Program areas at Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston
CJP's mission is to inspire and mobilize the diverse Boston Jewish community to engage in building communities of learning and action that strengthen Jewish life and improve the world. CJP works to achieve this mission through its major programs, which include Broader and Deeper Engagement in Jewish Life, Caring for Vulnerable Populations, and Optimizing the Ecosystem. Broader and Deeper Engagement in Jewish Life: CJP's core reason for existence is to ensure Boston has a thriving Jewish community. The Jewish Life portfolio includes all aspects of a highly engaged and committed community, including funding for the most vulnerable, support for families with young children, teens, young adults, and critical organizational partnerships. CJP seeks to ensure the most vulnerable have their needs met while also investing in programs and partners that connect more people to Jewish life and learning to enhance their lives. The goal is to engage more people more deeply in Jewish life in Greater Boston, CJP's sister cities of Haifa, Israel, and Dnipro, Ukraine, and in other Jewish communities around the world. Caring for Vulnerable Populations: Ensuring that basic needs are met for members of the community (Jewish and non-Jewish) is a key tenant of the Jewish belief system. Accordingly, CJP works in partnership with local social service organizations to provide for the most vulnerable in the Jewish community and beyond, focusing on poverty alleviation, support for the elderly, housing assistance, mental health programs, and basic needs support. CJP extends this support to the sister cities of Haifa and Dnipro, working to meet needs locally with carefully chosen partners on the ground, and in partnership with the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee around the world. Optimizing the Ecosystem: A critical part of CJP's role in the Greater Boston Jewish community is to ensure that CJP's community partners are healthy and thriving. In addition to supporting partners behind the scenes, CJP also focuses on supporting formal collaborations, professional development, group purchase programs, and other supports for networks of organizations. This includes CJP's Communal Security Initiative, which offers grants, professional guidance, training, and expertise related to physical security for Jewish institutions across the community.
Donor Advised Funds & Other Programs: In addition to CJP's major program services, CJP makes grants to many nonprofit organizations through its donor advised funds (DAF), supporting education, healthcare, and social service agencies locally and nationally. Other Programs include designated grants where CJP provides direct support to charitable organizations both domestically and overseas separate from the DAF program.