BOSTON- The Jewish Liberation Fund (JLF) is a new, community-funded Jewish foundation, established to mobilize resources to sustain and grow the Jewish movement for justice and liberation. With more than five million dollars pledged over the next decade, the Jewish Liberation Fund seeks to transform Jewish social justice philanthropy and ensure robust and stable funding for the Jewish social justice movement.
Launched as a collaboration between a new generation of Jewish philanthropists, activists, and community organizers, the Jewish Liberation Fund’s grantmaking grantmaking prioritizes building the power of the Jewish movement for social justice. Current grantees focus on grassroots community organizing, base building, and social justice campaigns, as well as movement-sustenance work, including the arts, cultural-creation, community-building, and spirituality.
In its inaugural round of grantmaking, Jewish Liberation Fund has awarded a total of $100,000 to four JOC (Jews of Color) -led projects, with an additional $100,000 in grants expected to be awarded by Spring 2021. Grantees include: Min Hameitzar: A National Network of JOC Havurot, Not Free to Desist, Rimonim Liturgy Project, and Tzedek Lab.
The Jewish Liberation Fund employs a participatory grantmaking approach to philanthropy, in which power and control over JLF’s strategic direction and grantmaking is held by constituents and grassroots leaders. The practice of participatory grantmaking is widely lauded as the most democratic and ethical mode of grantmaking in philanthropy. However, it has not made major inroads within Jewish philanthropy. In another notable departure from the status-quo amongst major Jewish foundations, Jewish Liberation Fund will not impose restrictions on grantees with regard to Zionism or BDS. These kinds of restrictions have damaging consequences for grantees and the movement and limit organizations’ capacity to partner meaningfully with allies in the movement.
“Historically, philanthropy has lacked meaningful accountability to the people and movements it serves. Particularly in today’s political and economic climate,” explained Joanna Ware, Director of JLF, “the best thing philanthropy can do is get out of the way, and hand over power to grassroots leaders. The secular philanthropic sector is way ahead of us, and it’s time for Jewish philanthropy to catch up. The Jewish Liberation Fund is a fund by and for the people and our movement, accountable to each other.”
Jewish Liberation Fund is a fiscally sponsored project of Proteus Fund, an organization with a 25 year history of full-service philanthropy, bringing together like-minded partners to build effective social movements and create lasting change.
(Press release courtesy of Jewish Liberation Fund.)