Dear friends,
The present crises has created an overwhelming and unprecedented need for Emergency Funding to provide services for Vulnerable Jewish Populations, including: the Elderly, Poor, Children at Risk, Abuse Victims, Cancer Patients, and of course those who are suddenly ill and/or have lost their jobs.
In these challenging times, when for the next 3-4 months philanthropists, foundations and organizations must refocus their giving and budgets to support areas that in some cases have been secondary to our commitment to Jewish Engagement, Education, Supporting College Students, Combatting BDS and the sudden rise in Anti-Semitism, all of which will be critical once the crises has subsided … and it will.
The Center for Entrepreneurial Jewish Philanthropy is therefore putting out a request for proposals from organizations that are serving Vulnerable Jewish Populations and need additional, one-time, emergency funding. We will also consider programs that serve all populations in Israel.
While we are not a foundation which allocates money, we do advise philanthropists and foundations, and will be hosting a number of Video Summits for funders to highlight the needs. We are also considering posting proposals online should the selected organizations approve.
Please review the enclosed application which will explain the process. You will need to click the above link to download the file and look to the appropriate location on your computer to retrieve the file. (If you have difficulty downloading the application, email the address below).
The deadline is this Monday, March 30th at 5pm EDT. If you submit after the deadline we may not be able to consider your request. Submissions should be sent to CEJP@optonline.net. (We will not be able to consider request that do not use our application.)
One important disclaimer. The stock market crash and sudden economic downturn are very real, and this is an enormously ambitious plan. We are deeply committed to helping you, but these are unprecedented and fluid times. Please be understanding of us as we navigate these unchartered waters.
May G-d help keep you and your family safe and May we help and protect the vulnerable during these trying times.
The Board of the Center for Entrepreneurial Jewish Philanthropy
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While I get and admire the intention behind this RFP, it is not a good idea to raise expectations at this time. The penultimate paragraph as much as says we have no idea what we can do.
No grant amount ranges given, no overall pool of money set aside. Hundreds of grantees will spend a lot of time completing information. More detail is needed, please. Otherwise a lot of good people are going to be wasting time better spent serving their constituents.
Dear Anonymous,
As the President of CEJP, I completely agree with you and it was our intention to lay low at the beginning of the crises and only advise the philanthropists who contacted us.
But we received a lot of calls from organizations and philanthropists who wanted and needed help. So our board met and created an Emergency Action Plan.
In the past four days, we facilitated a $70,000 gift to support the Italian Jewish Communities in Milan and Rome. We have trained 300 organizations on how to manage the crises; held three advisory calls with 50 major philanthropists and foundations; put out a Request for Funding that will enable us to identify and vet 150 important projects focusing on Vulnerable Jewish Populations. CEJP will be hosting three Video Summits for all funders; and G-d willing put at least 100 projects on-line.
I am scared that we are going very public and may fail.
But our tradition teaches us that “(S)he who saves one life saves an entire world.” And “It is not your responsibility to complete the task, but to begin it.”
I appreciate your concern; it shows how much you care. I know how much respect you have, my friend, with major funders and will share our summits and giving vehicles with your peers. I want to thank you in advance for your help. We need your and everyone’s help.
I believe that my community would benefit, but I only saw this information today, which means that I have less than a day to fill out any forms. Can there be an extension?
I so appreciate the effort. But requesting a proposal with a turnaround of 4 days, that includes an entire modified agency budget? Unreasonable. And impossible.
I agree that the quick turnaround is a problem. It’s not just that they expect completed applications in 4 days, but also that they posted this on a Thursday night and expected Jewish organizations to work over Shabbat to submit it by Monday.
To those leaving comments, the entire application is five pages long. It doesn’t require audited verification, doesn’t expect perfection, and was set up as the quickest way to try to aggregate and standardize a very difficult process. If an organization is serious about responding in this moment, turning around 5 pages (most of which is pre-populated or formatted) is not at ALL an unrealistic expectation. Aren’t most organizations doing exactly the same thing with the SBA PPP application, anyway?
Serious leaders respond in serious moments. Thank you, Joseph, for your leadership.