By Lindsey Bodner In September 2018, the first group of one-and-a-half to three year-old kids began attending Olam Katan. I started this drop off playgroup because there are no reasonably priced, pedagogically sound Jewish programs in our Lower East Side neighborhood in Manhattan, and I feel strongly about my son receiving a quality Jewish early childhood educational experience that reflects my family’s values. As a parent, I wanted to … [Read more...] about Thinking Big and Funding Small: Models for Making Jewish Education Affordable
Jewish Philanthropy
The Messenger Who Can’t Speak (Pesach 5779)
By Andrés Spokoiny Do you think that leaders who are assertive, self-assured, speak clearly, and “call a spade a spade” are better leaders? Think twice. Harvard professor and author Steven Pinker shows that there’s a direct correlation between simplicity of speech and violence. He researched something called “integrative complexity,” which captures the sense of intellectual balance, nuance, and sophistication people’s speech, especially … [Read more...] about The Messenger Who Can’t Speak (Pesach 5779)
Deena Fuchs Joins Jewish Funders Network as Executive Vice President
Deena K. Fuchs will join Jewish Funders Network to inaugurate the new role of Executive Vice President. In partnership with JFN President & CEO Andrés Spokoiny, Deena will help JFN to grow and transform as the organization seeks to enhance its role as a catalyst for partnerships and coalitions in the Jewish philanthropic world. Deena comes to JFN with nearly 20 years working in the philanthropic community, most recently as the Senior … [Read more...] about Deena Fuchs Joins Jewish Funders Network as Executive Vice President
Serving as Leaders for the Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative
By Melanie Schneider and Brian Jaffee As the Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative continues the work that started in 2013, we are excited about the advances we see in the field. More communities have more resources to offer, in an increasingly diverse, supportive, and genuinely creative field - which leads to more offerings to engage teens in meaningful Jewish life. The Funder Collaborative - made up of ten communities and … [Read more...] about Serving as Leaders for the Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative
Lessons from a Decade of “Capacity Building”
By Yossi Prager More than ten years ago, AVI CHAI received a report from Professor Joel Fleishman recommending best practices for spend-down foundations. One recommendation was that AVI CHAI invests ambitiously in building the organizational strength of our key grantees, including helping them plan for long-term financial sustainability. We took the advice and incorporated capacity building as a core element of our spend-down strategy. Our … [Read more...] about Lessons from a Decade of “Capacity Building”
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