Introducing the Slingshot Class of 2017
Slingshot has released Slingshot ‘17 – a collection of some of the most forward-thinking organizations found in Jewish life today. They offer us a hopeful snapshot of Jewish life in these unprecedented times. Organizations included in this year’s class were evaluated on their innovative approach, the impact they have in their work, the leadership they have in their sector and their effectiveness at achieving results.
In the Guide’s introduction, Stefanie Rhodes – Slingshot‘s Executive Director – writes: “This year’s guide brings optimism to the communal conversation in this moment, giving us pause to celebrate the important and impactful work that fills the pages of this book. We believe that it is from the incredible organizations within this guide that some of the most important responses to today’s challenges will emerge.
There is little debate that the world is changing at a furious pace. The funders and innovators we’ve spoken with on all points of the political spectrum see this as an important moment in the history of our people. We are all wrestling with how we can effect change through our work and what that change should look like now. One thing is certain: Our new reality will demand even more innovation in Jewish life and beyond, requiring us all to be more welcoming, collaborative, persistent, and innovative than ever before. This guide offers one way of understanding how we might rise to the challenge.”
This year Slingshot also published two regional editions: the Bay Area and Los Angeles. The projects selected each create positive local impact in and around their home communities. The Bay Area edition was generously supported by the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, The Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties and Josh Joseph. And the Los Angeles edition was generously supported by Courtney Mizel, Alexandra Shabtai of the Diane and Guilford Glazer Philanthropies, Simone Friedman of the Emmanuel J. Friedman Philanthropies, and the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles.
To download PDFs of the guides or order print copies, visit: www.slingshotfund.org/order
Twelve Years of Slingshot
Twelve years ago, Slingshot was created by and for next-generation funders in response to a need. A group of young inheritors of wealth emerged from Grand Street, a next-gen network run by 21/64. They had a clear sense of the change they wanted to make in the world but needed a tool to help them navigate the Jewish landscape. They set out to create a resource to find the most cutting-edge, innovative programs. With support from the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies and the leadership of Sharna Goldseker, Slingshot was born. At the time, the creation of the guide sought to expand the boundaries of Jewish life to encourage innovation. Today that vision resonates in a whole new way.
This year, Slingshot adopted a new definition of innovation, understanding it is a mode of operating, of finding new ways to create impact. With recognition that the field has expanded beyond a one-size-fits-all approach, Slingshot introduced life-cycle stages into the process, overhauling the application and evaluation methodology, examining what innovation looks like from start-ups to mezzanine and legacy institutions.
This year’s Slingshot 50
followed by the two regional editions
(in alphabetical order)
70 Faces Media
Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice
BimBam
Boy to Mentsch
Challah for Hunger
Coastal Roots Farm
The Contemporary Jewish Museum
Don’t Kvetch, Organize!
Eden Village Camp
Footsteps
Gateways: Access to Jewish Education
Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life
Hazon
Hidden Sparks
Honeymoon Israel
IKAR
jBaby Chicago
Jenerator
Jewish Kids Groups
The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance
Judaism Your Way
Keshet
Lab/Shul
Leading Edge Alliance
Lookstein Virtual Jewish Academy
Luria Academy of Brooklyn
Matan
Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community Mikveh and Paula Brody & Family Education Center
Mishkan Chicago
Moishe House
OneTable
Orot: Center for New Jewish Learning
Partners in Prevention
Persian Pride @ JQ International
PJ Library
Project Zug
Sefaria
Shalom Task Force
Sharsheret
Shoresh’s Community-Supported Beekeeping Initiative
Silverlake Independent Jewish Community Center
Sixth & I
SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva
theatre dybbuk
Tivnu Gap Year
Urban Adamah
The Well
Wilderness Torah
Yeshivat Maharat
YidLife Crisis
Bay Area Edition
At The Well
Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice
BimBam
The Contemporary Jewish Museum
Grow Justice: Fight Hunger
Honeymoon Israel
InterfaithFamily
Jenerator
Jewish Film Institute
Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation
The Jewish Studio Project
Jewish Youth for Community Action (JYCA)
JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa
JLens Investor Network
Keshet, Inc.
Kevah
Moishe House
OneTable
Reboot
Shalom Bayit
Urban Adamah
Wilderness Torah
Los Angeles Edition
30 Years After
Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice
Challah for Hunger
Eshel
ETTA
Honeymoon Israel
IKAR
InterfaithFamily
Jewish Divorce Assistance Center of Los Angeles (JDAC)
KAHAL: Your Jewish Home Abroad
The Miracle Project
Moishe House
Moving Traditions
Netiya
NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change
NuRoots
Open Temple
Partners in Prevention
Persian Pride @ JQ International
Reboot
The Righteous Conversations Project
The Sanctuary@Pico Union
Sharsheret
Silverlake Independent Jewish Community Center
theatre dybbuk
YidLife Crisis