This year has been full of growth for JoCI grantmaking. We embarked on a deep listening campaign from our grantees and community leaders to ensure that our work continues to be in service to, and addresses communal needs for Jews of Color.
We are proud to say that, in total, we distributed $866,665 in grants this programmatic year. These funds supported 70 grants to 40 unique organizations, the majority of which are new grantees we have not previously supported. This year in grantmaking, in addition to technical assistance grants and wellness grants, we supported the following tremendous colleagues and their powerful projects.
The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, for a new JoC Engagement Fellow who will work alongside Jews of Color in the community to create space and programming tailored to direct needs and interests
Black Jewish Liberation Collective, fiscally sponsored by Coalition of Positive Health Empowerment (COPE), for its operations and leadership creating space for Black Jews to connect their identity to political organizing
Forward, for a contributor budget for JoC-authored op-eds, supporting JoC journalists and independent reporters, and professional development support for a JoC Editor-at-Large
Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, for leadership and professional development for JALSA’s JoC Community Organizer and Communications Coordinator in building a JoC leadership pipeline
The Jews of Color Mishpacha Project, fiscally sponsored by Hineinu, for its “We Are Family” JoCSM (Jews of Color, Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews) Shabbaton event at the Pearlstone Retreat Center
JOIN for Justice, for executive coaching for its new co-Executive Director, a Korean American Jew who brings decades of nonprofit management experience, but is newer to the broader Jewish professional community and wishes to deepen the intersection of her JoC identities in this work
JQ International, to elevate LGBTQ+ Iranian experiences (93% of whom self-identify as JoC) with a Persian Pride national event and fellowship program in Los Angeles, New York, and the San Francisco Bay Area
Kamochah, fiscally sponsored by JFNA, for creating spaces where Black Orthodox Jews can embrace both their racial and cultural identity and their religious observance throughcommunity gatherings, davening and envisioning a racially integrated Orthodox community
Kavod v’Nichum, for JoC research to learn how JoCs engage in Jewish end-of-life rituals and practices including Chevrot Kadisha, funerals and burials, and grief and mourning rituals, as well as the creation of new JoC Chevra Kadisha resources
The Kirva Institute, fiscally sponsored by Foundation of Philanthropic Funds, for the IOWA Project’s Dismantling Racism from the Inside Out educational offering and Mussar Vaad middot-study pilot for JoC and Black Jews
Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute, fiscally sponsored by Faith Voices, for a pilot program for ten JoC Kohenet Hebrew Priestess leaders in building a monthly affinity space for continued education, professional development and holistic wellness
Lab/Shul, for leadership development for a JoC Artist in Residence’s direction of virtual/hybrid Passover seder that centers JoC perspectives and understandings of Passover
Linke Fligl, fiscally sponsored by Allied Media Projects, to support leadership of queer JoCs at 5-day immersive farm gathering, sharing out experiences as LGBTQI+ JoC and building a deeper connect to the outdoors
LUNAR: Jewish Asian Film Project, fiscally sponsored by Be’chol Lashon, for a leadership transition grant to support organizational reinforcement, individualized leadership strategy and coaching work
Mitsui Collective, fiscally sponsored by ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, for a three-part virtual series to teach somatic skills to support resilience and provide space for conversation around best practices for JoC that may struggle with security policies within Jewish institutional facilities.
Mosaic Visions, for its “Spirit of Humanity (Ein Sof) Virtual Festival,” a cultural and artistic festival that showcases JoC through their art, music, poetry, writing, songs, and short films
Rimonim Liturgy Project, fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas, for ten JoC artists whose work is included in Rimonim’s collection of Jewish liturgy, poetry, and art
Sandra Caplan Community Beit Din, for leadership of a JoC Conversion Mentoring program for Jews of Color going through the conversion process
Sephardic Heritage International (SHIN DC), for professional development support to a JoC executive director with mentoring and training in the areas of fundraising, financial literacy, and executive leadership
Theater J’s Expanding the Canon, a project of Edlavitch DCJCC, for a convening a JoC rabbis, cantors, and thought leaders to guide seven JoC playwrights through a curriculum of Jewish life, liturgy, history, and literature at immersive three-day Beit Midrash
Uri L’tzedek, for a pilot program, in collaboration with Jewtina y Co., that brings JoC leaders affected by life experiences of migration together for a 4-day immersive leadership retreat and cohort experience that deepens their connection to Jewish values and builds up a diverse community of JoC leaders from different backgrounds and migrant experiences
The Workshop: Arts Fellowship, Program of the Hendel Center for Ethics and Justice, fiscally sponsored by the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), for leadership development for the director of JoC arts and culture fellowship that supports seven artistic fellows in connecting their JoC identity, Jewish text, and traditions with their artistic practice
Amplifying JoC Scholars and JoC-Focused Research RFP
We expanded our grantmaking last year to support more independent researchers whose work helps to advance the field of knowledge about Jews of Color. Research shared publicly drives important communal conversations and further enables the JoCI and among a collective of scholars and leaders to make the case that additional change is needed to create more inclusive, welcoming communities. As you see from the projects below, this research covers a range of intersectional topics.
Ahaverim, fiscally sponsored by Kanu Hawai’i
Research: “Jews of Color in Hawai’i”
Project Purpose: creating a short film documenting and examining the relationship between Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) and Lukaio (Jewish) communities and their intersection (JoC), including Malu Jews (people with hidden Jewish ancestry) and Native Hawaiians with Jewish ancestry
ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal
Research: “Jews of Color Birth & Postpartum Ritual and Practice”
Project Purpose: gathering and preserving meaningful information about the ritual practices of Jews of Color in the United States during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum
Brandeis University
Research: “Asian American Adoptees in the Jewish Community”
Project Purpose: examining the history of transnational adoption in the Jewish community and experiences of Asian adoptees adopted by white Ashkenazi parents
Center for Applied Research and Evaluation (C.A.R.E.)
Research: “Aging Jews of Color & Their Experience of Resilience in Times of Social Unrest”
Project Purpose: examining the experiences of Jews of Color, aged 50 and older, in the context of a historical period of social change, recent national and global violence and compounded historical experiences of trauma and oppression associated with intersectional identities of faith, race and ethnicity
Olamim, fiscally sponsored by Be’chol Lashon
Research: “Latinx JoC Families in the Bay Area”
Project Purpose: examining the cultural and relational needs and communal landscape of Latinx Jewish families in the Bay Area navigating their multicultural, multilingual, racial and intersectional identities as they make educational and programmatic choices for their children
Yeshiva University
Research: “JoC Maternal Health: Focusing on Black Jewish Women’s Birthing Experiences”
Project Purpose: examining how self-identified Black Jewish women in the U.S experience and understand their prenatal health care experiences with regard to seeking out or working with a healthcare professional of their shared Jewish faith, and to engage the Jewish medical community in dialogue around internal bias
Amplifier @ JFNA
We partnered with Amplifier@JFNA to lead a philanthropy cohort. The leaders in the cohort created an RFP and determined where and how to allocate funds, providing a hands-on experience for JoC interested in philanthropy, while also expanding the field through these grants.
Achim Sheli, fiscally sponsored by Congregation Beth El, for the development of a JoC young adult graphic novel, “Jewfro”
Atlanta Jews of Color Council, for general operating support to the AJoCC, supports Jews of Color in the South
Exploring Black Narratives, fiscally sponsored by The Field, for leadership development for JoC actors and teachers in sharing Black playwrights’ work in Jewish day schools
Hebrew Seminary, for leadership development for the first JoC hard of hearing rabbi’s meditation series at rabbinical school for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
LUNAR: Jewish Asian Film Project, fiscally sponsored by Be’chol Lashon, for general support
TischPDX, fiscally sponsored by Jumpstart Labs for a JoC-led Ethiopian Sigd event in Portland
