Harold Grinspoon, Grinspoon Foundation

In 1993, Mr. Grinspoon established the Harold Grinspoon Foundation to enhance Jewish life in Western Massachusetts and beyond. Local initiatives include a tuition incentive program for any child to attend a Jewish day school in the region, family education, teen life and the creation of a Resource Center for Jewish Education.

In 1995, the Foundation established the Awards for Excellence in Jewish education in Western Massachusetts as an expression of Harold Grinspoon’s commitment to quality Jewish education and his belief that teachers are at the heart of the educational process. In 2000, the HGF expanded the award program nationally in order to reward Jewish educators and to encourage communities and other Jewish philanthropists to join in honoring teachers and spearheading their professional growth. The Foundation is a founding partner in PEJE and a funder of the Hillel movement.

Two of HGF’s signature initiatives are The PJ Library, which sends Jewish children’s books and music into the homes of families with young children each month; and the Grinspoon Institute for Jewish Philanthropy, which works primarily with Jewish overnight camps to help them become more effective organizations. One of the Foundation’s goals is to create local programs which can be replicated by other Jewish communities. Harold’s wife Diane Troderman is his active partner in all of his philanthropic activities.

Michael Steinhardt, the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life

In 1995, after a legendary career, Michael H. Steinhardt retired to devote his time and fortune largely to the causes of the Jewish world. As founder and chairman of The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life, he works toward revitalizing Jewish identity through educational and cultural initiatives that reach out to all Jews, with an emphasis on those who are on the margins of Jewish life, as well as to advocate for and support Hebrew and Jewish literacy among the general population. These initiatives include Birthright Israel; Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative (JECEI); the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE); Makor; the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development; the Hillel Foundation of the University of Pennsylvania; and Hillel International, through which he created the Steinhardt Jewish Campus Service Corps.

In 2001, Mr. Steinhardt published his memoirs, No Bull: My Life In and Out of the Markets (John Wiley & Sons, 2001). He and his wife, Judy, are the parents of David, Daniel, and Sara, and the grandparents of Jacob, Joshua, Kira, Talia, Tora, Nathaniel, Theodore, Lila, Aetien, and Infinity.

JESNA

In order to ensure that the Jewish people thrive and its values flourish, we must first ensure that Jewish education is the best that it can be in all of its variety. JESNA's role -- to strengthen communities and their educational offerings by providing tested solutions, leveraging partnerships, promoting synergies, and building the connections that strengthen us all - has not changed, though the strategies by which we accomplish our goals have been refined and strengthened over the past year. We are currently engaged in a number of new projects and collaborations. In partnership with education leaders, funders, and dreamers, JESNA draws on its years of institutional experience and its expert staff to focus on a continuous cycle of improvement, progressing from learning to dissemination to active application in geographical and topical communities and back again. Building the capacity of Federations and their Central Agencies to improve Jewish education in local communities is a key means of accomplishing our mission.

We employ a wide range of tools and methodologies in order to support our partners and clients in communities and institutions as they seek to accomplish their individual and shared goals in Jewish education. We convene, network, evaluate, advocate, consult, and encourage. We apply innovative ideas, cutting edge technology, proven models, data and practical know-how. We work in teams across disciplines to ensure that we manage internal and external knowledge to maximize the impact of every project. We know that our agenda is ambitious. We also know that this work is critical if Jewish education is to fulfill its promise for North American Jewry in the 21st century and beyond.

Local Communities

The Harold Grinspoon Foundation, the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life and JESNA encourage the participation of as many communities as possible. Any community that has a central agency for Jewish education or a federation is eligible to participate in the Awards. If your community is not participating, and you have a teacher of excellence you would like to nominate, please work with your central agency or federation to take part in the Awards. Please contact your local central agency for Jewish education or federation to find out if your community is participating in the Awards and how you can assist in the Awards process.

Click here to see a directory of central agencies