By Susan Friedman, Director, Jewish Women’s Foundation

"I can promise you that women working and giving together — linked, informed and educated — can bring peace and prosperity to this forsaken planet." — Isabel Allende

Seven years ago a small group of smart, charitable women came together to form the Jewish Women’s Foundation of NJ (JWF), a donor-advised fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater MetroWest (JCF). Their goal was to create a new avenue for mobilizing their hearts, minds, and philanthropy toward creating an equitable, secure, and just future for women and girls. These women wanted not only to write checks to organizations they supported, but to be active, hands-on players in the philanthropic process. JWF became their vehicle for doing so. 

JWF members do much more than write checks: members outreach with local organizations, review grant proposals, visit with grant applicants, select organizations to receive JWF funding, and evaluate the impact of JWF grants on people’s lives. As JWF co-chair Meredith Stoma noted, “Meeting with beneficiaries and interacting with their work is what makes the JWF experience powerful for me.”

JWF’s policy of “one women, one vote” makes every member an equal stakeholder in a transparent and democratic grants decision-making process. To date, JWF has made 40 grants both in the Jewish and broader communities, to support:

• legal and social advocacy for women escaping forced marriages
• resiliency and skills building for mothers of special needs children
• support for victims of abuse
• leadership development for at-risk girls, and more

Results have been powerful and long lasting, including the first NJ project to address human trafficking, leading to a statewide coalition and landmark legislation. In 2015, JWF plans to make grants totaling $145,000, nearly four times more than just two years ago.

For the second year, a special endowment from a JWF member is allowing JWF to make grants in Israel. JWF co-chair Roberta Elliott traveled to Israel twice in the past year to conduct research. Said Elliott, "Israeli women are providing comprehensive and creative services for under-served women throughout the country, and it is our privilege to be part of that.”

In 2014, JWF embarked on its first targeted grant initiative to help U.S. women veterans. Ten JWF committee members have been researching organizations, speaking to female vets to see what they need, and working to draft guidelines for a Request for Proposals. JWF plans to launch the program in the fall of 2015.

JWF’s participatory philanthropy extends beyond grant making to community forums and advocacy, educational experiences such as retreats and seminars, and volunteerism. For more information or to join, visit www.jcfmetrowest.org/jwf or contact Susan Friedman at (973) 929-3005.