Women’s Alliance Endowment Fund selects annual grants

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Every year, the Women’s Alliance Endowment Fund (WAEF) of the Jewish Federation Foundation at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island seeks proposals for its grants cycle, with priority given to innovative programs and services that benefit Jewish women and girls and have the potential for long-term impact. Educational, civic, cultural, religious, and inter-group programs are considered, as well as services in the health and social services fields.

 

All Rhode Island, Southeastern Massachusetts and overseas Jewish organizations, agencies and synagogues with missions that fall within the purview of the Jewish Alliance are encouraged to participate. 

This year, on May 23 the Women’s Alliance Endowment Fund members gathered for their annual meeting, presided over by outgoing chair Margaret Lederer, to determine local and overseas grants to be made available in the coming fiscal year. Those in attendance had some difficult decisions to make as the 20 proposals (8 local and 12 overseas) received totaled nearly $29,900 in requests, though $7,700 was available to allocate. As a result, some very worthwhile programs will go unfunded. In attendance were incoming co-chairs, mother-daughter pair Diane Ducoff and Michelle Miller.

This year’s grant awards were tightly connected to the WAEF mission. The 11 programs to receive grants this year are compelling initiatives that members of the Women’s Alliance Endowment Fund believe will provide lasting impact and social change for women and girls. This year’s new programs include the Israel Association for Child Protection’s Cyberbullying Prevention for Girls, Congregation Beth David’s Family Friendly Series, and Congregation Mishkon Tfiloh’s Girls Write. Also to be funded are local programs: JCDS’s Girl Power Lunch Program, Congregation Beth Sholom’s Women, Torah, and Leadership Series, and Camp JORI’s professional development workshops. Programs to be funded in Israel are: Dr. Israel Goldstein Youth Village’s Musical Bands, Haifa Rape Crisis Center’s therapy series, Refanah Healing Holidays’ Weekend Getaways for breast cancer patients, Ethiopian National Project’s Girls Holistic Empowerment, and the Israel Center for Maternal Health’s Multi-Risk Mother & Child Therapy Series.

The Jewish Federation Foundation holds the community’s $59M endowment assets including the assets of the WAEF. As of June 30, 2017, the WAEF fund’s value was $163,120. This year’s strategy to grow the fund was successful by recruiting new members and encouraging membership renewals. The committee worked diligently to recruit five new members, and the WAEF now has over 120 participants contributing to the fund.

You can add to the goals of this group by joining the WAEF and participating in the annual grants cycle. Whether in Rhode Island, Israel or around the world, the Women’s Alliance Endowment Fund supports programs and services aiming to make a difference in the lives of women and girls. For more information on joining WAEF, contact Jennifer Zwirn at jzwirn@jewishallianceri.org or ext. 102. 

JENNIFER ZWIRN is director of community development for the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.