If you could read through the dozens of grant proposals received by Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) this year, here’s what you’d discover: a Jewish community brimming with brilliant ideas and hard-working volunteers and professional staff who stand ready to put them into action.
For the 2021–2022 Community Impact Grant cycle, 39 grants of up to $15,000 each were awarded to nonprofit partner organizations in Greater Boston and in Israel and an additional $67,500 in Arts and Culture grants. This support — made possible by generous CJP donors — is in addition to the millions of dollars in core funding that CJP allocates each year. What’s more, The Miriam Fund (a unique collaborative venture with CJP) provided $375,000 to projects that expand opportunities for women and girls.
Strategically funding good ideas: Community Impact Grants
Designed to harness the creativity and address evolving needs of our Jewish community, CJP’s Community Impact Grants provide grants of up to $15,000 each for projects that demonstrate a beneficial, measurable, and sustainable impact.
See a complete list of our Community Impact Grants.
Grantee projects must address one or more of CJP’s three Impact Areas:
- Caring for Vulnerable Populations
- Broader and Deeper Engagement in Jewish Life
- A Healthy, Thriving, and Sustainable Community
Funds may be granted for Organizational Capacity Building that brings a nonprofit to the next level of operational, programmatic, financial, or organizational maturity.
CJP also awards grants that support Community Enhancement Initiatives. Funded projects can include events, actions, or programs — virtual or otherwise — that strengthen a community-building effort.
Meeting community needs
CJP’s Community Impact Grants are available to help reach people at diverse life stages — including families with young children, teens, college students, young adults, and seniors — and who have wide-ranging backgrounds and interests.
This year, funding for young adults will support six programs, including Temple Beth Israel’s Next Generation. This initiative provides opportunities for members and non-members alike to participate in Jewish learning and create new friendships in the Waltham area.
At Congregation Klal Yisrael, a General Community Impact Grant will allow them to fund Tikvah Teens, a program that is back on track after a two-year hiatus. Teens will organize and lead monthly service and team-building events with guidance from parents and an adult group facilitator.
The Boston Workers Circle received funding to increase their capacity to offer virtual and hybrid programming. They’ve managed to find and put a shine on a silver lining of the pandemic: increased accessibility through online meetings. This funding will help them safely reach more parents with young children, young adults who have limited time, and people whose physical limitations make in-person activities difficult.
Supporting a thriving Jewish arts community
In October 2021, CJP also awarded a total of $67,500 to nine area artists as part of our Arts and Culture Initiative. The grants will support exploration of Jewish identity through a variety of mediums, including song, dance, and visual art.
The Miriam Fund grants $375,000 for women and girls
The women who make up The Miriam Fund are no strangers to strategic grantmaking. In fact, since their founding in 2001, they’ve awarded more than $5 million in grants. The Miriam Fund members contribute funds, solicit grant proposals, and make grants to local and international organizations that create opportunities for women and girls.
In 2021, they granted a total of $375,000 to 18 organizations.
Their grants include projects based in Greater Boston or in Israel, and they allocate funds to groups both within and beyond the Jewish community.
In Israel, their grant to Kaima Nahalal's Kaima Earth Sisters project will provide economic empowerment to women through farming.
In Greater Boston, they are supporting Gateways: Access to Jewish Education with funding to continue an educational series designed to raise awareness and promote conversations about mental health. Their “Our Daughters, Our Future” series is a free webinar that explores girls’ mental health and wellness.
The Miriam Fund also awarded a third year of grant resources to PAIR Project to provide case management services to women and children asylum seekers from all over the world. Many of the women they work with have survived abuse or political oppression and come to the United States with few resources, hoping to find safety.
See the complete list of The Miriam Fund’s 2021–2022 grantees and projects.
How you or your organization can receive a CJP grant
Intrigued by the variety of projects CJP supports each year? Think you have an idea to engage our Jewish community but could use some support? Get all the info on the wide range of grant opportunities that CJP offers.