Natan has announced the awarding of over $950,000 to 47 emerging nonprofit organizations and individuals around the world that are working to strengthen the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

Information on all of the 2011 Grants is available on the grants page of the Natan website.

Natan has also announced three important changes to their grant areas for the 2012 Grants cycle:

1. They are adding a new grant area, to support cutting-edge Jewish New Media projects. More information on the specific focus of that committee will be forthcoming soon. Gary Rosenblatt of The Jewish Week discussed the launch event for this new committee in his latest column.
2. To augment the existing national Natan/Birthright Israel NEXT Grants for Social Entrepreneurs program, Natan is piloting a local iteration of these grants in the Washington, DC area. The deadline for these grants is February 17, 2011; additional information is available on the Birthright Israel website.
3. Natan is also launching an ongoing community service program for Natan members and their families in partnership with the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, which will be replacing the Economic Empowerment of Jews in North America grant area.

Next month, Natan will make available the public Requests for Proposals for 2012 Grants in their five major grant areas: Advancing Inclusiveness, Economic Development in Israel, Emerging Models of Jewish Connection, Jewish Peoplehood and New Media. Additional information is available here.

And finally, here’s a little bit more on Natan’s 2011 Grants:

• Over the course of 2010, Natan members reviewed over 200 applications from new applicants and returning grantee organizations across Natan’s 8 grant areas.
• 77 of those organizations made it to the finalist round of their respective application processes, and at the end of the year, Natan awarded 46 grants to 47 organizations.
• 15 organizations and individuals are first-time Natan grantees. (Natan supports individuals through the Natan/Birthright Israel NEXT Grants for Social Entrepreneurs.)
• 32 organizations are returning grantees.
• 16 organizations are based in Israel.
• For the first time, Natan is supporting programs in Sweden (Paideia’s Project Incubator) and in Canada (Toronto’s Makom and Shoresh).
• 6 grants are for specific programs; the rest are for general operating support.
• 6 grants are to organizations that operate almost entirely online.