Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle

Community services: the Federation provides programs and services that support local organizations and the community at large. The Federation through advocacy and coalition building, advocates for more effective policies. The government and community affairs team educates legislators about top priorities and supports the needs and work of our local Jewish agencies. The Jewish community relations council (jcrc) of the Federation brings together and mobilizes the local Jewish community on critical issues amplifying our collective voice for institutional members and individual leaders. The jcrc fosters meaningful relationships among diverse ethnic, racial, religious, and interest groups; builds coalitions based on mutual areas for antisemitism, racism, and civil rights; and educates and advocates to advance Jewish concerns in the public arena. The Federation serves as the hub of safe Washington, a program that leverages its strong relationships with law enforcement agencies to alert the participating organizations to threats and offer preparedness resources and training, free of charge. The Jewish community foundation of Greater Seattle (the foundation), a program of the Federation, is Seattle's Jewish community foundation. As a partner to philanthropists and Jewish communal organizations, the foundation offers several different types of funds, including donor advised, special purpose, agency custodial, and scholarship funds. The foundation currently administers separate funds for the community and the Federation. These funds support Jewish and secular organizations, distributing grants and allocations in the puget sound region, the u.s., and overseas. Another Federation initiative, life & legacy, is a partnership with the harold grinspoon foundation through which the Federation supports Jewish organizations as they implement their legacy sustainability plans and more fully integrate after-lifetime giving into their philanthropic cultures. The Federation also provides grants to local organizations and synagogues through its special initiatives fund. Grants include 1) ignition grants for new, one time, or pilot projects; 2) small agency sustainability grants, providing operational support for small Jewish agencies; and 3) women's endowment fund grants, supporting programs empowering and improving the lives of women and girls in our region.

Israel and world jewry: the projects the Federation funds overseas provide education, food for the hungry, health care for the sick, and support for israeli immigrants in crisis. Through funding of the Jewish agency for israel (jafi), the american Jewish joint distribution committee (jdc), american friends of leket israel, the ethiopian national project (enp), tech-career, shaharit, yemen orde/impact israel, and selah, the Federation supports the global Jewish community. The Federation helps area community members make meaningful connections to israel through its israeli emissaries program, teen israel scholarships, the honeymoon israel Seattle program, and lectures on israel and american jewry in the puget sound region.

Investments in Jewish life: the Federation offers programming to individuals and families, providing easy entry points to Jewish life, as well as leadership development. The Federation does this through programs and experiences that provide opportunities where community members can make person-to-person connections within their local communities.these program investments include:- pj library and pj our way, in partnership with the harold grinspoon foundation, provide young families books free of charge to foster Jewish involvement and connection. Through pj programming, families can meet one another to form connections through fun and welcoming in-person and virtual experiences.- reset and refresh, a federation-developed program offering young couples in mixed-heritage relationships the opportunity to learn with and socialize with their peers.- need-based scholarships and one happy camper incentive grants to aid families in sending their children to Jewish overnight summer camp.- tuition assistance to families who want to send their children to Jewish day school.- the cardozo society, an affinity group for legal professionals and students. Cardozo programs include continuing education courses, pro bono initiatives, judicial candidate ratings, and networking opportunities.- leadership development opportunities in Jewish puget sound through the national young leadership cabinet (nylc), the wexner heritage program, the Seattle nowgen giving circle, the courageous leadership initiative (cli), and the newly created courageous leadership incubator (incubator). Incubator is a shared learning and mentoring program in which a cohort of up-and-coming leaders deepen their understanding of opportunities and challenges facing Jewish life. As part of the experience, incubator participants serve as non-voting members on boards of local Jewish organizations. The Federation brought the cli and incubator programs to our community in partnership with the shalom hartman institute of north america.