The New York–based Covenant Foundation, which works to advance Jewish education, announced nearly $900,000 in new grants this week. Three of the grantees are located in the Bay Area.
The Center for Jewish Living and Learning in Oakland, a program of the Jewish Federation of the East Bay, was given $50,000 for one year to develop and expand its Edah program, which provides after-school supplementary Jewish education.
G-dcast, based in San Francisco, was awarded $100,000 for two years for its Media Beit Midrash program, which helps college-age animators make short films for the Internet based on Jewish texts and teachings.
Citizen Film of San Francisco was given a $20,000 one-year grant to establish a program for university Jewish studies educators that will help them enhance their use of digital media and social-media platforms in their scholarship.
The biggest grants were $161,500 to the Hannah Senesh Community Day School in Brooklyn, N.Y., and $102,000 to the Union for Reform Judaism. In all, 14 grants were made.
The Covenant Foundation is a program of the Crown Family Philanthropies and the Jewish Education Service of North America. Since 1991, the foundation has provided close to $22 million to develop, support and advance Jewish education and community-building projects in North America.
Applications for 2012 grants currently are being accepted; deadline is Feb. 29. For more information, visit www.covenantfn.org.