JCF awards $2.5M in grants to Los Angeles Jewish organizations

The Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles Thursday announced it has awarded $2.5 million in grants to 10 organizations focused on developing programs dealing with such issues as antisemitism, Israel and Holocaust education and mental health.

“Our team conducted rigorous research, including extensive conversations with nonprofit leaders and key stakeholders, that underscored these pressing needs — to lend support in addressing the mental health crisis, combat antisemitism, support vulnerable populations and reach out to the myriad of constituents who comprise a diverse Jewish L.A.,” JCF President and CEO Marvin I. Schotland said in a statement.

“The grants reflect The Foundation’s commitment to identifying both needs and gaps in our community and partnering with forward-thinking leaders and organizations,” he said.

Revamped earlier this year to place greater emphasis on strength of leadership, collaboration and pressing needs in the community, Cutting Edge Grants 2.0 builds upon its namesake predecessor which, since its creation in 2006, has awarded $21 million in funding to support more than 100 innovative Jewish causes and programs across Los Angeles, according to the JCF.

The multiyear awards of up to $300,000 are directed to innovative local and national organizations of all sizes to foster creative programming that builds a vibrant and inclusive Jewish Los Angeles, equipped to address emerging issues and opportunities for the future. The grants provide recipients with not only funding but access to technical assistance and professional development, the JCF said.

Schotland described the grant recipients as “true social innovators, and we are proud to support their vital work in solving the community’s ever- evolving needs.”

Rachael Petru, director of philanthropic partnerships at Hillel of UCLA, said that with incidents of campus antisemitism rising sharply, the Cutting Edge Grant 2.0 award “could not be timelier. The grant will allow us to bring to life a new two-day, off-campus Israel Summit, which will convene 200-plus college students throughout L.A. and the Western U.S. who share in the goal of countering campus antisemitism and promoting Jewish expression.”

The 2022 Cutting Edge Grants 2.0 recipients include:

— BaMidbar for LA Regional Programming Hub;

— Foundation for Jewish Camp for DEI Coaching Project;

— Hillel at UCLA in collaboration with USC Hillel and Hillel 818 for LA Campuses United Against Antisemitism;

— Holocaust Museum Los Angeles for Augmented Reality App;

— Jews of Color Initiative for LA Incubator;

— OpenDor Media for Collaborative School Program: Empowering LA Jewish Educators in Israel Education;

— Our Big Kitchen LA for Community Youth Initiative;

— Sacred Spaces for Spark Program;

— Tzedek America for Mitzvah Project Central; and

— Valley Beth Shalom in collaboration with Temple Ramat Zion and Temple Judea for Sayva: A New Approach to Positive Aging.

Established in 1954, the JCF of Los Angeles manages charitable assets of more than $1.5 billion entrusted to it by 1,400 families. The Foundation partners with donors to shape meaningful philanthropic strategies, magnify the impact of giving and build enduring charitable legacies, the JCF said.

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