The Jewish Women's Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago (JWF) continues to make a sizeable and meaningful impact in supporting Jewish women following October 7.
In May, JWF joined 10 Jewish women's organizations from around the country in a collaboration that mobilized $125,000 to support, elevate, and empower Israeli women.
The new Collective Response Fund includes Elluminate, the Hadassah Foundation, Jewish Women's Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh, Women's Amutot Initiative of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, National Council of Jewish Women, Propel San Francisco, the Fund for Women and Girls at the Jewish Community Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, the Miriam Fund in Boston, Women of Vision of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, and Women of Reform Judaism.
JWF's steering committee unanimously approved an allocation of $10,000 to the Jewish Women's Collective Response Fund. Five Israeli organizations received grants, each for $25,000:
The Adva Center , based in Tel Aviv, advances equality, social justice, and gender-responsive policies in Israel, including giving voice in the Israeli government to women at a time when they are often excluded from decision making.
Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel raises awareness within Israeli communities and government of gender-based sexual violence and harassment. The Jerusalem-based organization provides support, resources, and advocacy for survivors, as well as leads international calls for accountability for the sexual terrorism committed against Israeli women on October 7.
Itach Ma'aki-Women Lawyers for Social Justice empowers and gives voice to Israeli women facing social, geographic, national, ethnic and economic discrimination. The Tel Aviv-based organization provides legal aid, engages with activist groups and other allies, and identifies and promotes changes in national policy and legislation.
The Ruth and Emanuel Rackman Center , based at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, promotes the status and rights of women in matters of family law while working to end gender discrimination and inequality in Israel through advocacy and legislative change.
WePower works to elevate women to influential and decision-making positions in Israel with a focus on erasing the gender gap in public and political arenas. The Tel Aviv-based organization identifies potential female leaders and trains them for leadership positions, promotes gender-aware legislation to remove barriers, and advances gender equality as a societal foundation.
"Participating funders each had an opportunity to nominate organizations they know well, have a lot of confidence in, and that they've funded in the past," explained Ellen Carmell, Executive Director of JWF, adding that the $25,000 grants do not have restrictions.
"The power of collective giving provided leading women's organizations the opportunity to come together and create an impact larger than any one of our funding sources could do on our own. In a time of incredible need, JWF's Chair, Sue Rifas, and I were grateful to represent JWF Chicago as part of this significant effort to give voice and agency to Israeli women in government and civil society," said Genna Kahn, JWF Program Officer.
In addition to financial resources, JWF contributed expertise by taking on a leadership role throughout the grantmaking process, drawing upon extensive experience with other collaborative funds in recent years.
"We similarly participated in every previous collaborative grant opportunity, including an emergency collective grant during COVID," Carmell said. "This has been touted as one of the most feminist approaches to philanthropy that you could have because the funders and practitioners are collaborative."
Since October 7, JWF has made several contributions to Israeli causes, including a $10,000 grant to JUF's Israel Emergency Fund in the days following the attack and awarding its largest overall docket to date in December to support Jewish women.
For more information about JWF and the Collective Response Fund, visit jwfchicago.org.
