Endowment Fund Grants

Applications for FY10 will be available in the fall of 2009. 
For more information, please contact Linda Kraner at (301) 230-7242.

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United Jewish Endowment Fund Grants Spring FY09

Alexander Muss High School in Israel   $11,000
High School in Israel
Incentive grants and scholarship assistance are provided for an eight-week Israel program for eleventh and twelfth graders.

American University Hillel   $15,000
Student Engagement Initiative
This grant will enable AU Hillel to attract those not involved in Jewish campus life through public campus programming.

Beit Shemesh Ethiopian Community Task Force   $18,500
Ethiopian Empowerment Program
The Community Empowerment Program is training Ethiopian-Israelis to become advocates for the future of their own community.  A series of classes and seminars prepares residents of three Ethiopian-Israeli neighborhoods to work together to improve conditions facing their community.

Community Partners   $30,000
NORC Program
Funding will support the transition from a government funded senior service operation to one less reliant on government funding and increasingly supported by its membership, public/private partnerships, the business community and foundation support.

Ethiopian Empowerment Committee   $22,500
Inya Linya in Beit Shemesh
This program was developed by the Community Leadership Program Team in Beit Shemesh to provide scholastic assistance to Ethiopian-Israeli youth in fourth and fifth grades to encourage good study habits and scholastic achievement.  

Ethiopian National Project   $180,000
SPACE Program for Matriculation Exam Preparation
This program provides scholastic assistance for seventh-twelfth graders in Afula and is generally seen as a continuation of the PACT program.  Academic achievement has meant a marked increase in high school graduation and in army service.

Ethiopian National Project   $25,000
Youth Outreach Center in Beit Shemesh
Funds are being requested to launch a new Youth Outreach Center for Ethiopian-Israeli youth in grades seven-twelve in Beit Shemesh.

George Mason University Hillel   $7,500
Campus Engagement Interns
This project will continue, for a third year, four student internships at GMU Hillel to do Jewish programming by students for students.

Gesher Jewish Day School  $9,200
ECHO: Early Childhood Hand-Off pre-school engagement program
This program focuses on the hand-off between preschools and kindergarten by developing programming for both area Jewish preschools and the families who are considering Gesher JDS for their children, with a goal of increasing kindergarten enrollment for the school.  The program includes the Baby ECHO program targeting families with very young children.

Hillel at the George Washington University   $10,000
Campus Outreach Initiative
Hillel will continue to target under-engaged students by reaching out to leaders within specific student communities and mentoring their work in the Jewish community.

Hillel at Virginia Tech   $12,000
Social Justice Leadership Initiative
VT Hillel aims to create a comprehensive social justice program including ongoing initiatives (seminars, speakers), coaching sessions (lunches, dinners), hands-on social action projects, planning retreat, a Tzedek Hillel start-up project fund and social action conference stipends.

Hillel Center for Jewish Life at the University of Maryland   $25,000
Immersion Experience Expansion and Follow-Through Initiative
Hillel at the University of Maryland will continue to the expand its immersion experiences. More students will be able to participate, the range of experiences offered will grow and effective follow-through programming will be ensured.

Interagency Forum on Aging   $117,000
“Coming of Age in Northern Virginia”
In response to a study identifying elder case management as one of the key unmet needs in Northern Virginia, funds were granted to expand geriatric services in Northern Virginia, through a consortium effort of JSSA, JCA, JIRS and the JCCNV.

Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington   $20,000
Partnership to Serve Seniors at Har Tzeon (Partnership with JSSA, JCA & Har Tzeon)
These funds will continue to fill a critical gap in services for increasingly frail and isolated Jewish senior adults in the eastern part of Montgomery County who are not served by other programs. 

Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia    $25,000
Growing Jewish Families
Funding provides for year three of the Growing Jewish Families project which aims to transform Jewish pre-schools into active hubs of Jewish community life for parents and their children.

Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia/Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington/Washington DC Jewish Community Center   $7,500
Preschool/Camp Collaborative Advertising
Funds will be used to collaboratively market JCC childcare and day camp programs throughout the area.

Jewish Federation of Greater Washington   $53,000
CamperQuest
Continued support was given for incentive subsidies to encourage marginally-affiliated families to enroll their children in Jewish overnight camp, as well as funding to advertise the program in community newspapers and participate in local camp fairs.

Jewish Federation of Greater Washington   $100,000
Community Crisis Assistance Fund
The CCAF is addressing emergency needs in the community due to the economic downturn.  The funds are to be administered upon the recommendation of a special committee and approved by Community Planning and Allocations and the Federation Board.

Jewish Federation of Greater Washington   $50,000  
Israel Missions
Federation’s Missions Department received support to promote, recruit and service missions to Israel.

Jewish Federation of Greater Washington   $22,500
PJ Library
The program provides age-appropriate Jewish books to be sent to children in Northern Virginia.

Jewish Federation of Greater Washington   $20,000
Subsidies for Next Gen Israel Mission
Subsidy costs for thirty young adults to attend a Young Leadership Mission to Israel in the Spring/Summer of 2010.

Jewish Foundation for Group Homes   $7,500
MOST Transition Program
This program is designed to create self-sufficiency for adults with disabilities who are transitioning out of school programs.  Counselors work with participants to learn, strengthen, and maintain the skills necessary to live independently within the community.

Jewish Social Service Agency     $35,000
Emergency Financial Assistance
Funding will provide time-limited financial help to needy JSSA clients with expenses such as rent or mortgage, utility bills, etc.

Jews United for Justice   $15,000
Jeremiah Fellowship
The Jeremiah Fellowship will seed the next generation of Jewish social justice leaders in the Washington area by educating a small cohort of young Jews (aged 25-35) in JUFJ’s exciting vision of Judaism engaged in the world around us.

Joint Distribution Committee   $180,000
PACT and PACT Plus in Afula
This program received continued support for the partnership between JDC and UJEF to provide a full spectrum of PACT (Parents and Children Together) programming for Ethiopian children ages birth through 6th grade and their families in Afula.

Keren Shemesh—the Beit Shemesh Development Fund   $20,000
Summer Camp for Disadvantaged Children in Beit Shemesh
To help Keren Shemesh fund a summer camp program for elementary school children from disadvantaged families—single parent, new immigrant, large families.

Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning   $75,000
Congregational Education Program
The PJLL will continue to lead a community-wide initiative to revitalize congregational education.  Funds will be used to hire organizational development consultants to work with area congregations.

Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning   $65,000
Israel Experience Scholarship Fund
Support provides need-based scholarships to enable high school teens, recent college graduates and young professionals to participate in educational Israel experiences.

Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning    $190,000
Israel Quest
Israel Quest subsidies will enable over 125 Washington-area teens to travel to Israel on approved peer trips during the 2009-2010 school year and summer.  Teens who fulfill the requirements in the IQ agreement will receive a base grant of $1,000 and a matching amount of up to $500, based on the teen’s sponsoring organization’s level of support.

Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning    $12,000
OTZMA
This grant provides support for tuition, on-site activities, travel in Israel, and living expenses for Washington area participants on a ten-month service and leadership program in Israel.

Sixth & I Historic Synagogue   $15,000
“6th in the City” Monthly Shabbat Service
This grant will allow for an increase in the number of regular attendees at the monthly 6th in the City Shabbat Services by implementing an outreach campaign that includes web and print materials, as well as the development of a larger corps of volunteer ambassadors to serve as hosts to young Jews seeking to explore and celebrate their Jewish identity.

Tzofim   $35,500
Ethiopian-Israeli Scouts Chapter in Beit Shemesh
This grant subsidizes participation of Ethiopian children in the scouting program in Beit Shemesh.

University of Virginia Hillel   $15,000
Immersive Experience Development Initiative
Hillel will deepen the Jewish identity and commitment of students to Tikkun Olam through a new immersive experiences initiative.

Washington DC Jewish Community Center   $45,000
Behrend-Adas Senior Fellowship
This grant supports the Washington DC Jewish Community Center’s expansion of the existing collaborative service model with Adas Israel Congregation and the Jewish Social Service Agency.  Together, these organizations provide services to 40 -90 seniors who live in the naturally occurring retirement community (NORC) that stretches along the Connecticut Avenue corridor in Northwest Washington, DC.  Programs and on-site case management provide a much needed support system for seniors and promote Jewish values and traditions. 

Washington DC Jewish Community Center   $10,000
Gay and Lesbian Outreach and Engagement
Support for GLOE's unique outreach and engagement programs targeting gay and lesbian Jews, a group traditionally unaffiliated with the Jewish Community.

Washington DC Jewish Community Center   $8,000
Music, Film, and Literacy Festivals
Support will underwrite expenses associated with the Film Festival, Literacy and Music Festivals which will be used as outreach and engagement tools for attracting unaffiliated Jews in the Washington area, as well as providing arts and culture within a Jewish context.