The Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles (The Foundation) has announced $2 million in grants to seven innovative, local initiatives focused on transforming Jewish Los Angeles.

This year’s Cutting Edge Grant recipients will receive multi-year seed funding to address the critical needs of a diverse Jewish community and beyond, that includes: increasing support for mental health and wellness services for college students; investing in young women’s professional development; empowering LGBTQ+ and individuals with special needs as leaders; and building opportunities for faith communities to address the homelessness epidemic in Los Angeles, among others.

Recipients of 2019 Cutting Edge Grants include:

• Community Legal Aid SoCal in partnership with the Jewish Divorce Assistance Center for Safe and Healthy Jewish Families Project
• Jewish Graduate Student Initiative for Jewish Executive Women’s Leadership
• RespectAbility for Project Moses: LA Jewish Leaders with Disabilities Program
• Safe Parking LA for Jewish Community Safe Lots
• SVARA for SVARA Los Angeles
• Trybal Gatherings for Trybal Gatherings LA
• USC Hillel for The Bradley Sonnenberg Wellness Initiative

Community Legal Aid SoCal in partnership with the Jewish Divorce Assistance Center for Safe and Healthy Jewish Families Project will receive $300,000 over three years to provide supportive services, protective orders, and civil and religious divorce assistance to Jewish survivors of abuse, helping survivors and their families leave abusive situations.

Jewish Graduate Student Initiative for Jewish Executive Women’s Leadership will receive $270,000 over five years to empower female Jewish graduate students and young professionals by building an innovative leadership program, exclusively by women and for women, that includes mentorship, leadership training, education, and community service.

RespectAbility for Project Moses: LA Jewish Leaders with Disabilities Program will receive $300,000 over three years to mentor and empower college-educated Jewish individuals with disabilities to serve in leadership positions at Jewish organizations, and train Jewish organizations on inclusive organizational practices, ensuring that all Jews’ voices are represented and heard in the Los Angeles Jewish nonprofit community.

Safe Parking LA for Jewish Community Safe Lots will receive $300,000 over three years to engage synagogues and their members in providing safe parking options and supportive services for individuals living in their vehicles, deepening the importance of social justice work within the Jewish community while combating homelessness in Los Angeles.

SVARA for SVARA Los Angeleswill receive $260,000 over three years to launch the first queer-focused Talmud learning program in Los Angeles for the queer community and allies. SVARA’s immersive learning experiences will strengthen and empower the next generation of Jewish leaders and scholars.

Trybal Gatherings for Trybal Gatherings LA will receive $270,000 over three years to provide immersive overnight Jewish camp experiences in Los Angeles for Jews in their 20s and 30s, reaching disconnected young adults and building a pipeline to ongoing Jewish communal involvement.

USC Hillel for The Bradley Sonnenberg Wellness Initiative will receive $300,000 over three years to support one of the first Hillels in the country to launch a health and wellness program that will provide Jewish college students with mental health services, wellness workshops, and individualized counseling and support. The program is intended to decrease mental health crises among Jewish students and increase the number of unaffiliated Jewish students who come to Hillel as a result.