Lake Valencia in Venezuela was once a beautiful place. Nestled among mountains and sierras, and blessed by a humid and temperate climate, it developed a rich ecosystem that had sustained countless plants and animals, as well as human tribal societies.

Writing for the Foundation Center's GRANTCRAFT blog (and cross-posted in eJewish Philanthropy), Sigal Yaniv Feller (Director of Advisory Services for JFN Israel) writes about her experience at the helm of the Green Environment Fund, which closed (after significant achievements) in connection with the spend-down of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies.

Investing in the environment is no longer about nature conservation alone, but more broadly about investing in social justice, equality, education, and societal-environmental health.

My phone rings. “All my life,” the caller says, “I’ve been waiting for someone to connect my love of organic farming and my love of Judaism. And you just did it.”