Support

Our grantmaking process is designed to be simple, relational, and efficient. The first step is to reach out to our Grants Teams at grants@jewsofcolorinitiative.org to begin a conversation about your project. 

Before reaching out, we strongly encourage you to review our Grantmaking Page to understand our process, eligibility, and priorities. To help guide the conversation, we recommend reviewing our questions in advance and coming prepared to discuss.

Our grantmaking supports the growth of the Jewish communal field, with a focus on advancing racial equity and strengthening the ecosystem for Jews of Color in the U.S. We support diverse leaders and initiatives that are deeply committed to building the field for Jews of Color and fostering a multiracial Jewish community, in alignment with our grantmaking priorities.

Our grants support prototype projects, leadership development, and capacity building and infrastructure support for diverse leadership in the Jewish community, in alignment with our mission and priorities. All projects must be domestically-based and domestically-focused in the U.S. and grant funds must go to a registered 501(c)3 non-profit (or a project fiscally sponsored by one). Please note, due to limited funding, not all eligible projects may be funded. Please review our Grantmaking Page for full details on priorities, eligibility, and application guidance.

If your project is not based out of a 501(c)3 nonprofit, you will need to acquire a fiscal sponsorship from a 501c3 nonprofit in order to apply and receive a grant from the Jews of Color Initiative. If you’re new to fiscal sponsorship, please feel free to reach out to our Grants Team at grants@jewsofcolorinitiative.org  to discuss your options. While all grant funds must be distributed through a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit or a qualified fiscal sponsor, we’re happy to provide a general overview of fiscal sponsorship and answer questions you may have.

We currently accept applications on a rolling basis from the fall through May 31st. For large grants, which are grants over $10,000 applications must be reviewed and approved by our Grant Advisory Committee. The Grant Advisory Committee meets every 10-12 weeks, typically in the early fall, winter, early spring and late spring.

To learn more about and request a speaking engagement visit jewsofcolorinitiative.org/speaking-engagements/

This page includes FAQs and a request form. Once the form is submitted, our team will follow up within 2 to 3 weeks with more information.

Please try to request speaking engagements at least 3-6 months in advance. Of note, the JoCI has very limited availability for speaking engagements in July and August. Planning for these engagements ends on May 31st each year.

Once your request is submitted, a JoCI staff member will reach out to you to set up a time to meet. For a typical one to two hour speaking engagement, we provide:

• 1 – 30 min consultation call to identify goals/outcomes and set a plan forward &
•  1 – 30-minute planning call with (a) JoCI team member(s) to discuss program, logistics, timelines etc. 
• Additional planning calls can be requested for a fee.

Speaking engagement honoraria range between $750 – $2,500 for a one hour  online gathering, depending on organizational budget and capacity.

For an in person engagement, honoraria range between $1,500 – $5,000 to be supplemented with flights and hotel expenses covered by the booking organization. Stays are typically 1-2 nights pending distance traveled.

As an exercise in racial equity in Jewish communal life, JoCI does not provide speakers without a minimum contribution to the organization.

The Jews of Color Initiative is laser-focused on uplifting JoCs within the American Jewish community, amplifying projects that serve them and sharing findings from research through educational sessions. While we do not provide any DEI or racial equity training/consulting, we are happy to provide a list of consultants who do provide this important work.

In order to protect JoCI’s intellectual property, we are unable to share a copy of the presentation both before or after the presentation. However, we are able to provide a general slidedeck or handout that covers core information presented. Our presentations illustrate the findings in our major research report, Beyond the Count: Perspectives and Lived Experiences of Jews of Color.

It is a possibility, which must be discussed with JoCI staff in planning meetings and approved through an agreement between JoCI and the booking organization. 

Any recording: 

• May be shared for educational purposes in settings where no fee is paid for use of the recording.
• May be used for fundraising purposes limited to fundraising for Jews of Color (100% of fees must go toward Jews of Color. Funds may not be used for administrative purposes). 
• May not be used for fundraising or any purposes beyond what is discussed with JoCI. 

The Jews of Color Initiative retains all rights to and ownership of data and/or ideas developed and crafted by the Jews of Color Initiative. Prior to release or publication of media sharing data and/or ideas developed and crafted by the Jews of Color Initiative, the Jews of Color Initiative also retains the right to inspect or approve any finished product.

Our accounting team will send an invoice via email through bill.com. Our invoices can only be paid via bill.com by ACH transfer. Alternatively, you can mail your check payment to: 

Jews of Color Initiative,
1569 Solano Ave., #474
Berkeley, CA, 94707 

We do not accept credit card payments for our invoices.

We understand that unexpected issues may arise. In order to protect our time and organizational investment, all cancellations and significant changes must be made at least 4 weeks prior to the scheduled speaking date. Once JoCI and the partner organization come to a formal agreement for the speaking engagement, the partner organization will likely be held responsible for the full fee pending any cancellations or significant changes.

“Jews of Color” is a broad term that refers to Jews who are People of Color of many racial, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. There is no single definition of Jews of Color, and the concept itself is still evolving. We understand the term Jews of Color in the context of U.S.-based race and racism, recognizing that Ashkenormativity also contributes to shaping our community. While race is a social concept, JoCI was created in response to racism in the U.S. that concretely affects the lives of People of Color. We recognize that race is complicated and that some may struggle with the term “Jew of Color” and/or whether or not they fit within it. Although we believe the expanding definition of Jews of Color should be determined among the community, at the Jews of Color Initiative we use this term to refer to those who self-identify as Jewish and a Person of Color and whose experiences are shaped by these social categories and their intersections.

No, while we strongly believe that all organizations should go through DEI training in order to make our community more inclusive and welcoming for all, our organizational goals are centered around expanding the field through new programs and initiatives that are laser-focused on Jews of Color.

If you are an organization with a job opening you would like to share with our community, you must first fill out our Submissions for Job Listings form. Please note, this is a new form. Once we have reviewed your submission to check that your listing meets our equity criteria, we will share your listing in our newsletter, Galim. Submissions are typically reviewed during the last 10 days of each month, and listings are shared the first Thursday of the following month (when Galim is released).

Our equity criteria:

• Public job listing must include the salary range
• Public listing must include a non-discrimination statement or Equal Opportunity Employment policy
• Current staff and leadership must have undertaken anti-bias or diversity training within the past year
• Organization must have 2 or more Jews of Color or People of Color in non-support roles