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Community Impact Grants

 

CJP is pleased to share four Community Impact Grant (CIG) funds, designed to support organizations in enhancing the well-being and vibrancy of the Greater Boston Jewish community.

  • GENERAL CIG FUND

    Supporting programs serving the Jewish community.

  • TEEN CIG FUND

    Supporting programs serving Jewish teens (post-B’Mitzvah to 12th grade).

  • 19548_Campus_Community_Impact_Grant_Launch_AN22_Web_Image.jpg

  • CAMPUS CIG FUND

    Supporting programs serving Jewish college students.

  • YOUNG ADULT CIG FUND

    Supporting programs serving Jewish young adults (ages 22-40).

The CIG funds were developed to maximize our awareness and response to the changing needs of our community. Our goal is to provide a transparent, efficient, and consistent process to ensure that organizations can identify and address needs, opportunities, and innovations within the communities that CJP serves.

Please review the guiding principles and frequently asked questions for more information.

Upcoming Info Sessions:

Please join us virtually via Zoom on either of these dates to learn more about each of the four CIG funds. Bring any questions you may have!

  • May 5, 2022 at 11:00 a.m.  – RSVP here!
  • August 10, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.
     

Guiding Principles for Funding

CJP Mission
To inspire and mobilize the diverse Boston Jewish community to engage in building communities of learning that strengthen Jewish life and improve the world.

CJP Vision Statement
Our community is a leading center of Jewish life, inspired by Greater Boston’s unique intellectual and cultural heritage. Expansive, dynamic models of living and learning provide meaningful connections to Judaism, the Jewish People, Israel, and the broader world. Networks of thriving Jewish institutions work collaboratively to strengthen our future. Grounded in Jewish history, tradition, and values, we care for one another, pursue justice, and repair our divided world.

CJP Grantmaking Philosophy
CJP uses grantmaking as one critical tool for reaching our shared communal vision. With our grants we seek to strengthen the health and breadth of our community and invest in key priority areas that will shape our future. Through our grants, we seek to incentivize or amplify partnership, capacity, resiliency, innovation, and adaptability.

CJP Impact Areas

  • Caring for Vulnerable Populations: More people are financially, physically, and emotionally secure, and meet or exceed their basic needs in a community that preserves dignity for all.
  • Broader and Deeper Engagement in Jewish Life: More people are more engaged and attribute life choices to a sense of belonging within/to the Jewish community.
  • A Healthy, Thriving and Sustainable Community: Healthy, relevant, and efficient networks of organizations work collaboratively for enhanced impact in delivering against key strategies.


Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who is eligible for CIG funding?
Applicants must:

  • Be a public charity with an IRS letter of Determination, have arranged for a fiscal agent, or be a synagogue or other religious organization that is a currently operating house of worship in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  • Be located within the CJP catchment area (either the organization itself or the program specifically)
  • Enhance the well-being and vibrancy of the Jewish community


For CJP’s Jewish Communal Partners:

  • If you are an organization that is required to submit an organizational health survey to CJP, you must receive yellow or green status in the fiscal year prior to the application year to be eligible to submit an application. 


Q: Who is NOT eligible for CIG funding?
Funding is not available for the following:

  • Requests for capital projects
  • Requests for endowments
  • Requests for scholarships
  • Organizations which receive more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) of funding from CJP, including annual funding grants and aggregate monies received from the General, Young Adult, Campus or Teen Community Impact Grant fund sources


Q: What type of grants do you offer?
The CIG funds welcome applications for new and ongoing results-oriented projects or initiatives which support CJP’s Impact Areas; can demonstrate a measurable and sustainable impact; and involve one of the following areas:

  • Organizational Capacity Building projects that bring a nonprofit to the next level of operational, programmatic, financial, or organizational maturity. Organizational capacity building projects reflect an investment in the effectiveness and future sustainability of a nonprofit to effectively deliver its mission. This may also include an urgent or acute need that an organization can demonstrate how it provides unique and critical services to one or more CJP regions.
  • Community Enhancement Initiatives are events, actions, or programs — virtual or otherwise — that strengthen or enhance a community-building effort to support communities of any type, including those based in geography, spirituality, interest, age, or identity. Community Enhancement Initiatives may include innovative pilots, small-scale programs, or other efforts that help an organization learn how a large-scale project might work in practice and help provide learnings for the Greater Boston Jewish community more broadly. A pilot program provides a platform for the organization to test ideas, prove value, and reveal deficiencies.

Applicants must select to submit its application to one of the two categories of grant support described above.

Please note: The CIG funds do not provide general operating support for organizations.

Q: Which fund should my organization apply for?

The four CIG funds are intended to serve the audiences as described next. Please apply for the fund(s) that best align with your project.

  • The Teen CIG Fund supports programs serving Jewish teens (post-B’Mitzvah to 12th grade).
  • The Campus CIG Fund supports programs serving Jewish college students.
  • The Young Adult CIG Fund supports programs serving Jewish young adults (ages 22-40).
  • The General CIG Fund provides support to programs that serve the broader Jewish community beyond those specific audiences, including intergenerational groups, older adults, children, and others.
     

Q: What level of funding is offered by each CIG fund?
Applicants are eligible to apply for up to $15,000 of funding from each CIG fund. Although this is the maximum amount, smaller project applications are also eligible and encouraged.

Q: Are there limitations on how many grants an organization can apply for and/or receive?
Yes. Applicants must adhere to the following restrictions:

  • Applicants may only receive one grant from each CIG fund per fiscal year.
  • Applicants may not submit an application for the same program to multiple grant funds.
  • The aggregate funding received from CJP annually, in combination with the aggregate monies received from the General, Young Adult, Campus or Teen Community Impact Grant fund sources, may not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000). For instance, if your organization receives other funds from CJP totaling $75,000, you may not receive more than $25,000 total from the CIG funds per fiscal year.


Q: What is the selection process?

All applications are reviewed by a geographically and demographically diverse committee of volunteer lay leaders who have been trained in the grant review process, and who bring a wide range of skill sets and experiences to the review process.

Each committee reviews applications with critical attention to:


Q: What is the grant term?
The Fund awards grants for a one-year period. For Community Enhancement Initiative grants, grantees may apply for a second year of funding for the same project for up to 50% of funds received in the first year. Our goal is for all grantees to move toward a self-sustaining model.

Q: What is the timeline?
Application submissions will be considered twice during each fiscal year (July – June). As listed below, applications will open on August 15, 2022 and must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on October 14, 2022. Decisions on these applications are expected to be announced by the week of December 5, 2022. Applications submitted after October 14, 2022 and prior to 5:00 p.m. on February 22, 2023 will be reviewed with decisions expected to be announced by the week of March 22, 2023.

Overview of Timeline:

  • May 5, 2022        Info Session #1
  • Aug. 10 , 2022    Info Session #2
  • Aug. 15 , 2022    FY23 Application Opens
  • Oct. 14  , 2022    Application Deadline #1 (by 5:00pm)
  • Dec. 5, 2022       Grant Decisions Announced
  • January 2023      Grant Funds Distributed (for 1st deadline applicants)
  • Feb. 22, 2023      Application Deadline #2 (by 5:00pm)
  • Mar. 22, 2023      Grant Decisions Announced
  • April 2023            Grant Funds Distributed (for 2nd deadline applicants)
     

Q: What are the reporting, marketing, and other requirements?
For applications involving collaborations between and among organizations, letters of support from all partners must be included.

All grants must demonstrate consideration for program accessibility and participation for individuals with disabilities.

Grantees will be required to sign a grant agreement and comply with mid-year and end-of-term data and reporting requirements. Each CIG fund may differ in the specific deliverables due, as detailed in their respective grant agreement.

Please note:

  • First-time grantees need to provide a current copy of their organization’s W9, 501c3, Mission Statement, and EFT banking instructions
  • Organizations that have previously received a grant from CJP are not required to resubmit their W9 and 501c3
  • Organizations that have previously received a grant in the form of a check from CJP, please note that we will now require EFT banking instructions to complete the application

Contact

Before starting your application, we highly recommend you reach out to discuss your idea with the corresponding fund manager below. They will be happy to help guide your organization through the process.

General CIG Fund:
Contact Beth at betht@cjp.org

Teen CIG Fund:
Contact Leah at leahf@cjp.org

Campus CIG Fund:
Contact Eliza at elizakanner@cjp.org

Young Adult CIG Fund:
Contact Caleb at caleba@cjp.org

For general inquiries, please reach out to Beth at betht@cjp.org.