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Emerging Models of Jewish Connection
Supporting new methods for creating new access points to Jewish life, building Jewish networks, and strengthening Jewish communities.
Click the photos below and scroll down to learn more about our Grantees.
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Haggadot.com
Founded in 2008 by Eileen Levinson, Haggadot.com aims to make the Passover conversation broader and more inclusive by inviting Jews of all backgrounds to create customizable versions of the Passover Seder's central text, the Haggadah. Working as a virtual scrapbook, the website allows users to upload, exchange, and personalize their Haggadah with simultaneous access to classical texts and contemporary interpretations. The website's resources empower Jews to take part in the Passover conversation and to create a Seder that is meaningful to them.
Haggadot.com received a 2010 grant from the Birthright NEXT/Natan Grants for Social Entrepreneurs grant committee, and is now an Emerging Models of Jewish Connection grantee for a second year, with additional funds from Natan's New Media committee. Natan's 2012 grant is for general operating support.
haggadot.com
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Eden Village Camp and Jewish Farm School
Eden Village Camp, a new Jewish environmental overnight camp in Putnam Valley, NY, is partnering with the Jewish Farm School, an environmental education organization focused on farm-based programs, to offer a wide array of year-round programs for all ages at the organic farm at Eden Village Camp. By opening the farm and camp year-round, both organizations are able to reach a broad spectrum of people interested in connecting to their Jewish identity while deepening their appreciation for the earth and their communities.
With a third year of funding from Natan, Eden Village Camp and Jewish Farm School plan to expand their current menu of year-round farm-based programs to engage new audiences.
edenvillagecamp.org   
jewishfarmschool.org
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G-dcast.com
Through animation and storytelling, G-dcast aims to raise worldwide Jewish literacy and to spark dialogue by demystifying core Jewish texts with accessible and entertaining media. With animated shorts and feature-length films and games, all available online and accompanied by curricular materials, G-dcast reaches Jewish families, intermediaries (educators, rabbis, and youth advisors),
and adults of all ages and Jewish backgrounds.
In 2012, G-dcast will be receiving a third year of funding for general operating support from Natan's Emerging Models of Jewish Connection committee, plus additional funds from Natan's New Media committee.
g-dcast.com
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Urban Adamah
Urban Adamah engages young Jews in programs that integrate organic farming, social action, and Jewish practice. The organization runs portable urban farms built on vacant city lots; its first farm is in the Bay Area. Through a three-month residential leadership-training fellowship, Urban Adamah offers a way for young Jewish adults in their 20s to personally connect to the Jewish community through urban agriculture and through volunteering at local social justice organizations. The urban farms also serve as a gathering place for the local Jewish community to learn about the relationship between the Jewish tradition, the food we eat, and food production systems.
Urban Adamah is a new grantee in 2012; Natan's grant is for general operating expenses.
urbanadamah.org
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Moving Traditions
Moving Traditions inspires women and men, boys and girls to engage more deeply with Judaism. Through professional development programs, the organization prepares Jewish educators to draw on an understanding of Jewish values through a gender perspective, and to apply it to their work in helping teens develop meaningful identities as young Jewish women and men. After creating a successful girls' program, Moving Traditions is creating Shevet Achim: The Brotherhood, training exceptional male Jewish educators to inspire teen boys to connect to and engage with Jewish life.
Natan was a longtime funder of Moving Tradition's Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing program, and is now proud to be funding Shevet Achim: The Brotherhood.
movingtraditions.org
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Jumpstart
Jumpstart provides backbone support to emerging and established organizations seeking innovative solutions to building Jewish community and shaping the 21st century world. Through research, advocacy, and sector building, Jumpstart bridges the gap between startups and institutions. Since its founding in 2008, Jumpstart has focused on providing nonprofit and philanthropic leaders with the knowledge and relationships they need to realize their visions and create impact on the ground. Jumpstart's publications, including The Innovation Ecosystem and The Jewish Innovation Economy (partnerships with Natan and The Samuel Bronfman Foundation) have been instrumental in defining the field of Jewish innovation and communicating its value to the wider world.
Natan's renewal grant in 2012 will be used for general operating support and to continue research on new Jewish initiatives.
jewishjumpstart.org
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Nehirim
Nehirim is the leading national provider of community programming for GLBT Jews and their partners and allies. Nehirim offers pluralist, lively, inspiring, immersive retreats complemented by ongoing local programming and an online community. Nehirim's programs feature traditional and innovative rituals, workshops and learning sessions, and life-changing spiritual experiences. The intended impact is twofold: first, to create an inclusive community where GLBT Jews can gather and reinvigorate their connection to Jewish life; and second, to empower participants to return to their home communities and serve in leadership roles as out GLBT Jews, thereby working for GLBT inclusion in mainstream Jewish life.
Natan's 2012 grant to Nehirim is for general operating support.
nehirim.org
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Panim
Panim, the Israeli network of emergent communities, is a network of informal, grassroots organizations that are creating new forms of Jewish identity and expression for non-Orthodox Israeli Jews. Panim works to strengthen and support the leaders of these organizations, who are working toward creating a pluralistic renewal of Jewish life in Israel, by networking them together and expanding their skillsets. Panim also works with the Israeli government to formulate national and regional policies on developing pluralistic Jewish educational vehicles.
Panim is a new grantee in 2012; Natan's grant will help Panim map and study the field of organizations working on pluralistic Jewish identity in Israel.
en.panim.org.il
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Uri L'Tzedek
Uri L'Tzedek is an Orthodox social justice organization dedicated to combating suffering and oppression through community-based education, leadership development and action. Through a variety of programs that are rooted in traditional Jewish sources, Uri L'Tzedek creates discourse, inspires leaders and empowers the Jewish community to create a more just world. Uri L'Tzedek aims to reshape the greater Jewish community by working in active partnership with other Jewish groups around social justice issues. Uri L'Tzedek brings the social justice conversation to the Orthodox world, while also bringing an orthodox voice to the social justice community.
Natan's renewal grant is for general operating support.
utzedek.org
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The application process for 2013 grants is now closed.
Natan invites Letters of Inquiry in several grant areas in the spring of each calendar year. Select applicants are invited to submit Full Proposals; a handful of applicants are then selected as finalists to meet with Natan members in person or by online videoconference. Natan announces its grant decisions in January of the next calendar year.
Nonprofit organizations with annual operating budgets of $1.5 million or less may apply for one-year grants of up to $50,000. (Most grants fall within the $25,000-$40,000 range.) Grantees may apply for renewals beyond the initial year of funding, but Natan cannot award multi-year grants.
Requests for proposals are available while the grant committee's process is open for submissions. If you have questions regarding applications and eligibility, visit our FAQ page.
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