The Clore Duffield Foundation and the JCC for London today announced 14 awards – totaling £94,570 – to support innovative Jewish activity outside of London.

Sparks: The Clore Jewish Development Fund, a national initiative created by the Clore Duffield Foundation and administered by the JCC for London, was launched in January 2007, to support Jewish communities outside of London. The Foundation is the founder of the JCC for London, a non-religious community centre inspired by similar centers in the USA and Europe. Sparks celebrates the creation of the capital’s first JCC and mirrors its ambitions and ethos.

The 14 projects span education, outreach, regeneration, youth work and capacity building. The successful projects reflect the diversity of activity within the Jewish community in the UK across both rural and urban settings and denominational boundaries. Applications were attracted from across the country – from East Anglia to Liverpool, from Bristol to Glasgow. In this round, the Fund is supporting a wide range of programs including a month-long interfaith music, dance and song festival with MUJU, a film making workshop for young people in Liverpool, regional social action events with Mitzvah Day, and a youth leadership and capacity building program being run in Leeds.

Applications this year showed a flair for creative social action and outreach projects and demonstrated a clear understanding of the impact on a chosen local Jewish community. They were inclusive in nature and focused on innovative ways to strengthen and enrich regional Jewish life. Nick Viner, Panel member and CEO for JCC for London said: “The panel was pleased to make awards to 14 excellent projects from a very strong and varied field. I’m delighted that the JCC has been able to participate in Sparks, helping communities outside London develop innovative Jewish activity just as we aspire to do in London.”

Panel member, Baroness Neuberger DBE talked further about how the fund is making a difference: “Sparks awards give Jews around Britain and their organisations a chance to do innovative, fun things. Being a part of the judging panel gives one an insight into just how rich Jewish life is around the country, and how much people are doing that is inspirational”.

Sparks: The Clore Jewish Development Fund will support projects totaling up to £100,000 each year with a maximum grant of £20,000 available per project. A full list of the grants awarded is available on the JCC for London’s Website. The Fund will be open to applications for Round 4 from January 2010 and will close in late April 2010.