Jewish Connections Grants
Natan’s Jewish Connection grants support innovative models for connecting people to Jewish practices and experiences, Jewish culture and ideas, and Jewish networks and communities in North America. These grants are intended to shine a spotlight on new approaches or methodologies that are profoundly innovative.
This year, the Jewish Connections committee was fortunate to have a strategic partner in the William Davidson Foundation. This collaboration amplified, deepened and emboldened the committee’s grantmaking and allowed them to fund more grantees at significant levels.
*Starred grantees are new to Natan in 2024-2025
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Hava NaBaby trains, certifies, and supports a cadre of Jewish childbirth educators and doulas who offer hyper-localized services on a national scale. Hava NaBaby guides expectant parents in the process of creating, nurturing, growing, and sustaining vibrant and joyful Jewish life for themselves, their families, and their communities.
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Jewish Farmer Network mobilizes Jewish agricultural wisdom to build a more just and regenerative food system for all. The network connects Jewish farmers to each other and to the surprisingly relevant technologies, rhythms, and ethics of Jewish agriculture. The Jewish Farmer Network is building community and a grounded sense of identity among Jewish farmers through vibrant celebrations of shared heritage and meaningful explorations of Jewish agricultural traditions.
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Judaism Unbound is a digitally driven, radically open center for education, experimentation, and connection serving as a catalyst for an entirely new era of Judaism. Natan’s grant supports its UnYeshiva, a virtual center for Jewish learning and unlearning that offers asynchronous courses and workshops on a variety of Jewish topics.
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Lech Lecha facilitates empowering outdoor adventures and wilderness journeys that catalyze personal development and spiritual growth, connection with the wonder of Hashem’s creation, meaningful interpersonal relationships, and joyful community deeply rooted in Torah and a holistic approach to Jewish life and practice.
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LEV* creatively engages children and their grownups in multi-sensory, hands-on experiences exploring Jewish culture and values, thus facilitating connections with Jewish community. Participants find meaning and delight in exploring their Jewish Identities through play and filling their Jewish journeys with pride and intention, regardless of age, learning style or experience with Judaism.
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Modern JewISH Couples is a Jewish learning and immersive retreat project that supports committed couples on the pathway to partnership, marriage, and beyond. This work occurs at the intersection of pastoral care and adult learning, animated by the mission to continually lift up the relevance, beauty, and accessibility of Judaism as a blueprint for building and strengthening loving, enduring relationships and Jewish communal connection.
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Olamim* is a Latin Jewish learning community for families and individuals who represent a unique diversity of racial, linguistic, national, and other backgrounds. Olamim provides culturally-responsive programs grounded in community-based research on Latin Jewish families, building a foundation for Latin inclusion and belonging in Jewish communal life.
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Tkiya Music* creates joyful Jewish connections through participatory music experiences. Tkiya Gedola is an innovative certification program designed to empower Jewish educators from diverse backgrounds and located across the US with Tkiya’s training and methodology, fostering the potential to make a significant impact within their respective communities.
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Sephardic American Mizrahi Initiative (SAMi) is the first national movement for Sephardi and Mizrahi Jewish students on college campuses, a community that has been historically underrepresented in or ignored by mainstream Jewish organizations. SAMi cultivates and advances Sephardic and Mizrahi American college students and young professionals to create and develop a pipeline of diverse leaders for the future of the American Jewish people.