The Young Adult Task Force (YATF) is a planning committee of Combined Jewish Philanthropies.  The Task Force works with Boston area young adult organizations and volunteers to promote community collaboration and leadership and to advocate for greater community investment in programs of excellence for young Jewish adults.  Each year, the Task Force puts on the transformational Community Leadership Institute, and this year is launching an initiative to give grants to young adult Jewish programming.

Composition of the Task Force
CJP’s Young Adult Task Force is comprised of Members-at-Large and chairs who represent each group that sits around the table and is supported by the Task Force.  In addition to making allocations recommendations, the Task Force’s composition and mission encourages understanding and cooperation among the groups and provides a forum to present new ideas and to offer solutions to challenges the groups might encounter.

Community Initiatives
The YATF’s goals of collaboration, leadership development, and innovation, have led to two ground-breaking initiatives:

The Community Leadership Institute was conceived of by members of the 2005-2006 Young Adult Task Force as an innovative forum for young Jewish leaders to network, exchange ideas and share resources.  This year marks the third annual Community Leadership Institute, which will be held on November 16, 2008.  The goal of the CLI is to provide young adults with the necessary knowledge and skills to become effective leaders in the Jewish community.

The Young Adult Task Force launched the Community Grants Program in November, 2007. The program was created to provide funding for innovative grassroots programs throughout the Greater Boston young adult Jewish community. The mission of the program is to extend the reach of CJP into the young adult community thereby expanding the opportunities for young adults to become engaged in Jewish life. CJP is eager to invest in community-based programs that complement the work of the YATF. 

For more information about the Young Adult Task Force or the Community Grants Program, please contact Elana at 617-457-8586 or elanab@cjp.org