Launching a new kind of “GivingTuesday,” more than 30 progressive Jewish organizations will participate in a national fundraising day for affiliates of the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable later this month.

The Roundtable, a network of Jewish social justice organizations across the country, consists primarily of Jewish organizations focused on domestic causes. The event, to be called “Jewish Justice Giving Day,” is scheduled on Wednesday, Feb, 26, two days before Shabbat Shekalim, in which Parashat Ki Tisa is read, marking the annual contribution of half a shekel made by male Jews to support upkeep of the Tabernacle. 

The day aims to center fundraising for organizations focused on Jewish social justice efforts, with over 30 member organizations of the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable participating in the event, according to the Roundtable’s website. “On Shabbat Shekalim, we recall that our ancestors were asked to contribute half of a Biblical shekel to meet the needs of the community as a whole. On Jewish Justice Giving Day, we act on our tradition of tzedakah (giving) as one way of supporting justice work,” said a statement on the site. 

Participants will include HIAS, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Keshet, Moving Traditions, the Network of Jewish Human Services Agencies, and 28 other organizations —-  local and national — within the network. Originally thought up by Mazon: a Jewish Response to Hunger, in September, the day was planned by a committee consisting of members of the American Jewish World Service, Avodah, Jewtina y Co, Kirva, Mazon, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and Jewish Social Justice Roundtable. 

According to Naama Haviv, vice president of community engagement for Mazon, the day, which will continue annually, was organized in an effort to raise funds for Jewish nonprofits focused on domestic causes. 

“We know there are funders that support multiple social justice organizations, and do so through a Jewish lens. So we wanted them to have the opportunity to amplify the day and the sector as a whole,” Haviv told eJewishPhilanthropy. 

According to Haviv, Mazon and many other organizations within the roundtable have felt the impact of focus shifting away from their work in the wake of Oct. 7 and rising antisemitism around the globe. 

“We wanted the opportunity to draw attention back to that aspect of the American Jewish community, this deep caring that American Jews have for the country in which they live,” Haviv told eJP. “That’s really what Jewish social justice work helps us to represent.”