The Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta (JWFA) has issued its 2015 grant allocations to fifteen programs that expand opportunities for Jewish women and girls. The grantees, located both in Atlanta and throughout Israel, share JWFA’s mission to promote social change through a gender lens. Eighty-two JWFA Trustees, all female philanthropists from the greater Atlanta area, participated in the hands-on collective grantmaking experience.

The group awarded the following grants, totaling $100,000:

Legal Education and Outreach for Civil Action Against Get Refusal, Center for Women’s Justice – Intensify the impact of damage suits for get refusal by making them available to all Jewish women in Israel.

Securing Israel’s Future through Employment, IT Works – Raise position of low-income and unemployed women in Yokneam by imparting technological and soft-skills training.

Alma Pre-Army Academy for Women, Jewish Agency for Israel – Offer young Israeli women from social and economically disadvantaged areas access to tools, skills, and strategies to pave the way for upward social and financial mobility.

Interest-Free Loans for Secondary Education, Jewish Educational Loan Fund – Provide Jewish women in Atlanta with last-dollar loans to attain the degree they need to be successful in life.

Shalom Bayit Teen Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative, Jewish Family and Career Services – Increase awareness of teen dating violence in the Jewish community and empower girls and young women in Atlanta to make healthy relationship choices.

Women in Crisis Fund, Jewish Interest Free Loan of Atlanta – Prevent Atlanta’s Jewish single women in temporary financial crisis from losing their independence and give them the capacity to fulfill their potential by providing loans and budgeting skills.

Education on Dating Abuse and Sexual Assault, Jewish Women International – Engage and empower Jewish students at the University of Georgia in meaningful education through in-person workshops, a public awareness campaign, faith-based resources, and a partnership with Hillel and the Jewish Greek organizations.

Cracking the Glass Ceiling, Kol Israel Haverim – Promote young women from underprivileged areas in Israel to scholastic excellence with emphasis on science, math, and technology.

Resetting Jewish Women’s Body & Self Images, Limmud Atlanta & Southeast – Explore historical, cultural, and psychological challenges facing modern Jewish women and girls as they develop a healthy and realistic body image, through a series of facilitated, intergenerational, cross-denominational, and mixed-gender discussions.

Ehete Center, New Israel Fund – Foster economic independence for low-income Ethiopian-Israeli women by providing a cooperative to sell traditional handcrafts, develop their skills, and improve their financial literacy.

Supporting and Empowering Adolescent Girls at Risk, Orr Shalom – Provide adolescent girls who have suffered extreme abuse, violence, and neglect with a safe and loving home in order to help them recover from their traumas and fulfill their personal potential.

FOCUS Program (Finding Occupations, Careers, Universities, Success), Temima, The Richard and Jean Katz High School for Girls – Provide Jewish high school girls with guidance in choosing careers and post-secondary options suited to their interests, skills, and abilities through workshops, testing, and counseling.

Women’s Leadership Development in the Galilee, WEPOWER – Nurture, expand, and promote social activism and social change with a gender lens.

Girls Lead: A Theater-Making Workshop, William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum – Provide Jewish girls in the metro Atlanta area with tools to become authentic, assertive, and self-aware leaders.

Crossing the Street, Women’s Spirit – Provide Israeli female victims of violence with tools to achieve self-reliance and become financially independent and integrate successfully into the job market.