The Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles (JCFLA) is currently accepting proposals for its 2012 Cutting Edge Grants Initiative, which offers funding to organizations developing innovative programs that serve the Jewish community in Los Angeles.
The foundation will award grants of up to $250,000 over a three-year period to existing nonprofits launching new programs and new organizations. To be considered, organizations must be developing “untested ground-breaking programs; successful Los Angeles pilot programs ready for community-wide implementation; local adaptations of high-impact initiatives proven outside of Los Angeles or programs designed by social entrepreneurs to create new nonprofit organizations,” according to a JCFLA statement.
“What we’re looking for is a proposal that has a program that’s really unique,” said Amelia Xann, vice president of the Family Foundation Center and grant programs at JCFLA.
The deadline for proposals is Nov. 10. The process takes approximately nine months, starting when organizations apply for grants to the awarding of grants. The grants will be awarded in late 2012.
On Aug. 24, the foundation announced its 2011 Cutting Edge Grants recipients — seven organizations will receive a total of nearly $1.2 million: Moishe House Los Angeles, a program for post-college young adults in their 20s, will get $200,000 over two years to produce 200 events, such as Shabbat dinners, holiday celebrations, group learning, social justice programs and cultural events.
Beit T’Shuvah, which works with people recovering from addictions, will receive $250,000 over three years to create BTS Communications, a vocational training program for 50 interns, preparing them for careers in graphic and Web design, online advertising and social media marketing.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles will receive $185,000 over three years, to help 1,000 Jewish families in need of assistance due to economic or transitional life issues at one of four participating synagogue clusters.
Additional grants are awarded to: Builders of Jewish Education of Greater Los Angeles (BJE): $240,000 over three years to help Jewish students with mild or moderate special needs attend Jewish high schools. Simon Wiesenthal Center: $125,000 over two years for a multimedia educational program to address new forms of anti-Semitism on college campuses. Israel Leadership Council (ILC): $100,000 over a three-year period to help 10,000 Jewish and Israeli American Angelenos connect and volunteer through an online social volunteer network, I.L. Care. And the Academy for Jewish Religion, California, will get $100,000, over three years for training for seven faculty members from Claremont School of Theology, the Academy for Jewish Religion, California, and the Islamic Center of Southern California in a new inter-religious program to ensure all students in the program get education in all of the three faiths, giving the students skills to promote dialogue and collaboration across religious boundaries.
Founded in 1954, JCFLA manages charitable assets and planned giving solutions for Los Angeles philanthropists. It provides grants in four different areas, including general community grants, Israel grants and capital grants, as well as the Cutting Edge Grants.
