN West Coast Director.
Heavy hors d'oeuvres, dessert, and wine will be served.
RSVP by emailing Tzivia >>
ONLINE EVENT
A Year After Charlottesville: White Supremacism, America, and the Jews

One year after Charlottesville, what is the state of the white supremacist movement in America today? How does anti-Jewish hatred animate the white supremacist movement, and how can Jews and our allies act most effectively to fight hate?
Join your fellow funders to explore these questions.
Speaker:
-
Oren Segal, Director of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism
Moderator:
-
Jared Blum, Chair, Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism
Scroll down or click here for RSVP.
Background:
Select Resources: White Supremacist Propaganda Nearly Doubles on Campus in 2017-18 Academic Year Since September 1, 2016, ADL has recorded 478 incidents of white supremacist propaganda appearing on college and university campuses. These campaigns have targeted 287 college campuses in 47 states and the District of Columbia. The propaganda, which ranges from veiled white supremacist language to explicitly racist images and words, often includes a recruitment element, and frequently attacks minority groups including Jews, Blacks, Muslims, non-white immigrants and the LGBT community. Anti-Semitic Targeting of Journalists During the 2016 Presidential Campaign With the release of this landmark report, ADL unveiled the extent to which the 2016 presidential election cycle has exposed journalists to anti-Semitic abuse on Twitter. Anti-Semitism on Full Display in Charlottesville Alongside the racism, nativism and xenophobia on display at Unite the Right, the event was also an expression of the animating power of anti-Semitism. |
ONLINE EVENT
Genesis Prize Women's Empowerment Challenge: Funder Info Session
UPDATE: This info session will now be folded into the Tuesday, July 17, 1:00pm EDT session >>
Are you a funder invested in gender equality in your Jewish community? Are you interested in leveraging a new or increased gift to an organization working to empower women in the North American Jewish community? Do you want to know more about the Genesis Prize Women’s Empowerment Challenge?
The Genesis Prize Women's Empowerment Challenge is a matching grant initiative which aims to empower women in the North American Jewish community and spur new and energized commitment among funders to gender equality.
To learn more, join us for a webinar that will cover everything funders need to know about the Challenge's application process.
This comprehensive webinar with JFN's Melissa Rosen will cover:
- Goals of the initiative
- Eligibility guidelines for organizations, projects, and donors
- How to apply
- Your questions
We look forward to speaking with you!
THIS EVENT IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING RSVPS. Click here to see the alternative session.
ONLINE EVENT
Genesis Prize Women's Empowerment Matching Grant: Info Session
UPDATE: This info session will now be for both funders AND nonprofits.
The Genesis Prize Women’s Empowerment Challenge is a matching grant initiative which aims to empower women in the North American Jewish community and spur new and energized commitment among funders to gender equality.
To learn more, join us for a webinar with JFN's Melissa Rosen that will cover everything funders need to know in order to apply for matching funds.
For this initiative, eligible organizations and/or projects will:
- Be located in North America
- Prevent gender-based discrimination, harassment, and assault
- Provide gender-inclusive educational and training programs
- Conduct research on economic issues challenging women working in the Jewish community
- Provide encouragement and opportunities for Jewish girls and women to become interested — and remain engaged — in STEM education and careers
This comprehensive webinar will cover:
- Goals of the initiative
- Eligibility guidelines
- How to apply
- Timeline
- Your questions
We look forward to speaking with you!
ONLINE EVENT
Family Separation, Refugees, & Immigrants: Briefings & Interactive Discussion

Join us for an urgent briefing and discussion on the crisis involving family separation, refugees, and immigrants. Please note: while this topic is developing rapidly, thousands of children remain separated from their parents and transported far away, with no clear prospect of reunification. Numerous broader and longer-term issues are also involved in this crisis. Please join leading experts and fellow funders for a set of briefings followed by an interactive discussion between funders of where we are, how we got here, and how we can move forward constructively. Scroll down to RSVP, or email tamar@jfunders.org if you have problems with the RSVP form.
Briefings — 12:30–1:15pm
- Mark Hetfield, President & CEO, HIAS: History and today
- Stosh Cotler, CEO, Bend the Arc: Activating activists
- Rachel Peric, Executive Director, Welcoming America: Changing the tone, changing hearts and minds
-
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director, T'ruah: Leading change with religious leaders
Interactive discussion between funders — 1:15–2:00pm
- Moderated by Aaron Dorfman, President, Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah
LIVE EVENT
JFN Israel Member Event | Hope: Finding Motivation to Make Change (with Dan Ariely)

JFN members and other eligible funders are invited to an event in Tel-Aviv at the home of Noa and Yoav Shoham. Our program for the evening includes Prof. Dan Ariely on creating hope and making change. And—as always—good food, good company, and interesting conversations.
We look forward to seeing you!
This event is for JFN members and other eligible funders only. Non-members: inquire about attending at jfnisrael@jfunders.org
Spouses are welcome. Solicitation of funds is not permitted.
Please RSVP ASAP!
ONLINE EVENT
Evolving Jewish Philanthropy: Breaking Down the "Giving Jewish" Report (Webinar)

Prof. Jack Wertheimer's report for the AVI CHAI Foundation, Giving Jewish: How Big Funders Have Transformed American Jewish Philanthropy, has provoked spirited discussion in the Jewish philanthropic world. He has found that large donors are changing the face of Jewish philanthropy by shifting priorities toward Jewish engagement and away from legacy institutions or social service agencies. There also is a trend toward creating staffed foundations, pursuing measurable impact investing, increased collaboration, and more active participation by new groups—women, Millennials, and Orthodox donors.
Join Prof. Jack Wertheimer and JFN President & CEO Andrés Spokoiny for a discussion of the report's findings and its implications for the Jewish community and your own philanthropic work. Deena Fuchs, Senior Director of Strategy and Partnerships at the AVI CHAI Foundation, will facilitate the discussion.
ONLINE EVENT
Legacy, Philanthropy, and Telling Our Stories to Future Generations (Webinar)

How can funders preserve their stories as a dynamic presence in the lives of future generations? How can old and new media (storytelling through film and print) keep our philanthropic legacies alive?
Join Yuval Lion and Mike Kraus of MYLK Media, author Joel Segel, and Jeffrey Solomon to discuss the importance of legacy in philanthropy and how film and books can be vehicles of family legacy storytelling.
Yuval Lion is Production Director, and Mike Kraus is Creative Director, of MYLKmedia, an award-winning production company in New York. Yuval, a JFN member, recently produced a legacy film for his family. Joel Segel has collaborated on numerous legacy-related projects for individuals, families, businesses, and institutions. He has worked with scientists, artists, business executives, experts in healthcare and education, and religious and spiritual leaders. His writing has been recognized with a National Jewish Book Award. Jeffrey Solomon is former President of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies and Senior Advisor for Chasbro Investments. |
LIVE EVENT
Preventing PTSD in the IDF: Lunch with a Leading Researcher

Join JFN Board member Dafna Meitar-Nechmad and Prof. Yair Bar Haim of Tel Aviv University for a lunch-and-learn discussion on preventing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among IDF soldiers.
Prof. Yair Bar Haim, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and Director of the Adler Center for Development and Psychopathology at Tel Aviv University. His research focuses on anxiety and stress-related disorders, with a particular emphasis on the role of cognitive biases in the etiology and maintenance of such disorders.
This event is an opportunity for funders both to learn about cutting-edge research into PTSD prevention and to better understand the challenges that the IDF and Israeli society face in coping with perpetual conflict. We'll explore Israel's cutting-edge scientific advances in dealing with trauma and related issues—advances that not only benefit Israel, but the world.
Articles about Prof. Bar Haim and his research:
- IDF to Use Israeli-Made Computer Tech to Thwart PTSD, US to Follow Suit
- Praise for Video Games as PTSD Therapy
About Tel Aviv University:
Tel Aviv University (TAU) is the largest and leading university in Israel. Its researchers have been at the forefront of PTSD research for 30 years, developing a broad range of internationally recognized models and techniques for diagnosing, preventing and treating the psychological effects of exposure to traumatic events. They have trail-blazed the integration of new technologies—such as neuro-feedback, eye tracking and computerized threat-processing training—into psychological treatments and widely disseminated prevention programs. Today, the University is a world hub for state-of-the-art, practical, theoretical and empirical knowledge in the field.
LIVE EVENT
The Risk Takers Collaborative
An evening with the flourishing LA Jewish innovation community, exploring what it means to be a risk-taker!
Part of The Collaboratory 2018—the largest gathering of Jewish innovators in North America—the RiskTakers Collaborative is an exploration of the risky business of Jewish innovation. This dinner gathering brings together entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, and funders to share their experiences taking risks and to reflect on the work we need to do together.
Dinner and drinks provided. No cost to attend and no solicitation.
Shmaltz Brewing Company will be offering tastings of their award winning kosher beer!
Space is limited. RSVP and names required for security purposes.
*Collaboratory Attendees: Please note that transportation is not included with your ticket reservation.
Hosted by:
The Collaboratory
In Partnership with:
ROI Community
UpStart
Slingshot
Jewish Funders Network
This Event is powered by:
The Diane and Guilford Glazer Philanthropies
Jim Joseph Foundation
Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah
ONLINE EVENT
Culture, Opportunity, and Excellence in the Jewish Workforce (Webinar)

The most important resource deployed by Jewish communal organizations is people. Attracting and retaining the right talent means creating supportive and engaging cultures within workplaces, and creating opportunities for growth and mentorship in the field as a whole.
Two recent surveys point the way forward:
For the second year in a row, Leading Edge conducted a sector-wide employee engagement survey, Are Jewish Organizations Great Places to Work? Employees from 68 Jewish organizations answered questions about their experience at work, specifically relating to workplace culture, the factors that drive their engagement at work, and those elements that contribute most to their desire to stay at their organization and in the Jewish nonprofit sector.
JPRO Network polled professionals in the Jewish nonprofit sector to learn about their networking and career development needs and is piloting programs based on their responses. One of these pilots, WellAdvised, is providing further data about the needs of early- and mid-career professionals.
Together, these two surveys and initial learnings from the WellAdvised pilot identify ways that Jewish funders can transform their grantee organizations, their foundations, and the whole Jewish communal sector, to become a field with more appeal, more excellence, and more opportunity. Ultimately, making Jewish working life more appealing will enable Jewish workers to do their best work and achieve more of the missions that drive organizations and funders.
Speakers:
- Ilana Aisen, Executive Director of JPRO Network
- Gali Cooks, Executive Director of Leading Edge
- Moderator: Samantha Anderson, Senior Director of Member Services, JFN
JFN 2018 International Conference—Israel

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.
LIVE EVENT
Private Roundtable with IDF General and Syrian Humanitarian
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.
ONLINE EVENT
First-Timers Webinar: JFN Conference 2018
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.
LIVE EVENT
Funding Creative Engagement with Millennials: A Conversation with Joanna Landau

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
LIVE EVENT
Millennials & Gen Z: How Will Israel Engagement Change?

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.)
LIVE EVENT
Beyond the D'var Torah: How to Unleash the Potential of Rich Jewish Content

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.
LIVE EVENT
JFN breakfast at The Israel Exchange: Transforming Perceptions About Israel

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.)
Revealing #MeToo as #WeToo in Jewish Communal Life: an Evening of Discussion and Action

ONLINE EVENT
Funding Health, Wellness, & Disease Prevention (Webinar)

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
ONLINE EVENT
Sexual Harassment Revelations: What Jewish Funders Need to Know and Do Now (Webinar)

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
LIVE EVENT
Be the Light: Making Philanthropy Intentional

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.
|
|
|
LIVE EVENT
Jewish Impact Investing Summit
The Summit is designed for lay and professional leaders in the Jewish community and registration is by invitation only.
More information >>
LIVE EVENT
Affordable Housing Boot Camp: Regenerative Real Estate

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.
LIVE EVENT
Modern (Jewish) Family: What Changing Family Structures Mean for Jewish Philanthropy

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:
LIVE EVENT
Jerusalem Funders Reception with MK Rachel Azaria
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.
LIVE EVENT
Asia, Israel, and the Jewish World: Hong Kong
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 >>
LIVE EVENT
"Touches of Grace: Philanthropy and Social Involvement in Israel" Book Launch (NYC)

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.
ONLINE EVENT
LIVE EVENT
Closing the Educational Gap in Israel: A Lunch & Learn (NYC & Livestreamed)

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.
ONLINE EVENT
Lifting the Rock on Hate in America: How Do We Act Fast? (Webinar)

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
LIVE EVENT
How to Succeed in Collaborations Without Really Trying (LA)

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.
LIVE EVENT
How to Succeed in Collaborations Without Really Trying (San Francisco)

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.
Barak Loozon is the director of the Israel & Global network for the Federation in Israel. The Federation’s office in Israel is leading the way in innovative giving, which includes the growing field of social venture philanthropy. Our hands-on approach to grantmaking in Israel is based on strategic investments, capacity building, and developing and engaging local leaders and philanthropists who are able to actively promote the notion of a just, democratic, and pluralistic state. Prior to his directorship, Barak worked for the Federation as the director for young adult engagement with Israel. Barak holds a B.A. from Bar-Ilan University in criminology and political science and an M.A. from Tel Aviv University and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as an Israel Wexner Fellow. Return ↺ |
LIVE EVENT
Bedouin Philanthropy in the Negev (Luncheon)

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:
ONLINE EVENT
LIVE EVENT
Growth & Innovation in Israeli Philanthropy (NYC & Livestreamed)

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.
ONLINE EVENT
How is the Trump Presidency Changing American Jewry? (Webinar)
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Rethinking Our Resistance To Intermarriage (Webinar)

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
ONLINE EVENT
Lifting the Rock: What We Need to Know and Do About Charlottesville and Hate in America

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.
LIVE EVENT
How and Why to Change Courses in Chaotic Times: A JFN LA Gathering

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.
ONLINE EVENT
Disaster Response & Preparedness in Jewish 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)
LIVE EVENT
JFN Israel Year Opener
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 >>
ONLINE EVENT
Will Congress Kill the Charitable Deduction? US Tax Policy & Philanthropy with Hadar Susskind (Webinar)

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.
ONLINE EVENT
High Level Briefing: The Kotel & the Conversion Bill
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
LIVE EVENT
Behind the Lens: A Director, a Screenwriter, a Photographer, and Israel
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.
LIVE EVENT
Schmaltzy: An Evening of Jewish Food & Storytelling
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.
LIVE EVENT
See "Indecent" on Broadway with Fellow JFN Members
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.)
LIVE EVENT
Tackling the Israeli Economy's Greatest Challenges—Lunch with Amir Levi
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.
Co-presented by JFN with the Diane and Guilford Glazer Philanthropies
LIVE EVENT
JFN Bay Area Members Lunch June '17
I hope you will join me (Tzivia) and your fellow Bay area JFN members for a local networking lunch.
ONLINE EVENT
Syrian Refugee Update: Part II (Webinar)
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.
LIVE EVENT
From Where I Stand
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).
LIVE EVENT
An Evening of Inspiration: Art and Philanthropy through a Jewish Lens
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Becca Heller and the International Refugee Assistance Project
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.
JFN 2017 International Conference—Atlanta
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
LIVE EVENT
The Art of Impact: An Evening of Impact Investing, Jewish Values, and Israeli Music
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.
LIVE EVENT
Breaking Barriers Matching Grant Breakfast in Washington, DC
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
LIVE EVENT
Eliminating Poverty in Israel: Philanthropy's Role
ONLINE EVENT
The Evaluation Advantage: Amplifying Your Impact as a Funder

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.
ONLINE EVENT
Syrian Refugee Crisis Update, Part 1 (Webinar)

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.
ONLINE EVENT
Civil Discourse, Civil Rights, and the Jewish Community: A New Conversation
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.
LIVE EVENT
Berakha (Blessing) & Intergenerational Philanthropy

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) |
ONLINE EVENT
Tools for Philanthropic Impact, Session 2: Metrics in Philanthropy (Webinar)

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
LIVE EVENT
JFN Israel Young Funders Forum

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.
ONLINE EVENT
Early Childhood Education in the Jewish Community & Beyond (Webinar)

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.
LIVE EVENT
Diversity & Equality in the Labor Market: A Meeting with Kate Mitchell

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.

LIVE EVENT
Brooklyn Site Visit: Sexual Abuse in the Jewish Community
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.
LIVE EVENT
Jewish Values & Disability Rights: An Afternoon of Learning

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 >>
LIVE EVENT
Funding in Community (LA)

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.
LIVE EVENT
Can You Hear Me Now? Amplifying Your Jewish Philanthropic 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.
ONLINE EVENT
A New Model of Jewish Engagement: The Impact of Base Hillel (Webinar)

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.
ONLINE EVENT
Why Be Jewish: What Does & Doesn't Engage Young Jews (Webinar)

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 |
![]() John Ferreira |
ONLINE EVENT
Turkish Jewry Briefing (Webinar)

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.
ONLINE EVENT
Impact Investing Open Conference Call

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.
LIVE EVENT
Shanghai: Asia and the Jewish World: A Global Leadership Conversation
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.
LIVE EVENT
Engaging Intermarried Families: What's Next?
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
Following the
LIVE EVENT
Cindy & David Shapira: Their Philanthropic Journey (with Eric Fingerhut)
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Breaking Barriers Matching Grant Initiative: What Nonprofits Need to Know (Webinar)

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.
ONLINE EVENT
Are Jewish Organizations "Great Places to Work"?
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.
LIVE EVENT
Tools for Philanthropic Impact, Session 1: Strategic Philanthropy
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Lobbying, Politics, & Philanthropy: A Practical Conversation (Webinar)
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)
ONLINE EVENT
Jews of Color & the Jewish Community (Webinar)
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
ONLINE EVENT
Project-Based Learning (Webinar)
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
ONLINE EVENT
Louisiana Flooding Update

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.
ONLINE EVENT
Disability Rights & Inclusion: A Conversation with Jennifer Mizrahi
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 >>
LIVE EVENT
Rooftop Drinks with JFN & America-Israel Cultural Foundation
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.
Co-sponsored by Jewish Funders Network & America-Israel Cultural Foundation
LIVE EVENT
A Conversation with Norman Lear
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.
LIVE EVENT
Your Money or Your Life: What Judaism Has to Teach Us about Work-Life Balance
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.)
ONLINE EVENT
Women of the Wall: The History and the Future
LIVE EVENT
Celebrating Jewish Innovation: An Evening with JFN & LA-Based 2016 Slingshot Organizations
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
ONLINE EVENT
Webinar: The Intersection of Jewish Identity, Whiteness, and White Privilege
ONLINE EVENT
Webinar: Communications in Philanthropy
ONLINE EVENT
Webinar: Making Jewish Organizations Leading Places to Work
ONLINE EVENT
Webinar: Jewish EdTech Update
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.
LIVE EVENT
San Diego Evening with Andres Spokoiny and Avi Naor
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?"
LIVE EVENT
An Evening of Art & Philanthropy (Venice, CA)
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?”
ONLINE EVENT
Webinar: Highlights from the "State of the Nation Report 2015"—A Discussion with Prof. Avi Weiss about Israel's Society & Economy
ONLINE EVENT
Webinar: Alzheimer's Research, Alzheimer's Care
LIVE EVENT
Breakfast Gathering on Arts and Culture
ONLINE EVENT
Authentic Jew, Authentic Global Citizen: The Meaning of Jewish Philanthropy in 2016
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.
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.
LIVE EVENT
Measurement & Metrics: The Future of Jewish Philanthropy
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.
LIVE EVENT
The Power of the Unaffiliated: What the Russian-Speaking Jewish Community Can Teach Us
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.
LIVE EVENT
Afternoon of Learning: Intermarriage and Jewish Engagement
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)
ONLINE EVENT
Webinar: Raising Responsible Children in an Age of Abundance
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Webinar: Alumni Make the (Jewish) World Go 'Round
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.
LIVE EVENT
ACCELERATE: Haredi Employment and Economic Empowerment in Israel
ONLINE EVENT
Webinar: Alleviating Poverty Through Jewish Leadership
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.
LIVE EVENT
Power Breakfast: New Perspectives on Israel Advocacy
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.
LIVE EVENT
Denver Luncheon Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and Families
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Webinar: Donor Advised Funds 101
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).
LIVE EVENT
LA Donor Outreach Event: Advancing Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and their Families
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.
LIVE EVENT
Navigating the Waters of Multigenerational Giving
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.
LIVE EVENT
Workforce Development Luncheon
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.
LIVE EVENT
Funders Convening at Ruderman Inclusion Summit 2015
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...
LIVE EVENT
The New Profit Model (Boston)
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.
LIVE EVENT
Environmental Greenbook Salon: Washington, DC
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.
LIVE EVENT
Exploring Trends in Israeli Philanthropy
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.
LIVE EVENT
Environmental Greenbook Salon: NYC
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.
LIVE EVENT
Working Together: Linking Education to Meaningful Employment with the GANDYR Foundation
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Webinar: PRI/MRI 101—Intro to Program Related and Mission Related Investment
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Webinar- News Update: The Syrian Refugee Crisis
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Funders Webinar: Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Families Matching Grant Initiative
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Exploring Venture Philanthropy: The New Profit Model
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Webinar: Applying for Matching Funds from the Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Families Initiative
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
ONLINE EVENT
Webinar: The Challenges of Leaving Ultra-Orthodoxy
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://forward.com/news/317900/the-brave-life-and-shocking-death-of-faigy-mayer/
http://gothamist.com/2015/08/12/ultra_orthodox_jewish_struggle.php
ONLINE EVENT
News Update: Greek Debt Crisis and the Jewish Community
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.
ONLINE EVENT
SNPN - Briefing on Reproductive Rights of Women with Disabilities with Catherine Townsend
LIVE EVENT
JFN Israel The Road to Happiness
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Choosing The People: How Funders Can Invest in Jewish Communal Leaders and Professionals
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Israel Builds - The Push for Affordable Housing in Israel
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
LIVE EVENT
Workforce Development Luncheon at Heckscher Foundation
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.
ONLINE EVENT
News Briefing: Ethiopian Protests in Israel
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Jewish Texts & Philanthropy: Three Perspectives Part III with Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Workforce Development Peer Network Webinar Part II – U.S. Workforce Policy Overview & Issues
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.
LIVE EVENT
Greenbook on Funding Environmental Stewardship in Israel: Luncheon
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Matterness Webinar
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.
LIVE EVENT
70 Years After Auschwitz: The Status of Survivors in the U.S.
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)
ONLINE EVENT
Workforce Development Peer Network Webinar Part I - Learn the Field from an Expert
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.
ONLINE EVENT
A Jewish Response to Ebola – Staying the Course from Disaster to Recovery
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Emergency Update: Crisis in Ukraine
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.
LIVE EVENT
Pre-Conference Networking Workshop
ONLINE EVENT
Pre-Conference Call for First Time Attendees 2015
ONLINE EVENT
Freedom of Choice in Marriage in Israel
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Sabbatical Year - How Jewish Values Lead to Social Impact
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Reshaping the Discourse on Israel: The Role of Israel Studies on Campus and Beyond
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
ONLINE EVENT
Briefing on Crisis in Argentina with Sergio Widder
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Briefing on Crisis in France with CRIF President Roger Cukierman
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Abuse and Protection of Children with Disabilities in Israel and Around the World
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Trends in Corporate Citizenship Series Part III - Shareholder Activism
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.
ONLINE EVENT
Jewish Texts & Philanthropy: Three Perspectives Part II (JFN Members Only)
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.
LIVE EVENT
Handling Crises as Organizations and Funders
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
ONLINE EVENT
A Model of Jewish Communal Inclusion Training in the UK (The Judith Trust)
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.