Fall 2021 Grantmaking Cycle
Grantmaking Guidelines and Application Process
Overview
The Jewish Liberation Fund (JLF) mobilizes resources and provides grant funding organizations and projects working to sustain and grow a progressive Jewish movement for justice and liberation.
JLF invites Letters of Interest (LOIs) from organizations and projects interested in applying for a grant from JLF in the Fall 2021 Grantmaking Cycle. A selection of applicants that submit LOIs will then be invited to submit a full proposal. While JLF cannot predict how many LOIs we will receive (and therefore how competitive the cycle will be), we can share our past experiences. The numbers from our Spring 2021 Grantmaking Cycle:
36 LOIs
18 Full proposals
10 grants
Grants will be awarded in amounts ranging from $10,000 - $25,000, on a one-year basis. Applying for a grant in this cycle has no bearing on eligibility for future grantmaking cycles.
Eligibility
Prospective grantees must be United States-based 501(c)3 non-profit organizations, or projects operating under a fiscal sponsorship arrangement with a United States-based 501(c)3 organization.[1]
As a grantmaker practicing participatory grantmaking, we rely upon our reviewers’ expertise with the movement landscapes where we fund. Therefore, we may decline to fund a non-US based project even though it is deeply aligned with our priorities simply because, at this time, we don’t have the expertise to make responsible grantmaking decisions in the locale where the applicant predominantly operates. If you have any questions about whether your hybrid US & international work is eligible, please contact grants@jewishliberation.fund.
Prospective grantees must be engaging in work that is building or sustaining the progressive Jewish movement for justice and liberation in the United States. Secular organizing or movement-based projects with Jewish staff but that are not themselves Jewish projects due to the character of the work or core constituency are not eligible.
Prospective grantees should be able to demonstrate impact or a track record. While there is not a minimum organizational age or budget size for projects to qualify for a grant from JLF, we are not considering projects that are still in the ideation/conceptual stage for this round of grantmaking.
Previous applicants who did not receive a grant in the Spring 2021 cycle may resubmit the same LOI without substantial changes if the work remains unchanged. Previous applicants are, however, encouraged to speak with JLF staff for feedback on your LOI (many have done so already), and to incorporate that feedback into this cycle’s submission materials.
Grantees from JLF’s Spring 2021 grantmaking cycle are not eligible for new funding through the Fall cycle.
Successful applications will likely reflect a minimum of four, if not all, of the Grantmaking Priorities articulated below.
Grantmaking Priorities
Work that nourishes and grows the progressive Jewish movement for justice and liberation - through traditional movement building work, and/or through spiritual, arts, and cultural-creation work.
Explicit organizational/project commitment and demonstrated praxis of anti-racism
Project’s work & leadership center/are composed of Black Jews, Indigenous Jews, Jews of Color, Sephardim, and/or Mizrahim (BIJOCSM), and/or poor/working class Jews.
Tricky-to-fund work - unlikely to receive funding from other Jewish institutional funders, on account of the nature of the work and/or the project’s values/political convictions.
Catalyzing work - sparks or ignites ripple effects; generates buzz, communal conversation, and action in new ways; has edge; project isn’t afraid to take risks and buck the status quo.
While not strictly excluded, LOIs for internal DEIJ (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice) initiatives within organizations that do not otherwise meet the above criteria are unlikely to be successful.
Grantmaking Process & Timeline
October 8th – Letters of Interest (LOIs) due, per submission guidelines (below)
October 24th – JLF Steering Committee reviews LOIs
Week of October 25th – LOI responses sent to applicants and proposal guidelines shared
November 21st – Proposals due
Week of December 6th – Proposal responses sent to applicants (estimated)
Mid December – early January 2022 – Funds dispersed to grantees (estimated)
We recognize this is a tight timeline for many organizations, given the schedule of the Jewish holidays. Because of this, and out of respect for JLF staff & Steering Committee members’ time, these deadlines are firm. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, or if we can assist you in any way, by emailing grants@jewishliberation.fund.
LOI Submission Guidelines
Please submit a PDF document via email to grants@jewishliberation.fund. LOIs should include the following information, and be approximately 1-2 pages:
Name of project/organization
Project/organization website and/or social media
501(c)3 status (name of fiscal sponsor, if appropriate)
Primary contact information for project/organization
A brief narrative summary of your project/organization’s work or activities, including a description of how your project meets JLF’s Grantmaking Priorities.
Names of senior or most relevant staff, key collaborators, and Board/Advisory/Leadership Team members.[2]
Letters of Interest do not need to include either a grant request amount or budget. The page range is a suggestion and guideline, rather than a hard minimum or maximum. JLF does not use character or word count limits in our application process.
Please contact JLF staff (grants@jewishliberation.fund) with any questions or to schedule a preliminary conversation about your LOI prior to submission. JLF staff are available to all prospective applicants to offer guidance and clarification on LOIs prior to submission; however, speaking to a staff member is not a prerequisite for submitting an LOI.
A Note of Context on Identity, Priority-Setting, and Political Analysis
JLF believes that both the history and contemporary reality of wealth accumulation in the United States is built upon a foundation of extractive racial capitalism. Philanthropy – including Jewish philanthropy – is deeply embedded within, rather than outside of, this system of racial capitalism. The effects of racism, classism, and racial capitalism within philanthropy can be widely observed: decisions about how resources are allocated, the identities and lived experiences of decision-makers, the value systems that guide strategy, the creation and reification of knowledge, which organizations and projects get funding, how trust is extended from grantmakers to grantees, and the political boundaries of grantmakers; to name just a few examples.
Against this backdrop, JLF has made the decision to prioritize funding for movement building and sustaining work that addresses the impacts of racial capitalism within our communities, in particular by prioritizing work led by BIJOCSM and poor/working class Jews. This decision is not intended to suggest that other issues, otherwise structurally oppressed and targeted people, and other movement work is not deeply necessary to bring forth collective liberation. We encourage applications from intersectional projects/organizations that weave together the wisdom of those who live on the margins of power with the work of movement building and sustenance.
If your project does not substantially engage with questions of race and class, and/or does not include BIJOCSM and poor/working class people in meaningful leadership roles, we would invite you to consider how deepening your engagement with race and class could strengthen your work.
[1] The terms “organization” and “project” are both used because JLF funds stand-alone 501(c)3 organizations as well as Fiscally Sponsored Projects (FSPs). The vast majority of JLF grants are intended to be treated as general operating funds by the recipient entity, though when appropriate, will be restricted to the designated FSP.
[2] This does not need to be a comprehensive list of all employees, rather it should give us a sense of who the key decision-makers are for the project/organization and who will be primarily responsible for executing the work described. Precisely who is included in this list will vary by project/organization.