The 18-member Roots & Branches Foundation, an initiative of Rose Community Foundation, is seeking grant proposals. Roots & Branches Foundation will grant up to $68,740 to efforts that promote participation in Jewish life and a sense of Jewish community for families with children ages 5 to 13, or engage young Jewish adults in their 20s and 30s in Jewish community.

Roots & Branches Foundation invites nonprofit organizations to submit grant proposals for programs that serve people in the seven-county Denver/Boulder area and meet one or both of the following grant priorities:

1. Promote participation in Jewish life and a sense of Jewish community for families with children ages 5 to 13, and:

• Appeal to children (ages 5-13) and their parent(s)
• Embrace pluralism and value all approaches to Jewish life without aligning with, or promoting, any one specific denomination
• Explicitly incorporate Jewish values, traditions and culture or draw on Jewish ideas in underlying, thematic ways
• Require an ongoing time commitment from participants (i.e. over consecutive days or a span of weeks or months)
• Are financially accessible to participants

2. Engage young Jewish adults in their 20s and 30s in Jewish community, and:

• Deepen participants’ understandings of what it means to be Jews by building avenues for them to find and create their own meaning in a Jewish community that reflects their multifaceted interests
• Use culture to bring people together, including music, film, exhibitions, lectures or salon series about Jewish topics, arts, theater, Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Israel and Israeli culture, current events, history, language, literature, food and/or create opportunities for dialogue and discussion
• Employ innovative outreach strategies, such as effective use of the web and social media, to engage and attract new participants and newcomers
• Demonstrate inclusivity and embrace diverse participants and a diversity of Jewish practices, beliefs and values
• Offer ongoing opportunities for participation
• Are financially accessible to participants

Interested organizations should review the complete Request for Proposals for a full description of these grant priorities and an explanation of how to apply. The Request for Proposals is available online at rcfdenver.org/initiatives_roots.htm or by calling Sarah Indyk at 303.398.7416. The deadline to submit a grant proposal is Friday, December 9, 2011 at noon.

Roots & Branches Foundation’s members are a diverse group of Jewish people, age 25 to 40, from throughout Greater Denver and Boulder. They represent a broad spectrum of Jewish practice. The group has been meeting every three weeks since July to learn about Jewish philanthropic traditions, work together to identify needs in the community, and learn about grantmaking approaches and strategies.

Roots & Branches Foundation 2011-2012 Members
Emily Barter
Frank Borman
Leah Bry
Emory Dinner
Marisa Ellman
Katie Frisch
Aaron Frishman
Maia Stone
Avi Loewenstein
Julie Milliken
Jenna Monaster
Eli Oderberg
Todd Sainer
Dave Tencer
Andy Thangasamy
Scott VanDaele
Dana Waldbaum
Michele Weingarden