Boulder Jewish News Arts, Culture, Events, Lifestyles, Holidays, Synagogues, Education
Judaism Your Way (JYW) is thrilled to share the news that we are one of 28 organizations in the world that have received a $25,000 matching grant from Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and their Families, in honor of 2015 Genesis Prize Laureate Michael Douglas. In lieu of accepting the prize money, the Academy Award-winning actor redirected the funds to promote inclusion and diversity in Jewish life. 80 applications from 14 countries applied for grants. The Jewish Funders Network announced the recipients on Sunday, May 22 at the Jerusalem Post Annual Conference in New York. This matching grant, along with the initial grant generously provided by Steven & Elizabeth Kris, effectively awards JYW $50,000.
With these funds, JYW will be able to continue to holiday celebrations in inspiring settings, cutting-edge Jewish educational opportunities, and rabbis that officiate lifecycle events (including interfaith weddings and Open Tent B’nai Mitzvah) and offer spiritual counseling. This grant will enable JYW to energize and strengthen the organization by ensuring a strong foundation to grow its impact. In the thirteen years since JYW’s founding, the landscape for welcoming interfaith couples has changed considerably, in large part because of the presence and advocacy of JYW.
The outcomes of this grant and our subsequently expanded Jewish education program are numerous, including:
- Increase organizational capacity
- Add additional elements to our High Holy Days services taking place on Oct. 2nd-3rd for Rosh Hashanah and Oct. 10th-11th for Yom Kippur at the gorgeous Denver Botanic Gardens
- Use the results of JYW’s new market research study to contemplate areas of growth for the organization
We learned about this from a member of our community, and are so thrilled that he saw the merit of our small but mighty organization.
