The following is a reprint of the JCF's Money Matters column, published in the July 10, 2024 issue of the Jewish Community Voice, titled, "Your support can help keep our community vibrant:
Have you noticed how bustling and active our South Jersey Jewish community is? It’s truly inspiring how many engaging events, programs, and services take place day-in and day-out, thanks to nonprofits such as the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey and its family of agencies, synagogues, day schools, and secular organizations.
The Jewish Community Foundation, Inc. takes great pride in playing a role to ensure that this community remains vibrant by providing funding through JCF Grants for new and innovative programs and services benefiting Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties.
To highlight the success of our community’s engagement of local residents, please enjoy this sampling of recently-completed programs and services that were funded all or in part by JCF Grants of up to $5,000 each:
• Braid. Spice. Cook!: This Jewish food series was presented by the Sisterhoods of Congregation Beth El, Congregation Kol Ami, and Temple Beth Sholom during the spring. In all, nearly 500 community members enjoyed three interactive programs led by known culinary influencers.
• Café 76 Yom Ha’atzma’ut Celebration: An estimated 400 children and adults attended a community-wide event at Congregation Beth El in conjunction with the Jewish Community Relations Council to celebrate Israel’s Independence Day with Israeli food, dancing, crafts, and more.
• Classroom Technology Enhancement: The Work Group, based in Camden, purchased tablets for more than 40 students to use daily as an educational resource. This technology provides easy access for slides, calculators, informational videos, and much more.
• Empowering Parents to Empower their Children: Expert psychologist Dr. Shloimie Zimmerman spoke at Politz Day School about educating and supporting children during their years of puberty and sexual development, with some 100 parents attending. He encouraged parents to remember their own experience during this life stage, think about what would have been helpful to them at that time, and to be there to answer their questions and concerns.
• Holiday Youth and Family Programming: The Katz JCC, in conjunction with PJ Library, hosted events for Purim, Passover, and Shavuot, providing fun, hands-on activities for families to learn about and celebrate the holidays, with up to 100 people attending per event.
• Israeli Scouts Friendship Caravan: Consisting of multi-media games, unique programs about Israel, and a concert of singing and dancing, this full-day event delighted Kellman Brown Academy students thanks to pre-army Israelis who led the programming.
• Tri-County Teen Speakers Summit: A jointly-hosted series between Congregation Beth El, Congregation Kol Ami, the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey, and Temple Beth Sholom, attendees heard from inspirational speakers of varying backgrounds. An estimated 200 teens attended per program.
The JCF’s Grants Committee has the challenging but meaningful task of reviewing each application submitted to determine how to best allocate roughly $50,000 per grant cycle, each spring and fall. Seeing the results of their efforts–as demonstrated in the above examples–is incredibly rewarding for the committee members as well as the entire board and staff of the JCF.
Endowment funds established over the past several decades by philanthropic and community oriented donors enable JCF Grants to occur each year. If you have an interest in supporting outstanding programs and services locally, please contact me at (856) 673-2571 or dsnyder@jfedsnj.org to discuss how you can help grow this much-needed funding for our local nonprofits and synagogues.
Lastly, we encourage our colleagues in the Jewish and secular nonprofit community to apply for our Fall 2024 JCF Grants Cycle by the deadline of October 30. To help prospective applicants prepare for the application process, we offer a Grants Workshop on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 9 a.m. Learn more about JCF Grants at jcfsnj.org/grants or email mstaff@jfedsnj.org today.
Enjoy your summer!
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