The S.F.-based Jim Joseph Foundation is making a “significant commitment” to a new nonprofit aimed at creating a Jewish social service movement fueled by young adults.
Young people “are idealistic and very passionate about serving the world,” said Chip Edelsberg, the Jim Joseph Foundation’s executive director. “Given their interest, [the new agency] represents an extraordinary opportunity for us.”
The new venture is called Repair the World, and it is being funded by the Jim Joseph Foundation and several counterparts: the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust and the Nathan Cummings Foundation.
Officially formed last week, the new nonprofit will be dedicated to expanding the Jewish social service sector by providing more funding to existing Jewish organizations, such as Hillel and the American Jewish World Service.
Edelsberg said his organization’s contribution would be a “multiyear, significant commitment,” although he did not disclose the dollar amount the Jim Joseph Foundation will be giving.
Because Repair the World is so new, it is unknown which Bay Area and national groups it will fund.
One thing Repair the World will do is help develop materials for Jewish participants in nonsectarian programs, such as Teach for America, and initiate a campaign to encourage young Jews to take part in service.
According to Lisa Eisen, national director of the Schusterman Foundation and the interim director of Repair the World, there are about 400,000 Jews in the United States between the ages of 18 and 24 — but only 3,000 of them are taking part in Jewish-run social service projects this year.
Founders of the new organization would like to see that number grow to 45,000 in the next five years.
“The time is ripe for the Jewish community to step up as a voice for service,” Eisen said, “and to provide opportunities for Jews, as Jews, to meet the profound and growing needs in our communities and our world.”
Repair the World is taking over the 501(c)(3) status of the Jewish Coalition for Service, a New York–based agency that in effect folded this summer when all but two of its board members resigned.
The new organization has enlisted officials from a number of Jewish and non-Jewish organizations to sit on its board, and is now actively seeking founding partners who will contribute more than $100,000 each.
“I hope that the San Francisco Bay Area benefits from this immensely,” said Adene Sacks, program director for the Jim Joseph Foundation. “This community has always been the leading light in service and understands the alliance between service and Jewish values.”
JTA staff writer Jacob Berkman contributed to this report.