SPRINGFIELD, MA, June 19, 2007 ... The Harold Grinspoon Foundation, seeking to help raise a generation of teens committed to giving to Jewish causes, is offering $300,000 in grants to communities to set up local teen philanthropy programs.
"It is essential to the future of Jewish society that we get our teens involved in giving to charity in a personally engaging way, and equip them with the tools to become financially intelligent donors," said Harold Grinspoon, founder and chair of the Foundation.
The Harold Grinspoon Foundation has already helped 37 communities in North America set up B’nai Tzedek Teen Philanthropy Programs. Under the program, teens create individual endowment funds and personally make annual allocations. The Foundation is now offering funding for an additional 10 Jewish communities, to grant them approximately $30,000 each to establish a B'nai Tzedek Jewish teen philanthropy program.
The monies, intended to help staff the program in each local community, will be given on a first come, first served basis to match funding provided by a local donor. Grant applications are available at http://www.hgf.org/
Ten years ago, the Grinspoon Foundation launched the first B'nai Tzedek program in Western Massachusetts, for teens ages 13 through 18. It has served as a model and resource for B'nai Tzedek programs across America, which share marketing materials and program ideas through a vibrant professional network.
In Western Massachusetts, B’nai Tzedek, teens contribute a minimum of $125 of their Bar or Bat Mitzvah gift money, which is matched by The Jewish Endowment Foundation and the Grinspoon Foundation, enabling the teen to establish an individual endowment fund in his or her name with a principal of at least $500. Annually, each teen makes an allocation to a Jewish cause based on the approximate interest on the principal, set at five percent. Local communities tailor their B’nai Tzedek programs as appropriate to their situation – some set higher minimum contributions or offer a different match amount, which is provided by each community for its local teens. What all communities share is the concept of a personal endowment controlled by each teen and the understanding that philanthropy is not only for the very rich.
B'nai Tzedek gives the teens skills and knowledge in the areas of financial literacy and modern philanthropy. They also learn to establish relationships with Jewish organizations in their community and abroad, and network with other Jewish teens locally and nationally.
“Participating as a member of the B'nai Tzedek has enabled my daughter to learn about the needs of her community and the importance and power of working together as a community to respond to those needs,” said Sara Weinberger of Northampton, Massachusetts.
Jonathan Harris Eisen, a ninth grade B’nai Tzedek member from Amherst, Massachusetts remarked, “If you really want to help your community and help the world around you, that’s what this is all about.”
The B’nai Tzedek $300,000 challenge grant is the second major initiative to infuse the field of Jewish youth philanthropy in the past few months.
For more information on the B’nai Tzedek grant application process, please contact Gail Lansky, National Director, B'nai Tzedek at (413) 439-1950 or at Gail@hgf.org.
For press inquiries, contact Dahlia Greer at 310-339-1060, dahlia@annabellestevens.com or Annabelle Stevens, 310-435-6996, annabelle@annabellestevens.com.
