The Institute for Jewish Spirituality is piloting a series of programs for Jewish leaders focused on dismantling antisemitism in response to current events that have activated the deep, largely unconscious wounds of Jewish intergenerational trauma. This programming recognizes an opportunity to 1) help Jews understand how trauma and fear shape our communal responses and 2) foster Jewish resilience that is self-aware, rather than defensive. While responding to an urgent need, IJS is designing for cultural change that extends beyond the immediacy of this moment.
Nearly one in eight American Jews lives in a small town, yet nearly all large Jewish institutions and funders concentrate their work in major cities, effectively overlooking roughly 1,000,000 Jews (and growing). The Center for Small Town Jewish Life is changing that by shining a light on the unique vibrancy and needs of Jewish life outside of urban centers and helping small town Jewish congregations develop the skills required to thrive. With RPF’s support they will hire a communications team and strategically develop the voice of the Center and its Director, Rabbi Rachel Isaacs.
Concerned about the level of burnout and attrition among leaders in the Jewish community and nonprofit sector, R&R provides funding, thought leadership, consulting, and training to nonprofits and their leaders so that they can take planful sabbaticals. R&R’s programs focus on supporting and implementing research-based methods geared toward making organizations more effective, resilient, and sustainable – all of which is critical given the numerous, often compounding issues Jewish nonprofits seek to address. Examples of R&R’s work include investing in sabbaticals for leaders, including the development of new policies and practices, implementing organizational-wide break weeks for rest and rejuvenation, and conducting training on the connection between rest and sustainability for nonprofit leaders and managers.
Avodah’s Jewish Service Corps provides leadership development training to young Jews (aged 21-26) across Chicago, New York City, New Orleans, and Washington, D.C. Service Corps Members live and learn together while spending a year serving at organizations addressing poverty and other social justice issues. The impact is trifold: Avodah’s work placement partners gain dedicated employees who add capacity to their organizations, Service Corps Members build meaningful bonds to each other and the communities they serve, and the broader Jewish community strengthens the pipeline of leaders committed to social justice.
The Lincoln Presidential Foundation is developing a permanent exhibition on Julius Rosenwald, the Jewish philanthropist and executive of Sears, Roebuck & Co. who partnered with Black leaders to build 5,000 schools for Black students throughout the segregated South. The exhibit, physically located in Rosenwald’s childhood home, which is within the 12-acre Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, IL will be the first permanent core exhibit on a Jewish American in the first structure named for a Jewish American in any U.S. National Park Service Unit. The Lincoln Presidential Foundation began this project with an “Inclusive Storytelling Grant” from the National Park Foundation provided to correct or fill gaps in the national narrative presented at National Park sites and funding from RPF will help them
Founded in 2019, Ammud is a Jewish education organization led by and for Jews of Color, giving this growing and racially diverse community a spiritual home that centers their unique needs and lived experiences. Programming includes one-on-one Torah learning, weekly group study sessions, Hebrew lessons, and more. As the broader Jewish community puts more time and attention on diversifying our institutions and the fight for racial justice, spaces like Ammud—where Jews of Color are not called upon to be activists or tokenized but rather simply to gather, pray, and learn together—are increasingly important.
Western States Center (WSC) is a national organization that trains community organizers and equips movements to build a more inclusive democracy. For WSC, this has long meant helping institutions and activists understand the ways in which antisemitism poses a unique threat to democracy, including a commitment to combating antisemitism alongside other forms of hate. With support from RPF, they will expand the team leading the Common Good Fellowship; create more public resources on antisemitism, including an online training course; and work to amplify the voices of past Common Good fellows who are speaking out to counter divide-and-conquer tactics.
With guidance, more parts of the American Jewish community are recognizing that Jews in the U.S. are a multiracial people. This is in large part thanks to the leadership of the Jews of Color Initiative and its CEO, Ilana Kaufman. The Initiative, which we have proudly supported since 2019, conducts research that illuminates the perspectives and experiences of Jews of Color, re-grants funds to projects that center and strengthen the leadership of Jews of Color, and runs in-person programming focused on professional development and community building.