From eJewishPhilanthropy:

From eJewishPhilanthropy:

In a seemingly parallel world to the political messes of recent months, a new world is being born right before our eyes: a world born out of the visions of young Jewish social entrepreneurs around the world, over a hundred of which will be launching their ventures this June. So I hereby propose: let us declare June Jewish Innovation Month. If the upcoming events in the month of June go smoothly, the reports of a disconnected, past-tense Federation and JCC system will prove to be unfounded.

Starting on May 31st in Boston, six communities across North America – and five others worldwide – will host a total of eleven Launch Nights to showcase the 117 new Jewish social ventures that PresenTense partners have catalyzed over the past year. These 117 social ventures, in fields as diverse as education, social action, environmental programs and Israel education, will join the 153 community oriented start-ups PresenTense (which, full disclosure, I'm proud to be an employee and founder of) has helped launch over the past five years – 113 (or 74%) of which are still going in the present day. Many of these Jewish social entrepreneurs past and present, and the volunteers who helped them, will meet at the Schusterman Foundation's ROI Summit in Israel – yet another reason that June is a natural for Jewish Innovation Month.

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From jWeekly:

The Azrieli Foundation made a $10 million donation to Yeshiva University in New York City in honor of foundation founder David Azrieli's 90th birthday.

The donation, the largest in the foundation's history, is earmarked for the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration.

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From eJewishPhilanthropy:

With a new five year, $4.8 million dollar grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation, the Wexner Graduate Fellowship/Davidson Scholars Program is poised to offer enhanced academic fellowships for graduate students preparing for the Rabbinate, Cantorate, Jewish Studies, Jewish Education and Jewish Professional Leadership fields.

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From eJewishPhilanthropy:

With the Mediterranean Sea as a backdrop, a full week of bright, sunny skies, and high energy, the Jewish Funders Network (JFN) gathered in Tel Aviv last week for their annual conference, the first in Israel since 2008. With 455 registered participants (including 234 from Israel) this was the largest conference ever for the organization.

The attendees came from four continents and represented all parts of the philanthropic world – from the largest foundations, to the smaller – and important – individual donors. They included a President, a Dame, a Scholar-in-Residence, a bevy of academics and entrepreneurs and numerous foundation professionals – those responsible for executing thousands of programs around the world.

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From Jweekly:

UpStart, a Bay Area organization that offers funding and organizational support to fledgling Jewish nonprofits, is calling for applications from groups needing support.

Selected groups will join the three-year UpStarter program and receive funding, conceptual advice and networking opportunities.

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From eJewishPhilanthropy:

The January 25 Huffington Post article titled, "Philanthropy: College Students Get $100,000 To Give Away to Charity" lauds universities starting philanthropy courses that offer students practical philanthropy experience, such as giving them up to$ 100K to give away to worthy nonprofits. While I applaud Universities for recognizing the importance philanthropy, it is essential to point out that young people involved in philanthropy is not a new endeavor, nor is it something that is ideally saved for college level studies.

As a philanthropic educator, I have helped launch three high powered youth philanthropy programs in the San Francisco Bay Area, and seen the abilities of grant-makers as young as thirteen. This generation of computer savvy youth is exposed to local and world problems daily and is compelled to act. Institutions serving youth need only to provide curricular and programmatic options that give the kids a vehicle to make change happen and then let them run with it. Youth philanthropy is not small business: in 2000, youth-led groups donated $5-10 million.

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From The San Francisco Jweekly:

The National Ramah Commission and The Union for Reform Judaism's Camping Movement announced a joint program to develop training for specialty staff before the 2012 summer camp season.

A grant of $144,000 from the Avi Chai Foundation, to be shared equally by the two camping movements, will fund training programs including professional development, sharing of best practices, and building a network of camp specialty staff.

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From eJewishPhilanthropy:

Repair the World has announced that it will enhance its service efforts in Israel, bolstering existing programs and working to increase the number of North Americans who participate in longer terms of service. The work is made possible in part by a $215,000 grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation and an $80,000 grant from The Morningstar Foundation.

In 2011, Repair's support enabled 450 North Americans to take part in service opportunities in Israel. These latest grants will allow Repair to more than double that number to 1,000 by 2013 and support opportunities for North Americans and Israelis to serve together throughout the world. A particular area of focus will be placing American young adults into volunteer roles in which they teach English to school-aged children who may not otherwise have the opportunity to learn English. English language skills are viewed as critical to social mobility in Israel. Ambivalence by American young adults toward Israel will also be addressed through this work.

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