JCF awards $1.1 million in Bay Area grants

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Eight Bay Area programs will receive new grants totaling more than $1.1 million from the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma counties.

“We’re thrilled to support eight game-changing programs designed to inspire Jewish life and build Jewish community here in the Bay Area,” Federation CEO Danny Grossman said in a statement.

The grants focus on “seed funding innovative new programs and supporting key community initiatives” and will be distributed in the next three to five years through the Federation’s endowment fund.

The recipients are:

• The “Counter BDS Campaign” ($250,000) at the Jewish Community Relations Council, a program that counters efforts to de-legitimize Israel through the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) campaign.

• The launch of the Federation’s Teen Engagement Initiative ($250,000), “a community-wide partnership to strengthen the entire ecosystem of Jewish teen programming in our local community.”

• The Kitchen ($150,000), to build the San Francisco start-up religious community’s capacity for several promising earned income streams.

• The JCC Maccabi Sports Camp’s “Israel Through Baseball” ($144,000), a new overnight program that explores the link between the rising popularity of baseball in Israel and the campers’ connection to Jewish culture and Israel.

• Camp Tawonga’s B’nai Mitzvah Program ($100,000), a two-year alternative experiential learning program culminating in b’nai mitzvah ceremonies.

• The Experiential Learning Program ($90,000) at Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa (JIMENA), for development of a curriculum on multicultural Jewish heritage for local day schools and other educational programs.

• Honeymoon Israel at Bay Area Cohorts ($90,000) for local recruitment and programming to support six Bay Area cohorts participating in immersive trips to Israel intended to engage young couples in Jewish life.

• “Talk Amongst Yourselves: JFI On Demand” ($53,835) at the Jewish Film Institute, to launch a local program around a new video-on-demand platform.

Applications for the Endowment Fund’s next round of seed funding are due Sept. 9. To apply, see jewishfed.org/seed-funding-deepen-engagement-jewish-life — j. staff