Jewish Funds for Justice
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The Jewish Funds for Justice (JFSJ) was an American charity based in New York. In 2005, Simon Greer became its President and CEO. In 2011, Progressive Jewish Alliance merged with Jewish Funds for Justice and became a new organization, Bend the Arc.


History

The original Jewish Fund for Justice was created in 1984.
Si Kahn Si Kahn (born April 23, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, activist, and founder and former executive director of Grassroots Leadership. Biography Early life and education Kahn grew up in State College, Pennsylvania, United States. When ...
and David Tobin spent eighteen months organizing the Fund.Johnston, David.
New Jewish Fund for Justice Extends Good Will : Charity Announces Its First Grants to Secular Agencies Fighting Poverty
. ''Los Angeles Times''. July 26, 1985.
Its first board chair was Kahn and its first executive director was
Lois Roisman Lois Roisman (March 29, 1938 – June 2, 2008) was an American philanthropist, playwright and poet. Background Lois Levin was a native of Fayetteville, Texas, and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. Following her marriage to Arnold Fagin, ...
.
Ruth Wisse Ruth Wisse (surname pronounced ) (Yiddish: רות װײַס; Roskies; born May 13, 1936) is a Canadian academic and is the Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard University ''emerita''. ...
argues that the Jewish Fund for Justice is one of a number of left-of-center Jewish organizations founded in the 1980s without explaining why a new, specifically Jewish charity was needed, in her view, the actual motivation was a need felt by highly educated people to counter rising antisemitism by means of "public avowals of kindliness and liberalism." Jewish Funds for Justice was created in 2006 when the Jewish Fund for Justice merged with The Shefa Fund, which had been founded in 1990. Jewish Funds for Justice then merged with Spark: The Partnership for Jewish Service in February 2007.Jewish Social Change Groups to Merge
. ''Jewish Funds for Justice''. Press release. February 5, 2007. Archived from th
original
on July 13, 2007.
While Jewish Funds for Justice is one of many Jewish organizations that received funding from the
Open Society Foundations Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a Grant (money), grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the wo ...
for one of its projects, Jewish Funds for Justice did not receive any other funding from
George Soros George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
or his philanthropies. On June 1, 2011, Progressive Jewish Alliance merged with Jewish Funds for Justice, adopting the name Bend the Arc in 2012.


Divisions

*Through Jewish Funds for Justice's Alliance and Base Building Division, Jewish Funds for Justice worked to solidify the broad foundation of a Jewish social change movement. The activities of this division include congregation-based
community organizing Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. Unlike those who promote more-consensual community bui ...
, supporting Jewish social change alliances, and online action. *Through Jewish Funds for Justice's Capital Programs division, Jewish Funds for Justice mobilized Jewish financial resources to create
social change Social change is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations. Definition Social change may not refer to the notion of social progress or sociocult ...
. This division made grants to community-based organizations, invested Jewish dollars in community development financial institutions, and supported the post-
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
rebuilding of the
Gulf Coast of the United States The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...
. *Through Jewish Funds for Justice's Leadership Institute, Jewish Funds for Justice trained hundreds of Jewish social change leaders. Programs included the Selah Collaborative Leadership Program and the Rabbinical Leadership for Public Life programs. *Through Spark: The Center for Jewish Service Learning, Jewish Funds for Justice inspired Jews to integrate community service into their lives through ongoing Jewish service learning programs and service and learning travel programs.


Activities

*In May 2007, Jewish Funds for Justice organized a coalition of more than twenty Jewish organizations in an attempt to focus the attention of the 2008 American presidential candidates on the domestic priorities of American Jews. The coalition produced an online survey that received nearly 9,000 responses. The online survey identified
health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
as the top domestic concern of American Jews. *Jewish Funds for Justice has been called a catalyst of the synagogue organizing movement. In February 2007, Jewish Funds for Justice brought together more than 300 leaders from 63 different congregations to discuss their involvement in community organizing. Jewish Funds for Justice also published a booklet and a video on
Congregation-based Community Organizing Community organizing describes a wide variety of efforts to empower residents in a local area to participate in civic life or governmental affairs. Most efforts that claim this label operate in low-income or middle-income areas, and have adopted at ...
. *After
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
struck the
coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...
of the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
, Jewish Funds for Justice frequently spoke out about the need for fair and rapid redevelopment of the region. Jewish Funds for Justice co-sponsored the Blueprint for Gulf Renewal, published in August/September 2007 by the Institute of Southern Studies/Southern Exposure. *Jewish Funds for Justice maintained a
blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
that served as an online hub for Jewish netroots action and Jewish perspectives on contemporary issues of social and economic justice. * Jspot.org, a project of Progressive Jewish Alliance and Jewish Funds for Justice, supported protesters at
Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a protest Social movement, movement against economic inequality and the Campaign finance, influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial District, Manhattan, Wall S ...
, stating, "Many of us have found this call to action in our Judaism."


Recognition

*In October 2007, Jewish Funds for Justice was included in Slingshot, a Resource Guide to Jewish Innovation for the third consecutive year. Jewish Funds for Justice was one of only eight organizations to receive a grant from The Slingshot Fund in coordination with its inclusion in Slingshot. *Rabbi Jill Jacobs, then the Rabbi-in-Residence at Jewish Funds for Justice, was included in ''
The Jewish Daily Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, '' ...
''s Forward 50 in 2006, for "almost single-handedly forc ngthe movement to refocus on one of the oldest issues on the social agenda: workers' rights". *In 2011,
Charity Navigator Charity Navigator is a charity assessment organization that evaluates hundreds of thousands of charitable organizations based in the United States, operating as a free 501(c)(3) organization. It provides insights into a nonprofit’s financial s ...
gave four out of four stars to Jewish Funds for Justice for finances as well as for accountability and transparency. In 2015, Charity Navigator gave one star to Bend the Arc for financials and four stars for accountability and transparency. *Jewish Funds for Justice's Senior Vice President Jeffrey Dekro received a Community Impact Award from the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions in June 2007.Community Impact awards honor Dekro, Delfin, Cochran
. ''
Credit Union National Association The Credit Union National Association, commonly known as CUNA (pronounced "Cue-Nuh"), is a national trade association for both state- and federally chartered credit unions located in the United States. CUNA provides member credit unions with tr ...
''. June 22, 2007. Archived from th
original
on March 11, 2009.


References


Other Resources

{{cite book , last= Jacobs , first= Rabbi Jill , title= There Shall Be No Needy: Pursuing Social Justice through Jewish Law and Tradition , isbn= 978-1580234252 , publisher= Jewish Lights , date= 2010


External links


Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice
1984 establishments in New York (state) Jewish charities based in the United States Jewish-American political organizations Non-profit organizations based in New York City Charities based in New York City Social justice organizations