Big Tent Judaism Awarded Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and their Families Grant

NEW YORK - May 22, 2016 - PRLog -- Jewish Funders Network announced Big Tent Judaism is among 28 projects from seven countries which will receive grants from Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and their Families, in honor of 2015 Genesis Prize Laureate Michael Douglas.  JFN announced the recipients on May 22 at the Jerusalem Post Annual Conference in New York, and was joined by Michael Douglas and the Genesis Prize Foundation. The projects will result in $3.3 million in new funds being dedicated to this philanthropic area. Douglas lauded the innovation and potential impact of the funded projects, saying that they will make Jewish life more welcoming and accessible to intermarried families like his own.

Big Tent Judaism (BTJ) is honored to receive the Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and their Families matching grant, and aims to continue working with Jewish organizations nationally and locally to collaborate to address, train, and guide their staff and volunteers.  The funds will open doors into the Jewish community for less-engaged Jews and unaffiliated intermarried households by originating programs to meet the needs of specific underserved populations and outreach to meet people where they are, and engage them in Jewish life when they otherwise might not have seen any value in participating. This grant will provide organizational support to ensure an expansion of successful programming that serves intermarried families. With the matching grant, Big Tent Judaism will continue to expand the scope and impact of these programs.

Big Tent Judaism has been at the forefront of the movement to better welcome intermarried families for nearly three decades. In addition to direct programming for intermarried families, BTJ advocates for a more inclusive Jewish community. Through several major conferences, at least 100 public speaking engagements, and over 150 published op-eds, they have pushed the organized Jewish community to re-think what a "typical Jewish family looks like." Using trainings, consultations, and providing fully articulated program materials, BTJ offers guidance to hundreds of Jewish communal organizations on how to build lasting relationships with intermarried families, leading to a lifetime of engagement.

"It's affirming to be recognized for the work we have been doing since our founding in 1987, to create an inclusive Jewish community by reaching out and welcoming in intermarried families" said Dr. Kerry Olitzky, Executive Director of Big Tent Judaism.

The Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and their Families matching grant began in 2015 when Michael Douglas, an Academy Award winning actor, peace activist, and supporter of Jewish causes and the State of Israel, won the Genesis Prize. In lieu of accepting the prize money, he redirected the funds to promote inclusion and diversity in Jewish life, which included a $200,000 gift to the Jewish student organization, Hillel International. The remainder of the award, combined with an additional $1 million gift from philanthropist Roman Abramovich, created a matching grant that was administered by the Jewish Funders Network, the global network organization for Jewish philanthropists.

The goal of Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and their Families was to mobilize the philanthropic community to increase the number of funders and grant dollars supporting organizations and projects that foster a culture of acceptance within the Jewish community. The particular focus of the grant program was to enhance opportunities for Jewish involvement available to intermarried Jews, their life partners and their children.

80 applications from 14 countries were submitted as part of the initiative. The 28 winning recipients span seven countries: the United States, Israel, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and China.

"Today the Jewish world opened its doors a little wider," said Andrés Spokoiny, President & CEO of JFN. "And the impact goes beyond these grants. The gifts being matched, as well as the whole range of amazing projects that were submitted, represent new donors and newly increased levels of giving that this area has never seen before. And I believe many of these philanthropists, who were inspired by Michael and this matching grant to get involved, are likely to keep working on this issue over time. "Each of the organization's projects will run for up to two years, with JFN conducting periodic assessments of their success and impact. For more information on Big Tent Judaism please check their website at www.BigTentJudaism.org

Full name of the matching grant:          Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and their Families, in honor of 2015 Genesis Prize Laureate Michael Douglas

Matching grant website:          http://intermarriedfamilies-genesisprizematch.org

Jewish Funders Network website:          http://jfunders.org/

Genesis Prize Foundation website:          http://www.genesisprize.org/