Dear Colleagues,

The last two years have been an exciting time of progress for the Jim Joseph Foundation. First and foremost, grantees continued to innovate and worked determinedly to achieve remarkable outcomes in Jewish education. This report offers a snapshot of some of those strategies and achievements in a variety of the Foundation’s areas of grantmaking—from efforts to create more skilled Jewish educators to initiatives that cultivate immersive Jewish education opportunities; and from successful teen education models to creative young adult engagement.

As grantees have evolved and flourished, so too has the Foundation. In 2013, we welcomed three passionate, skilled new members to our Board of Directors: Alisa Robbins Doctoroff, Dan Safier, and Joshua Joseph. They are valuable assets for the Foundation in its continuing efforts to meet needs of 21st-century Jewish communities with strategic grantmaking.

Following our first Board meeting of 2014, the Foundation passed the $300 million figure in grantmaking since its founding in 2006. Reaching this grant amount is a milestone, but its true significance lies within the number of youth and young adults whose Jewish journeys have been inspired, enriched, and even shaped as a result of these efforts.

Building on grantees’ achievements, the Foundation has allocated significant resources to sharing lessons learned and to documenting successful models. We recognize the responsibility we have to help improve the entire field of Jewish education, and we’re pleased to highlight many of these resources in this report.

We are fortunate to collaborate with grantees committed to dynamic, effective Jewish education. We hope you enjoy learning more about their passionate work to create ever expanding opportunities for Jewish learning and for vibrant Jewish life.  

Alvin T. Levitt
President

Chip Edelsberg, Ph.D.
Executive Director