The Jewish United Fund/Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Chicago is breaking new ground in Chicago’s Jewish
community this summer, awarding $1 million in grants to 17 local initiatives
through its forward-looking Breakthrough Fund.
Encouraging
smart growth and innovation in the Jewish nonprofit sector are the goals of the
Breakthrough Fund, which launched in Fall 2013 by awarding $5,000 mini-grants
to 10 local programs.
The 17 recipients of this first
full-scale cycle of this program, selected from 80 applications, will be
awarded grants ranging from $25,000 to $150,000. All told, including the $50,000
in mini-grants, over $1 million was awarded this year to leading-edge local
programs and initiatives that meet local Jewish needs and engage community
members Jewishly throughout their lifespans.
Of the 17
recipients, 11 will be awarded grants to help start new programs or to make
strategic short-term investments that will yield long-term impact, while the
other six will receive funding to help proven existing programs flourish and
expand.
“The Breakthrough Fund reminds us that innovation
is taking place right here in Chicago's Jewish community,” said David Sherman,
chairman of the Breakthrough Fund review committee. “The passion and vision of
this community is inspiring and we are so proud and grateful to award grants to
these 17 initiatives so that they can take necessary and strategic risks that
will ultimately impact Chicago’s Jewish future in remarkable ways.”
JUF has focused on supporting innovation for many years, highlighted by
the 15-year-long Priority Grants program. But when the recession hit in 2008,
the organization's priority shifted to taking care of the community through the
J-HELP initiative. Today, JUF has the opportunity to again focus on innovation
- this time expanding the grant fund to also support programs outside of JUF
agencies. Several of the initiatives funded this year represent partnerships
and collaborations among numerous community organizations, many of which do not
currently receive funding from JUF.
Serving a range of
populations, the programs cover a broad array of activities, including: creating
an online community resource for families with young children; educating day
school students about how to respond to bullying and anti-Semitism; helping
LGBTQ Jews to explore their Jewish heritage; and providing grandparents with
tools to connect with their grandchildren around Jewish values.
“An organization like JUF that now allocates more than $150 million
per year must have a capacity for R & D—the Breakthrough Fund fulfills that
objective.” said JUF/JF president Steven B. Nasatir. “We hope to have the
capacity to eventually endow the Breakthrough Fund and keep the creative and
crucial work it inspires going for many years to come.”
Ten of the programs receiving funding focus on enhancing opportunities
for engagement in Jewish life:
Anti-Defamation League:
World of Difference Institute, pilots
this ADL program (previously offered in secular schools) in Jewish day schools
to give students the knowledge and skills to thrive in the increasingly diverse
and multi-cultural environments they will encounter in the world outside day
schools.
Evanston’s Bayit Afterschool,
will research and invest in immersive conversational Hebrew curriculum training
for staff and will work with a consultant to assess their current curricula and
staffing for special needs inclusion.
Congregation Or
Chadash: Journey to Freedom, guides 15-20 LGBTQ Jews through
professionally-facilitated art, music, and writing workshops that link stages of
the coming out process with steps of the Exodus; the work produced in these
workshops will be used to develop a Haggadah to be used at a community-wide
Seder celebrating Passover and LGBTQ liberation.
Continuum Theater: Chicago Jewish Play Reading
Festival, will produce eight plays and post-performance
talk-backs across the Chicago area to engage audiences with Jewish performing
arts.
GIFTS(Gratitude, Inspiration,
Family, Tzedakah, and Service), a program administered by the Jewish United
Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, provides grandparents with tools
to connect with their grandchildren around Jewish values and philanthropy,
including access to a donor advised philanthropic fund they can manage
jointly.
InterfaithFamily, will launch
a local mentoring program for 10 interfaith couples who are making Jewish
choices for their families and futures to share their experiences with 30
others, encouraging these mentee couples to think together about how to make
Jewish choices and how to access welcoming Jewish organizations, programs,
professionals, and services.
Kveller, a
national online portal for Jewish families with young children, will engage in
a planning process for Kveller Chicago, a local microsite for the Chicago
metropolitan area, increasing access to Jewish community programs and resources
for families with young children.
Mishkan Chicago, Going
Broad Going Deep, supports expansion of lay and professional
leadership opportunities, creates the Neighborhood Captain program, increases
programming outside the Lakeview neighborhood, and expands worship
opportunities, volunteer involvement, classes, and workshops.
UpStart Lab: Chicago, will establish a network of
support for approximately 20 local Jewish project leaders; provide R&D
assistance to 6-10 emerging Jewish social entrepreneurs; and model
"intrapraneurship" opportunities in Chicago's mature Jewish communal
organizations.
URJ NFTY, willpilot
a collaborative leadership training weekend retreat that brings together high
school leaders and youth workers from USY, BBYO, NCSY, JSC, and NFTY to grow
leadership skills and knowledge of relational Judaism, community organizing,
and experiential and Israel education.
The remaining seven
programs focus on local human needs:
CJE Senior Life: A
Medication Abuse and Misuse Measure, will create the first ever
validated assessment tool to identify medication abuse and misuse by older
adults.
CJE Senior Life: Art in the Moment,
creates four Jewish-themed Art in the Moment modules for CJE's
existing mobile app, increasing opportunities for older adults with dementia
and their caregivers to engage around Jewish holidays and culture.
Hire U, a collaboration between the Jewish United
Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago’s Campus Affairs & Student
Engagement department and Jewish Vocational Service, plans and pilots a career
curriculum geared toward metro Chicago and University of Illinois college
students, including workshops and one-on-one counseling, focus groups,
research, and analysis.
Jewish Child and Family
Services: Synagogue-Community Partnership, expands
JCFS' successful model to the Lakeview neighborhood and west suburban
Naperville, deploying JCFS staff to local Jewish sites and bringing social and
support services, consultation, information/referral, and educational
programming to community members.
Jewish Child and
Family Services: Jewish Center for Addiction will work
with Response to implement youth prevention and support programs in a Jewish
context, including educational programs, individualized case management and
referral, support groups, and recovery retreats for youth and young adults in
recovery.
Jewish Vocational Service: Customized
Employment Planning Initiative, provides training, program
design, community engagement, resource development, and evaluation to create a
pilot program to offer customized employment assistance to individuals with
intellectual/developmental disabilities.
Yozma: A Gap
Year in Israel, provides support for this nascent gap year
program in Israel for young adults with neurobehavioral differences (including
learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, depression, etc.), to finish
developing its business plan and launch a pilot with Nativ in Fall 2015 for 5-8
participants.
For more information about the Breakthrough
Fund or to learn how you can apply to be a future recipient of a Breakthrough
Fund grant, contact Sarah Follmer, Senior Planning Associate, Strategic
Partnerships at (312) 357-4547, email SarahFollmer@JUF.org or visit
www.juf.org/grants/breakthrough.aspx.
