Family Fun at PJ Simchas Event, Raleigh-Cary, NC

Cities receiving subgrants included Buffalo, Indianapolis, Tampa, Chattanooga, Albany, Charleston, and Raleigh/Cary.

Here are some tips from them for anyone else considering a similar outreach effort:

• The “connector” model was a more effective way of reaching families than other methods. Federations relied on individuals with backgrounds that were similar to the prospective audience to recruit participants. The personal approach took more time than other approaches but resulted in higher attendance.
• Discussion groups offer an informal opportunity to talk about Jewish beliefs and values. The grant encouraged creative ways of reaching people who do not identify as Jewish and who previously had minimal interaction with the local Jewish community. For example, Tampa offered art and activities for small children while the parents conversed and Charleston offered monthly playgroups and holiday get-togethers.
• There is a market for introduction to Judaism classes, even in communities that have not previously offered them. Babysitting made it easier for families with children to attend, and collaboration with clergy of different denominations provided a more well-rounded experience for participants. Portland, Maine’s class “Welcome to Judaism” included trips to area synagogues.
• Discussions with people who are intermarried and active in Jewish life shows participants they can find a home in Judaism.
• Concrete education accompanied by hands-on-activities helps interfaith families build Jewish homes that work for them. In Orange County, NY a monthly federation initiative introduced families to welcoming ceremonies for newborns and other life-cycle rituals, along with details on celebrating Shabbat and other holidays. It also provided a place to talk through challenging issues that may be faced by families where one partner is not Jewish, such as “How can the non-Jewish family be educated and included in these practices?”
• People are receptive to learning about Judaism in a small group setting. In several cities the non-Jewish partner showed up for programs more often than anticipated, because they felt welcome. Many participants increased their engagement with communal life as a result of these initiatives, including becoming involved with synagogues, enrolling in Jewish preschools, and attending JCC holiday celebrations. They appreciated the opportunity to raise questions and have substantive conversations in a comfortable environment.

In a recent report, JFNA reflected:

“We are grateful to the National Center to Encourage Judaism for being our partner in this program. The funding helped us provide appealing venues, creative programs and enticing advertisements. Participants reflected how grateful they were to engage in meaningful Jewish programming that invited their families to be with us as a family in low-barrier and creative settings”

How the Pittsburgh JCC used “Field Trips” for Families to create an “on-ramp” to Judaism

For the second year NCEJ gave a grant to the JCCPGH to enable it to expand marketing for a series of 1-day  “Family Holiday Camps”, geared primarily to intermarried families. This year the focus was on Shabbat, Chanukah, and Shavuot.

Each session consisted of numerous hands-on activities plus Jewish learning. The aim was to encourage the families to embrace Jewish living at home and also engage with Jewish life in Pittsburgh. Feedback from program participants highlighted that families appreciated the opportunity to spend time together in a relaxed atmosphere while also being able to connect with other families and the larger community.

Program Example: “Shabbat on the Ark”

Shabbat on the Ark, held in the fall, immersed families with young children in the story of parashat Noach. Families boarded the Gateway Clipper for a morning cruise, much like Noah boarded the ark, and experienced a family-friendly Torah service. Connecting to the story, most of the activities were animal-related, such as building animal toys out of paper towel tubes.

The Jewish message was: Torah stories can be relevant in our 21st century life and Torah should be read in public settings with fun, joy and purpose.

Have Ideas for a Program that Meshes with NCEJ’s Mission?

If you offer programs geared towards interfaith families and others who do not identify as Jewish, NCEJ might be able to help you widen your audience and connect more people to Judaism. For more details, visit our grant page, or contact Ellen Gerecht to set up a time for conversation.

Featured photos: from the JCC Family Holiday Camps in Pittsburgh.

The post How an NCEJ Grant Can Help You Reach Interfaith Families appeared first on National Center to Encourage Judaism.

• A post-conversion program
• Introduction to Judaism for Spanish speakers
• Interfaith outreach initiatives
• PJ Library subscriber get-togethers
• Expand the Circle discussion groups
• Family to family connections

* For grants up to $5,000, NCEJ will award a 20% additional bonus on applications received before December 31, 2018, once approved by the foundation.

Apply today for an NCEJ Grant — tell your friends in the field, too. Simply fill out our short two-page grant application: Download Application. See a special mention of our funding bonus in eJewish Philanthropy.

Sign up for grant news to get ideas for how you can promote Judaism in your community and learn more about all the innovative programs NCEJ supports.

Recent Grant Highlights & Updates:

Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis

The Indianapolis Federation recently advertised its innovative programming, supported by NCEJ. Each program was featured in the latest JFGI Connections magazine resulting in strong community interest and registrations. View a digital copy of the magazine here, where you can find the feature about Taste of Hebrew on page 13 and Finding Your Place in B’nai Mitzvah on page 15. Program descriptions can also be found below:

Program: “A Taste of Hebrew”

A Taste of Hebrew is designed to teach Hebrew decoding skills to both Jews and non-Jews who cannot read Hebrew, with a focus on parents of children who are in the process of learning Hebrew. The class is intentionally designed only as a very basic introduction to Hebrew in order to make it easily accessible and open to everyone. Learn More

View Program Flyer

Program: “Finding Your Place in B’nai Mitzvah”

Finding Your Place in B’nai Mitzvah, aims to create a place for non-Jewish parents to deepen their understanding of b’nai mitzvah and feel supported as their children go through this important life-cycle event. Special outreach to interfaith families who are currently synagogue members along with unaffiliated interfaith families who may be seeking b’nai mitzvah outside the organized Jewish community will be made to identify participants for this seminar. Learn More

View Program Flyer

Grant News

Many other groups throughout the country are developing new approaches to welcome individuals, couples, and families who want to become part of the Jewish community. Here are a few examples:

Congregation Bnai Amoona, St Louis was awarded a marketing grant for its Introduction to Judaism class. Last year Bnai Amoona received a NCEJ advertising grant through the Rabbinic Assembly. It has offered a wide range of courses for newcomers to Judaism for many years.

The Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City just received a grant for a post-conversion program that will provide support to new Jews by choice. This is in addition to the grant they receive every year to promote their introduction to Judaism class.

JCC of Pittsburgh received another grant to promote a series of family holiday camps, following up on the success of last year’s Chanukah and Passover programs which attracted over 200 participants.

Temple Aliyah, a Conservative synagogue in Needham, MA is a first-time NCEJ grantee for a program entitled “Exploring the Joys of Shabbat, Purim, and Pesach through Jewish Food”.

Have an idea?

Give us a call or send us an email, contact Ellen Gerecht, Executive Director or call 301-802-4254.

The post NCEJ Announces Bonus for Applications Received by December 31 appeared first on National Center to Encourage Judaism.

To apply for a grant, simply fill out our short two-page application which can be downloaded here. Submit your application at any time throughout the year. Notification is made within 45 days.

Anyone who applies by November 15 is eligible for an additional funding bonus. See a special mention of our funding bonus in eJewish Philanthropy.

Apply today for an NCEJ Grant—and tell your friends in the field, too.

Here’s what one of our grantees said about the NCEJ grant her organization received:

“It is clear that our sisterhood leaders accepted the (NCEJ) grants with a clear vision. These programs are able to be easily replicated and will serve as models for sisterhoods in the future as well. Your gift is truly one that keeps on giving.”

We welcome ideas for innovative programs, as well as proposals for events that can be replicated by others.

An NCEJ grant can help you attract more people to Judaism from all walks of life and backgrounds.

• Temple Beth Israel, Broward County, FL offers conversion classes for Spanish speakers. Two of the students who went through the conversion class are currently members of the synagogue board.
• West Suburban Temple Har Zion River Forest, IL just received a grant for an Introductory Judaism class for Spanish speakers.
• Women of Temple Sinai, Pittsburgh, PA hosted a “Pride Seder” program which reached women in the congregation who were studying for their conversion, as well as others, including many from outside the synagogue.
• Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County / New York – Interfaith Family Engagement Project. This initiative will offer monthly two-hour conversations for parents (with children welcome) focused on building a Jewish home.

Have an idea? Give us a call or send us an email, contact Ellen Gerecht, Executive Director or call 301-802-4254.

Here are a few of our recent grants:

• Welcome to Judaism Course (Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine/Portland): Working collaboratively with all clergy in the community, the JCA will offer five sessions over six weeks.
• Finding Your Place in B’nai Mitzvah: The Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis will hold a four-series seminar for Jewish/non-Jewish families in the bar/bat mitzvah stage to help them navigate some of the issues they may face.
• 2nd Nite Learners Seder for Conversion Students (Congregation Beth Tikvah, Toronto): This provided families an opportunity to celebrate Passover with others going through the same process.

Programs such as these can start participants on a Jewish journey. Here’s just one example:

“Our Taste of Judaism classes are a great way to introduce inactive and non-Jews to Judaism in a friendly, non-proselytizing atmosphere.”

Many students have continued on to other adult education classes. One Jewish retiree who had been unaffiliated took the Taste of Judaism® class a few years ago, got involved in the synagogue, and volunteered as an adult education chairman the past year. Additionally, a couple who attended the Taste of Judaism® class joined the weekly Torah study group.

In Other Grant News…

The NCEJ grant to the Union of Reform Judaism (URJ) was recently renewed. URJ will use the grant for marketing Introduction to Judaism and A Taste of Judaism® classes. The funds will be used to support classes held by individual synagogues and for social media and other advertising for URJ-sponsored classes.

The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) received an additional grant for 2018-19. This will enable more small- to medium-sized communities to receive sub grants for programming geared to interfaith families, including PJ library participants.

Want to Learn More?

To learn more about NCEJ’s activities and what we fund, click here to download our new flyer.

Have a program idea that needs funding?

Give us a call or send us an email, contact Ellen Gerecht, Executive Director or call 301-802-4254.

The post Start the New Year With New Programming—Apply for a Grant Today appeared first on National Center to Encourage Judaism.

Eligible initiatives include:

• Those that are intended as an ongoing series to offer attendees a variety of learning opportunities that can build upon each other.
• Those that use teachers from the community who work with those who are interfaith or interested in converting, including those teaching “Introduction to Judaism” courses.
• Partnerships with groups whose client/member base may likely include nonJews who could be interested in learning more about Judaism, such as interfaith families with children at a Jewish Community Center childcare facility.

The grants are intended to provide opportunities for communities that do not otherwise have the resources for such programs and/or where such programs would add a new dimension to outreach efforts. The funds will also benefit communities with low synagogue affiliation rates or communities with smaller, less affluent synagogues.

Grant Award Schedule

Awards will be made by March 2018 for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. Grants will be awarded by JFNA before March 31, 2018, and programs will begin in April.

About NCEJ Grants

* NCEJ offers direct grants to synagogues and other Jewish nonprofits in the U.S. and abroad who want to run programs helping nonJews learn more about Judaism. We also fund larger organizations across the country that in turn provide subgrants to other organizations in their specific networks who want to implement such programs.

For more information contact Executive Director Ellen Gerecht via email here, or call 301-802-4254.

The post Jewish Federations of North America Receives $25,000 NCEJ Grant appeared first on National Center to Encourage Judaism.