The Partnership for Effective Learning and Innovative Education (PELIE) has developed and is funding “Forum for Action,” an opportunity for groups or individuals interested in improving complementary Jewish education to create conferences during which they will discuss their own topics of interest and create action plans. PELIE will fund two of these conferences a year.

Among the goals of Forum for Action is to foster discussion about complementary Jewish education (broadly defined as synagogue schools, homeschuling, Shabbaton retreats, online learning, community programs and the like) and gain the insights of experts and lay leaders from inside and outside the Jewish community around issues and ideas that are challenging the field today.

In offering the grants, PELIE’s goal is to provide financial assistance that will enable people to gather, share and cultivate ideas, without mandating what those ideas should be. The Forum for Action was designed to spark deep action-oriented conversations surrounding issues that are of major concern to the applicant(s) and have implications for complementary Jewish education. Ideal conference topics will resonate beyond individual institutions, benefit from diverse input from both Jewish and non-Jewish sources, not have been discussed at other major venues, and be actionable for both conference participants and conference organizers.

Ideal conference topics will center around complementary Jewish education for children between kindergarten and eighth grade in North America; benefit from diverse input from both Jewish and non-Jewish sources; be topics that have not been convened in other venues; be actionable, for both conference participants and conference organizers.

Funding is available for individuals 18 and older, nonprofits (501c3), or for-profit businesses. Joint applications for collaborative efforts are welcomed and encouraged.

Download the application form here. All applications must be submitted electronically to araub@pelie.org by June 22, 2011. PELIE will review all applications and notify applicants if they have been chosen by July 6, 2011. The Forum should be held within the following eight months of the award and applicants can suggest conference locations. For questions, please contact info@pelie.org.

PELIE will be accepting applications for the next Forum for Action starting October 5 with a deadline of November 3. Announcements will be made December 1 for a Forum to be held within the following eight months.