Ziggy’s Playground: San Francisco family builds joy in Rwanda By Dan Pine Aug 4, 2022 The day Ziggy’s Playground opened on a sun-drenched hilltop in Kigali, Rwanda, children needed no prompting to explore. Slides, stacked concrete pipes big enough for kids to climb through and two types of mazes (one made out of old tires) all beckoned — as did 200 multicolored beach balls. Most kids there had never seen… Read More
Philanthropy How Jewish philanthropies with oil fortunes handle climate change At the start of the 20th century, Louis Blaustein, a Jewish immigrant from Lithuania, and his son Jacob drove a horse-drawn wagon through the streets of… By Asaf Shalev, JTA Jul 25, 2022
Bay Area 2 Bay Area teens among $36k Diller Teen Tikkun Olam award winners Two Bay Area residents are among 15 young people from across the country selected for the 2022 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards, which recognize and reward… By J. Staff Jul 5, 2022
Philanthropy Jews of Color Initiative is now an independent nonprofit organization The Bay Area-based Jews of Color Initiative is set to become an independent 501(c)3 organization, effective July 1. Founded in Berkeley as the Jews of… By J. Staff Jun 20, 2022
Philanthropy Reclusive WhatsApp founder is a quiet Jewish megadonor The fighting in Ukraine has been called “a WhatsApp war” amid widespread reliance on messaging apps by journalists, soldiers and ordinary civilians, and… By Asaf Shalev, JTA Jun 15, 2022
Philanthropy S.F. Jewish Pride Fund visits LGBTQ grantees in Israel This week, Daniel Wein and his colleagues from the San Francisco Jewish Pride Fund got to spend time at an LGBTQ youth shelter in Tel Aviv, sitting in… By Lillian Ilsley-Greene Jun 10, 2022
Bay Area Jewish architect’s memorial gifts benefit Oakland 'Designing Justice' Architect Eric Salitsky was deeply invested in architectural design that brought together people from different walks of life. That commitment led him to… By Andrew Esensten Jun 2, 2022
Bay Area Funding boost for Berkeley Hillel, Israeli visiting scholar at Stanford The Hillel center at UC Berkeley, helmed by Rabbi Adam Naftalin-Kelman, has just been given a seven-figure matching grant that will endow the executive… By Maya Mirsky May 18, 2022
Philanthropy Koret Foundation bolsters civics education in California with $3M grant The San Francisco–based Koret Foundation has announced grants totaling $3.25 million to support civics education for California students. “Civics used to… By J. Staff Apr 19, 2022