Slingshot present’s the seventh annual edition of Slingshot: A Resource Guide for Jewish Innovation, featuring 50 inspirational organizations in Jewish life in North America; and for the first time ever, 10 projects which have helped define Slingshot for the past seven years.
While many lament the changing nature of Jewish life and long with nostalgia for a simpler time of more automatic Jewish unity, Slingshot celebrates the relative peace and prosperity that Jews enjoy in the United States and Canada while highlighting those organizations that work to ensure that Jewish life isn’t left behind as the world moves forward.
While Slingshot ’11-’12 may be optimistic, don’t allow its self-confident portrayal of Jewish identity to mask the concern of the social entrepreneurs, start-up organizations and seed-stage funders showcased within. They all have projects on the horizon and are worried about where to find more funding. Nobody knows if even the most innovative idea can find long-term sustainability, as evidenced this year by the closing of JDub, the ultimate next generation social entrepreneurial platform. After sustaining innovation and impact for years, JDub has recently forced to close its doors due to lack of support. Rather than taking granted that someone else is funding next generation engagement, Jewish continuity, or whatever other name you want to give our community’s continued vibrancy, let Slingshot ’11-’12 inspire you to get involved with at least one organization …
Will Schneider, Slingshot’s Executive Director writing in the introduction
Here’s this year’s 10 Standard Bearers followed by the Slingshot 50 (all in alphabetical order):
- Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community
- Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life
- Hazon
- IKAR
- InterfaithFamily.com, Inc.
- Jewish Funds For Justice
- Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community Mikveh and Education Center, Inc.
- Mechon Hadar
- Reboot
- Sharsheret
- ACCESS – AJC’s new generation program
- BBYO Panim Institute
- Be’chol Lashon
- Bible Raps
- The Bronfman Youth Fellowships Alumni Venture Fund
- Center Without Walls
- Challah for Hunger
- Diarna: Mapping Mizrahi Heritage
- Eden Village Camp
- Encounter
- Gateways – Access to Jewish Education
- G-dcast
- Haggadot.com
- Hebrew SeniorLife Chaplaincy Institute
- Hidden Sparks
- Hillel’s Campus Entrepreneur & Senior Jewish Educator Initiative
- Institute for Curriculum Services: National Resources Center for Accurate Jewish Content in Schools
- Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues
- Jewish Community Action – Foreclosure Prevention
- The Jewish Education Project
- Jewish Heart for Africa
- Jewish Meditation Center of Brooklyn
- Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation
- Jewish Rock Radio
- Jewish Teen Funders Network
- Judaism Your Way
- The Kavana Cooperative
- Kavanah Garden, Shoresh Jewish Environmental Programs
- Kayam Farm at the Pearlstone Conference & Retreat Center
- Keshet
- Matan – For Every Child. For Every Community. The Gift of Jewish Learning.
- Moishe House
- Moving Traditions
- MyJewishLearning.com
- Nehirim: GLBT Jewish Culture and Spirituality
- OurJewishCommunity.org
- The PresenTense Group
- Project Chessed
- Rabbis for Human Rights-North America
- Repair the World
- Rimon: The Minnesota Jewish Arts Council
- Rose Youth Foundation, an initiative of Rose Community Foundation
- Seeds of Peace, Inc.
- Shalom Hartman Institute of North America
- Shalom Sesame/Sesame Workshop
- Six Points Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Artists
- Teva Learning Alliance
- TORCH
- Uri L’Tzedek
- Wilderness Torah
Slingshot seems to have a strong ideological agenda. There is not one mainstream Orthodox group. None of the innovation going on in the traditional community is recognized or encouraged. Seems that while Slingshot wants to spark innovation in the Jewish community, it is only in one segment of the community.
I agree with the previous poster about the lack of diversity in this list.
I also think that the omission of NewCAJE in the top 50 is a serious oversight. NewCAJE has nurtured educational innovation throughout the world for many years. It deserves to be highly publicized for its incredible projects, programs and members!
I disagree with first two posts. The point is innovation. More traditional and orthodox communities represent the antitheses of innovation and they like it that way. So why should they appear in a list of most innovative groups?
There is ton’s of innovation in the orthodox community. As a Chabad Shliach i see this daily. Many of our programs are on the cutting edge, on the web, youth program, Friendship Circle, JLI-The Jewish Learning Institute etc. etc.
The point is if Slingshot wants to portray itself as a mainstream Jewish group it must reflect the diversity in the Jewish community. Sadly it seems its like many other liberal groups diversity is only focused in one direction, toward the left end end of the community.
I disagree with the comment that there are no Orthodox groups represented. Uri L’Tzedek is run by orthodox Rabbis and rabbinic students. Eden Village is a shomer shabbat and shomer kashrut organization; encounter has many orthodox participants. Be open and patience chaverimm
This is an interesting list but how relevant is it? As others have noted, there is a decided absence of Orthodox affiliated organizations. Surely someone in that world must be doing something that is both traditional and innovative? But that’s not even the most pertinent thing about the guide. First of all, everyone in the sector already knows who the relevant players in the field are. Slingshot was originally meant to showcase emerging projects, it was supposed to act as a sort of hechsher – the organizations and projects included were vetted and presented as worthy of philanthropic consideration. But the miserable failure of JDub demonstrates that less relevant considerations are weighed for inclusion in the guide. Is it the level of innovation? Impact? Or is it something else? Many of the organizations cited are certainly worthy – no doubt about it – others are clearly there because the people behind Slingshot want them to succeed, desperately want them to have an impact because they promote an ideological perspective on Judaism that they support. The fact that these organizations are smoke and mirrors with little actual impact in the greater Jewish world, like JDub was, is irrelevant. There is an agenda that is being promoted here and it has little or nothing to do with actual innovation.
Irrespective of the foregoing comments, I’d like to congratulate the entire 2011 – 2012 Class, and in particular Eden Village Camp. Having worked briefly with Yoni & Vivian – their success and their being honored in this manner provides a sense of pride and satisfaction that their mission is being accomplished. I cannot make any comment concerning the camp’s relationship within its faith community, but I do recognize dedicated individuals, with highly developed morals, and ethical behavior who are serving well as caring examples to the youth they they serve. – “Well done, Yoni!”
May you be blessed with
Health , Happiness , Prosperity , and
Peace !
Faithfully Yours.,
B’Shalom ,
Rabbi Frank