Jewish Funders Network awarded the 2018 Shapiro Prize for Excellence in Philanthropic Collaboration to the Social Venture Fund for Jewish-Arab Equality and Shared Society (SVF). The honor recognizes the Social Venture Fund as a collaborative and structured partnership of more than twenty funders from the United States and Israel. The fund has collectively allocated nearly $8 million to address one of the most important and sensitive issues affecting the future of Israel.
Founded in 2008, the SVF includes a mix of Federations, private foundations, and individual donors working and learning together. With all participants making substantially equivalent contributions and having an equal voice in all decisions, the SVF has developed a participatory and collaborative process that has dramatically amplified the impact of its participants’ philanthropy. Its open and transparent allocations process, guided by a clear overall vision and mission, has allowed the SVF to continually attract new partners to support efforts to create a truly equal and inclusive shared society in Israel.
“What makes the SVF partnership successful is how different funders, with a broad range of political and policy perspectives, have come together to form a harmonious ensemble,” says Wendy Rudolph, co-chair of the Social Venture Fund. “We share an overarching commitment to the mission of building shared society, but within that mission, each of the partners is actively engaged in shaping the planning, allocations, and evaluation that are the nitty-gritty work of good philanthropy. We know that we make better decisions when we listen to and learn from each other – rather than just following any one voice.”
The Social Venture Fund’s current partners include: Alan B. Slifka Foundation, Alisa and Dan Doctoroff, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Diane and Guilford Glazer Family Philanthropies, Diane and Norman Bernstein Foundation, Fohs Foundation, Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest, Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, DC, Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation, Robert and Joshua Arnow, The Klarman Family Foundation, The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, The Morningstar Foundation, The Moses Feldman Family Foundation, The Nathan Cummings Foundation, Thomases Family Endowment of Youngstown, Ohio, Wendy S. Rudolph, Gandyr Foundation, The Schocken Foundation, the Rothschild Caesarea Foundation, and UJA-Federation of New York.
The Shapiro Prize, awarded biennially by Jewish Funders Network, recognizes alliances of forward-thinking Jewish funders who collaborate to have an impact in their chosen fields of interest. It was established in honor of a JFN founding board member, Sidney Shapiro, who died in 2007, and who was regarded as one of the leading lights of American Jewish philanthropy. Among his many endeavors, he served as executive director of the Boston-based Levinson Foundation, and was a funder for Lilith magazine and the Coalition for Alternatives in Jewish Education. An award with Shapiro’s name has been given by JFN since 1997. The prize was formerly called the Sidney Shapiro Tzedakah Award.
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Mr. Cohen says
March 13, 2018 at 8:00 pmThere can be no doubt that the JFN and SFV
have good intentions. However:
The more Israeli-Arabs successfully compete against
Israeli-Jews for high-paying jobs in Israel, the more
Israeli-Jews get pushed-down economically
and feel compelled to leave Israel.
By funding “Jewish-Arab Equality”, you are funding programs
that indirectly push Jews out-of-Israel and into the Diaspora.
When Jews lived in Arab lands, they were NOT granted equality.
Jews in Arab lands were: persecuted, humiliated, discriminated
against, impoverished and forced to convert to Islam.
Jordan Goodman says
March 13, 2018 at 9:31 pmShalom Mr. Cohen,
You wrote: “When Jews lived in Arab lands, they were NOT granted equality.
Jews in Arab lands were: persecuted, humiliated, discriminated
against, impoverished and forced to convert to Islam.”
Correct and your inference is that Israel ought to behave similarly. Since when did Hillel teach, “what is hateful to you, do to another?”
Biv’racha,
Jordan
Mr. Cohen says
March 13, 2018 at 11:52 pmDear Jordan Goodman,
I always enjoy reading your comments on this web site,
because they are always thoughtful and logical and accurate.
I consider you to be one of the most intelligent people
on this web site, and I consider myself to be one of your fans.
If you re-read my message carefully, you will see that
I NEVER said that Israeli-Arabs should be
persecuted or humiliated; I simply want them to
NOT RECEIVE charitable donations from Jews,
for these five reasons:
One reason why I want Israeli-Arabs to not receive charitable donations from Jews is because Jewish law and tradition demand that Jewish charitable donations be made to Jews.
A second reason why I want Israeli-Arabs to not receive charitable donations from Jews is because “Palestinians” are already receiving: billions of dollars annually from the United Nations, plus billions of dollars annually from the EU, plus billions of dollars annually from the Arabs, plus billions of dollars annually from Japan, plus billions of dollars annually from the USA.
A third reason why I want Israeli-Arabs to not receive charitable donations from Jews is because it indirectly pushes Israeli-Jews out-of-Israel (as I explained in my previous comment) so Israeli-Jews and their descendants can spend the rest of their lives in the Diaspora.
A fourth reason why I want Israeli-Arabs to not receive charitable donations from Jews is because Arab hatred against Jews is NOT caused by poverty; it is caused by many anti-Jewish statements in Islam’s most sacred books (Koran and the Hadiths). Giving money to Israeli-Arabs and/or “Palestinians” will not reduce their hatred of Jews or their desire to destroy Israel.
A fifth reason why I want Israeli-Arabs to not receive charitable donations from Jews is because Arabs will misinterpret this as meaning that Jews feel guilty for having “stolen” their land from them, which just reinforces their determination to destroy Israel.
Notice that I didn’t even mention the fact that many
Israeli-Arabs already have Jewish blood on their hands.
May G_d grant all Jews a very happy and very kosher Passover.
Sincerely,
Mr. Cohen
Yaela says
March 14, 2018 at 12:40 am(1) no it doesn’t. Don’t confuse heiter with issur.
(2) no they’re not. Don’t confuse numbers.
(3) no it doesn’t. Don’t be ridiculous.
(4) giving money to ANYONE doesn’t reduce hatred. But that’s not why you should do it. If you see a starving child do you refuse to help because the parents hate you? You do know what Halacha says about that approach, don’t you? (Clue: it’s not complimentary)
(5) no they won’t. Don’t confuse your insecurities with objective reality.
Editor says
March 14, 2018 at 3:06 amLet’s stay on topic – which is the JNF award. You’ve been vocal for years Mr. Cohen that you don’t like Jewish money going to Israeli Arabs. That’s your perogative. You’ve shared your opinion; time to move on.