Spark Grants Archives

Dec 02 2020

Atlanta Kesher Fellowship Launches its 2nd Year with Expanded Options

By Charlie Render JumpSpark

ATLANTA, GA – The Atlanta Kesher Teen Engagement Fellowship, the exciting new peer- to- peer engagement opportunity for Jewish teens in grades 10-12 offered by the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), has officially kicked off its second year. The 25 fellows participating in 2020-21 represent 14 high schools, 7 synagogues, and 11 zip codes across the metro Atlanta area.

Based on successful models in other parts of the country, the Atlanta Kesher Fellowship brings a different engagement experience to Atlanta’s Jewish teens. Tailored training on peer to peer engagement allows teens to strengthen their relationship building skills, understand the importance of face to face communication, and learn a new way of engaging their peers.

Funded in part by a JumpSpark grant through the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, this fellowship doesn’t involve a strenuous amount of hours, rather it is created for the busy teen and allows them the to create their own schedules strengthening time management skills. Teens will develop a variety of practical business, social, and leadership skills throughout the fellowship and receive expert mentoring and support to create meaningful Jewish engagement for their peers. At the end they receive a $200 stipend for all their hard work! New for 2021, a cohort of teens from The Temple are participating in a modified version of the fellowship with mentorship from Temple staff.

“The Temple is proud to partner with the ATL Kesher Program because we share the same goal of working to connect our teens through peer-to-peer engagement. Our hope is that teens who are connected to The Temple’s teen community will plan a variety of events for their peers while strengthening their own leadership skills, management styles, and ability to build relationships.” – Elizabeth Foster, Jewish Identity & Experiences Educator The Temple & Breman Education Center

The fellows are tasked with planning three small events (3-10 people) throughout the school year. These events include things, like a Shabbat dinner, Havdalah hike, or a philanthropic father and son basketball game. This year the task is to create exciting events in a virtual setting. These events include things like a virtual Hanukkah cookie decorating class, virtual Jewish Jeopardy night, or a virtual Shabbat Dinner or Havdallah service. The idea is to create small events relating to Judaism that have large impacts on the teens who aren’t as engaged in Jewish life in Atlanta. Creating more ways for teens to positively interact with Judaism will allow them to pave their own Jewish journey and lead to a greater impact on their lives.

At the inaugural fellowship on September 13, the teens learned the importance behind the work they are doing, why face -to -face communication is beneficial, and the power of inclusivity. This year’s training also focused on how to engage your peers in this new virtual reality. “We are training these fellows to plan meaningful experiences in any setting they can.”- Jessie Schwartzman, Atlanta Kesher Engagement Coordinator. The fellows left the kickoff ready to take on Jewish Atlanta!

Matthew Hirsch (17) reflected after meeting his fellowship peers at the kickoff: “I’m excited to be a Kesher Fellow because I want to make a positive impact in the Jewish Community by bringing people together that would not want to otherwise be involved.”

The 2020-21 Kesher Fellows Include:
Ali Becker, Temple Sinai

Courtney Caplan, The Temple

Tali Cohn, Temple Sinai

Dylan DeSimone, The Temple

Danielle Faulhaber, Temple Kehillat Chaim

Isabelle Fishbein, The Temple

Harrison Frank, Temple Emanu-El

Alexa Freedman, Temple Emanu-El

Matthew Hirsch, Temple Beth Tikvah

Emma Hurwitz, Temple Beth Tikvah

Katie Hurwitz, Temple Beth Tikvah

Caitlin Kilinc, The Temple

Andrew Levingston, Temple Sinai

Jordy Levy, Temple Emanu-El

Tali Lipton, Temple Sinai

Jaron Pearson, Temple Emanu-El

Ben Ragals, Temple Emanu-El

Lily Ragals, Temple Emanu-El

Amit Rau, The Temple

Elisa Rosenthal, Temple Sinai

Sara Serrano, Chabad of Gwinett

Hunter Siegel, Temple Sinai

David Strauss, Temple Sinai

Deirdre Weissman, Temple Kol Emeth

Noa Young, Temple Sinai

“We’re incredibly grateful to JumpSpark and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta for their support and partnership in creating and funding this program. Year 1 was a success despite a challenging spring, and while Year 2 is certainly not what we had planned for, I have no doubt that our teens and staff will continue to be creative and thoughtful in engaging Atlanta’s Jewish teens.” – Adam Griff, Business and Program Manager, URJ Youth Southeast.

In addition to the peer-to-peer fellowship, the URJ is planning to expand the Atlanta Kesher fellowship to train teen songleaders. Future programming could also support teens engaged in social justice work.

The Union for Reform Judaism’s youth programs instill a sense of joy, compassion, and pride in being Jewish while nurturing a young person’s innate desire to make a difference in the world. Central to the URJ’s strategy is collaboration with Reform congregations, other Jewish organizations and individuals who are committed to youth engagement.

Feb 13 2020

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Kesher Fellowship Trains Jewish Teens in Leadership

By Charlie Render JumpSpark

First published by the Atlanta Jewish Times ›

With the objective of transforming the way Jewish teens can engage each other, an exciting new program launched in Atlanta called the Atlanta Kesher Teen Engagement Fellowship.

With the objective of transforming the way Jewish teens can engage each other in the Jewish community, an exciting new program launched in Atlanta called the Atlanta Kesher Teen Engagement Fellowship. The program is run by the Union for Reform Judaism and funded in part by a JumpSpark grant through the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta.

The fellowship is based on the peer-to-peer engagement method that began in the Northeast and has been scaled to the Atlanta community. It emphasizes the impact Jewish teens can have on each other through face-to-face interaction.

“I think this program is a great example of having an inner circle of teens that are getting a huge amount of leadership training and mentorship and strengthening their own Jewish identities, and then impacting a much wider circle of teens throughout the community,” said Adam Griff, Kesher Teen Engagement Fellowship director. “They’re being empowered to co-create with their network these new events.”

The teens will develop social and leadership skills and receive mentoring from experts in peer-to-peer engagement. The program is designed to allow busy teens to participate by managing their own time and at the end, each fellow receives a $200 stipend.

“This model is unique in the Jewish teen landscape,” Bobby Harris, director of URJ Camp Coleman said in a press release. “The teen fellows are creating experiences that are fun and meaningful for them and their friends, instead of just trying to bring them to large-scale programming. Like the chavurah or ‘small circle’ model, this is about friends connecting to friends and building circles of peers living Jewish lives.”

The teens chosen through the application process range from 12 different high schools and six synagogues across metro Atlanta. The fellowship chose applicants who already have a strong Jewish identity and are involved and engaged in Jewish youth groups such as BBYO and NFTY or other high school clubs. “Not only do they represent a diverse range of Atlanta congregations, schools and neighborhoods, they are smart, passionate, and excited to be part of this endeavor,” Griff said in the release. “We know that building relationships is the key to increasing engagement. I feel confident that this group of teens will help us push the needle and reach teens that until now have stayed on the sidelines of Jewish life.”

The fellows are required to execute three pop-up events throughout the program that involve Jewish content, but the teens have some room to get creative. “This fellowship gives these teens the opportunity to think outside of the box; they are planning really unique programs for teens all around the metro Atlanta area,” said Jessie Schwartzman, Kesher Teen Fellowship engagement coordinator. She described one fellow who planned a Chanukah party at which the students made Chanukah cookies together. “We want their Jewish identity to translate on unengaged teens in Atlanta,” Schwartzman said. “We’re just really looking for ways to connect with teens on a different level.”

The program is having a positive impact on the teens involved, according to Schwartzman. “The fellows themselves who are part of this experience have really started to learn the value of leading a program – how to delegate tasks, what it means to share their Jewish story with others,” she said. “This type of training is not common in this generation; they’re so used to using their phones. [The fellows are] really learning the value of face-to-face communication.” This extends to a wider circle of Jewish teens who are being engaged by the fellows and growing in their Jewish connection.

The fellowship kickoff was Nov. 17. “I am excited to be a Kesher Fellow because I believe Jewish Atlanta is relying on today’s Jewish teens to ensure a strong Jewish Atlanta in the future,” Sophie Kieffer from Temple Sinai said in the release.

Schwartzman said that Atlanta is one of the few cities around the United States that’s participating in peer-to-peer training and they hope to expand their reach across the city. There are a growing number of organizations, such as OneTable, that are promoting this form of engagement with young adults, but it’s fairly new with teens, Griff said. “I think it’s exciting that Atlanta’s on the forefront of this.”

Jan 29 2020

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Spark Note: Learn About Our New 2020 Grants!

By Charlie Render JumpSpark

Let us help you build the future for Jewish Atlanta you want to see.

Since 2019, JumpSpark has strategically invested over $300,000 in the Atlanta Jewish teen community through Spark Grants, launching nine new teen programs and supporting the growth and development of six existing programs. Through these efforts JumpSpark grantees have reached hundreds of Jewish teens in our community providing high-level educational and engagement experiences. See past Spark Grant recipients ›

This year JumpSpark is doubling our bet on the Atlanta Jewish community and plans to invest $600,000 in programs that make a difference in the lives of Jewish teens and those who impact them. Our 2020 grant cycle includes three new types of grants to give more opportunities to a variety of programs, organizations, and individuals to apply.

Spark R&D Grants

As an Innovation Initiative of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, JumpSpark is committed to meeting the needs of teens today by supporting organizations to take risks and try something new. JumpSpark’s new Spark R&D Grants provide up to $25,000 to an organization or professional to research and develop new models of teen engagement and education. If the Atlanta Jewish community wants to meet the needs of teens today, the conditions must be created to allow organizations to take risks and try something new.

Drawing on the inspiration of Jewish Federation of North America’s FedLab, these grants ask grantees to “Discover, Define, Explore + Build and Plan + Act.” Funding can be used to support staffing, professional development and program creation and design. JumpSpark is specifically interested in funding new models in engagement, support, education and leadership development.

Teen Thriving Grants

JumpSpark’s new Teen Thriving Grants are a two-year initiative aimed at making an investment in the well-being and development of our Jewish teens. With anxiety and depression on the rise, and the world that teens are living in growing increasingly scary, our youth serving organizations must have the resources to be the first line of support for our teens.

These grants seek to answer the questions posed in the Gen Z Now Study done by the Jewish Education Project, which asks, “What would it mean for organizations to see teen well-being as central to their mandate, perhaps even the primary goal of their mission and how do we create a culture that helps those who work with teens become the trusted adults who teens need, working together to support teen flourishing? “

The Teen Thriving Grant will provide a full subsidy (travel and tuition) for one professional to attend the Jewish Education Project’s Thriving Retreat 2020 and additional grant funding up to $5,000 for Community Partners to build teen wellness support into their organizational structure. These funds can be used for additional professional development for teen serving staff, the inclusion of mental health professionals in the planning and running of teen events and/or direct programming for teens through speakers and workshops.

Navigating Parenthood Grants

As JumpSpark’s Navigating Parenthood Series moves into its 3^rd year, the program continues to grow and thrive. With workshops, panels and films, Navigating Parenthood has equipped parents with the network and resources to raise thriving Jewish teens. JumpSpark’s new Navigating Parenthood grants are a two-year initiative to grow impact by providing funds for communities to bring speakers, workshops and support for parents in their home communities, which will help build a strong Jewish future through a networked and resourced parent community.

Parents are an essential component to an engaged and healthy Jewish teen population. The data shows that Jewish beliefs and practices are closely linked with family in the hearts and minds of teens. Being Jewish is not simply a religious or ethnic practice but also an expression of family bonds. Teens today enjoy spending time with their family and often look to their parents to help them make sense of the world.

Our Jewish community must learn from this data and recognize parent’s important role in the lives of teens and strive to meet their needs and address their challenges. Just as we must dedicate time and resources to the wellness of teens, we must do the same for parents and caregivers of teens in our community. Parenting teens today is hard, and parents are looking for supportive community and guidance.

With funding up to $2,000 per Community Partner, a community could create one large event, a series of smaller events and classes or think innovatively about additional resources and events for parents of teens. JumpSpark staff is available to help develop these opportunities in partnership which will help build a strong Jewish future through a networked and resourced parent community.

JumpSpark connects the community and collaborates to create more defining moments for Jewish teens in Atlanta, and our Spark Grants provide funding and support for those with big ideas to invest in Atlanta’s Jewish teen community. We don’t simply stop with funding. Recipients of Spark Grants are those with a plan for community involvement and advancement with whom we build relationships and work together to make the biggest impact possible on Jewish teens and those in their sphere. – K.C.

APPLY FOR A GRANT

Jan 08 2020

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New Teen Engagement Fellowship Kicks Off in Atlanta

By Charlie Render JumpSpark

ATLANTA, GA – The Atlanta Kesher Teen Engagement Fellowship, an exciting new peer- to- peer engagement opportunity for Jewish teens in grades 10-12 offered by the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), has officially launched in Atlanta. The 15 fellows participating in 2019-20 represent 12 high schools, 6 synagogues, and 11 zip codes across the metro Atlanta area.

Based on the successful URJ North East Teen Collective’s approach to teen engagement, the Atlanta Kesher Fellowship brings a different engagement experience to Atlanta’s Jewish teens. Tailored training on peer to peer engagement allows teens to strengthen their relationship building skills, understand the importance of face to face communication, and learn a new way of engaging their peers.

“This model is unique in the Jewish teen landscape,” says Bobby Harris, Director of URJ Camp Coleman. “The teen fellows are creating experiences that are fun and meaningful for them and their friends instead of just trying to bring them to large scale programming. Like the chavurah or ‘small circle’ model, this is about friends connecting to friends and building circles of peers living Jewish lives.”

The fellows are tasked with planning three small events (3-10 people) throughout the school year. These events include things, like a Shabbat dinner, Havdalah hike, or a philanthropic father and son basketball game. The idea is to create small events relating to Judaism that have large impacts on the teens who aren’t as engaged in Jewish life in Atlanta. Creating more ways for teens to positively interact with Judaism will allow them to pave their own Jewish journey and lead to a greater impact on their lives.

At the inaugural fellowship on November 17^th, the teens learned the importance behind the work they are doing, why face -to -face communication is beneficial, and the power of inclusivity. The fellows left the kickoff ready to take on Jewish Atlanta!

Sophie Kieffer (18) reflected after meeting her fellowship peers at the kickoff: “I am excited to be a Kesher Fellow because I believe Jewish Atlanta is relying on today’s Jewish teens to ensure a strong Jewish Atlanta in the future.”

The 2019-20 Kesher Fellows Include:
Lola Bessoff, Temple Beth Tikvah
Adam Boehm, Temple Beth Tikvah
Tali Cohn, Temple Sinai
Danielle Faulhaber, Temple Kehillat Chaim
Harrison Frank, Temple Emanu-El
Nicole Frysh, Temple Sinai
Katie Hurwitz, Temple Beth Tikvah
Sophie Kieffer, Temple Sinai
Simon Klee, Congregation Gesher L’Torah
Andrew Levingston, Temple Sinai
Tali Lipton, Temple Sinai
Lily Ragals, Temple Emanu-El
Sara Serrano
Deirdre Weissman, Temple Kol Emeth
Sophie Wilson, Temple Beth Tikvah

“Our 2019-2020 fellows are a remarkable group. Not only do they represent a diverse range of Atlanta congregations, schools, and neighborhoods, they are smart, passionate, and excited to be part of this endeavor. We know that building relationships is the key to increasing engagement. I feel confident that this group of teens will help us push the needle and reach teens that until now have stayed on the sidelines of Jewish life,” says Adam Griff, Atlanta Kesher Fellowship Director.

Oct 28 2019

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Lost Tribe Esports: Putting the ‘Jewish’ in Gaming

By Charlie Render JumpSpark

What if your teenager or pre-teen could engage in the video gaming they love – while connecting with other Jewish kids in a safe, mensch-y environment in which to make friends? Now they can.

If you have a teenager or pre-teen in the house, you know how popular video games are with Generation Z. Gaming is part of the landscape for today’s teens — and has become, for many of them, a central part of their social life. And it’s here to stay:

Over 130 colleges have varsity esports programs, according to the National Association of Collegiate Sports, with most offering scholarships to attract the best talent. With brands like Disney, Amazon, Coke, and Nike investing billions in the space, it’s clear that esports will be part of the Generation Z experience for decades to come.

We created Lost Tribe Esports to give teens a chance to play the games they love in a Jewish environment. This builds on a long tradition of sports, camps and more in the Jewish community – meeting kids where they are to engage them in the community. Our founder, leaders and supporters are steeped in this experience and tradition.

Lost Tribe Esports is a safe platform for Jewish teens to connect with each other through video game competition—in a fun environment informed by Jewish values. We are a nonprofit organization, leveraging the popularity of gaming to bring teens together and foster positive Jewish identity and friendships.

With generous support from JumpSpark, and in conjunction with the Marcus JCC and The Weber School, Lost Tribe Esports is launching in Atlanta this fall, with a series of online tournaments and in-person events.

How we keep things fun and safe:

We combine virtual, play-from-home tournaments with in-person social/gaming events, leading teens toward real, in-person friendships with Jewish peers.
We do not play “shooter” games. We play sports-based, strategy, and fantasy games like NBA2K, Minecraft, Super Smash Bros., Rocket League, etc.
All communications in our online events are monitored by an adult
staff person.
Our code of conduct is informed by Jewish values; participants are expected to act like a mensch.

To learn more about Lost Tribe Esports and to see our latest schedule of Atlanta-area events, please visit our website LostTribeEsports.org, or contact Lenny44@LostTribeEsports.org.

We look forward to working with families throughout Atlanta and welcome your questions and input. Together, we will offer teens a great new gaming experience, as they build Jewish friendships to last a lifetime. •

Upcoming Lost Tribe Esports events:

May 17 2019

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Community Teens Honored at Hadassah’s 2019 Chesed Awards Ceremony

By Charlie Render JumpSpark

by Hadassah Greater Atlanta ›

On May 5 the 28th annual Hadassah Greater Atlanta (HGA) Chesed Student Awards honoring excellence and menschlichkeit in Atlanta’s Jewish teens took place at Temple Emanu-El. HGA partnered with JumpSpark to honor 22 of the best and brightest young leaders and mensches representing synagogues, day schools, and Jewish organizations in our community.

*L-R: Grant Chernau, Linda Weinroth, Phyllis Cohen, Jereme Weiner*

Hadassah’s Chesed Student Awards program was excited to debut three individual awards with monetary gifts. The Phyllis M. Cohen Chesed Leadership Award was presented to Jereme Weiner, nominated by Creating Connected Communities. She was one of two Chesed essay contest winners. The Linda and Michael Weinroth Chesed Community Service Award essay contest winner was Grant Chernau, nominated by Congregation Etz Chaim. Each recipient received $500.

The Change Maker Award was presented by JumpSpark, Atlanta’s initiative for Jewish teen engagement connecting and investing in the community to create more meaningful and defining moments for Jewish teens in Atlanta. JumpSpark is supported as an innovation initiative of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, by the Jim Joseph Foundation and by generous donors in the community.

The Change Maker Award recognizes a Jewish professional who has made an impact in the lives of Jewish teens and has shown great dedication to the Atlanta Jewish community. The Change Maker Award winner was Steven Resnick, Youth Director at Etz Chaim, who received $1,000 to fund programming and supplies for his youth group. He was chosen from nominations by Chesed Award teen recipients.

To learn more about Hadassah and the Chesed awards, please visit www.hadassah.org/atlanta.

2019 Hadassah Chesed Student Award Recipients:

Miriam Sirota, Atlanta Jewish Academy
Elaine Berger, Congregation Beth Shalom
Robbie Garber, Congregation B’nai Torah
Alex Rothenberg, Congregation Dor Tamid
Grant Chernau, Congregation Etz Chaim
Morgan Cushing, Congregation Gesher L’Torah
Sarah Jeffres, Congregation Or Hadash
Paulo Ariel Fulgenzi, Congregation Or VeShalom
Sam Trotz, Congregation Shearith Israel
Jereme Weiner, Creating Connected Communities
Jacob Rubin, The Davis Academy
Zoe Sokol, Jewish Kids Groups
Nolan Siegel, NFTY-SAR
Melina Stein, Temple Beth David
Leah Faupel, Temple Beth Tikvah
Jacob Sloman, Temple Emanu-El
Alexa Phillips, Temple Kehillat Chaim
Zoe Alexander, Temple Sinai
Julia Harris, The Epstein School
Molly Edlein, The Temple
Adam Cohen, The Weber School
Tzipora Estreicher, Torah Day School of Atlanta

Mar 28 2019

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JumpSpark Invests in Atlanta Jewish Community Through $260,000+ In Spark Grants

By Charlie Render JumpSpark

JumpSpark has awarded more than $266,000 in Spark Grant funding to six organizations working to expand programming for Jewish teens in Atlanta. A new grant program in 2019, Spark Grants allow JumpSpark to invest in the Jewish teen space in Atlanta through large-scale strategic grants. Renewable up to three years to support long-term program growth, these grants are intended to create and fund new programs and initiatives, support programmatic growth, and rethink existing models of teen engagement.

“In the fast-paced, demanding world teens live in today, the Jewish community must focus its resources to create diverse entry points to lifelong Jewish learning and community engagement,” says Kelly Cohen, JumpSpark Director.

After a discovery period in 2018 to understand the needs of Atlanta’s teen ecosystem – including teens, families of teens, and Jewish professionals that work with teens – and a pilot grantmaking cycle of $1,000 awards, JumpSpark opened a request for proposals that support community infrastructure growth, create new points of engagement, provide high-level Jewish learning, and foster collaboration and community-building opportunities in Atlanta.

The 2019 recipients are:

Creating Connected Communities – $39,000 to expand the successful Leadership Development Program.
In the City Camps – $45,000 to expand Camp Mogul business camps for middle school students.
Jewish Kids Groups – $36,850 to launch the Learner-Leader-Teacher Development Academy.
Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta – $70,000 to sponsor the VOX ATL-run Maccabi Star Reporter program and catalyze participation in the Atlanta-hosted 2019 Maccabi games into expanded year-round programming for teen athletes.
SOJOURN – $25,000 to pilot the Tum Tum program, a safe space for Jewish LGBTQ+ identified teens and allies to share, learn, and connect.
Union for Reform Judaism – $70,000 to launch the Teen Engagement Internship program, a year-round leadership and engagement model successfully piloted by the Northeast Teen Collective.

JumpSpark is a proud partner and innovation initiative of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. CEO Eric Robbins said, “The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta is proud to drive this important initiative that is making incredible impact and investment in our teen community!”

As an invested partner, JumpSpark looks forward to building these programs with recipients and creating more opportunities for a vibrant Jewish life in Atlanta.

JumpSpark, Atlanta’s initiative for Jewish teen engagement, connects and invests in the community to create more meaningful and defining moments for Jewish teens in Atlanta. Serving teens, their parents, and educators that work with teens, JumpSpark offers empowering teen programs, Navigating Parenthood workshops, professional development, and grants. JumpSpark is supported as an innovation initiative of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, by the Jim Joseph Foundation, and by generous donors in the community.

Dec 04 2018

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What’s Your Big Idea? Apply for a Spark Grant!

By Charlie Render JumpSpark

Over the last year, JumpSpark connected and collaborated with organizations and individuals that impact Jewish teens in Atlanta. As a Federation Innovation initiative, we have engaged over a thousand members of the Jewish community through innovative programming for Jewish teens, their parents and the Jewish Educators that serve them. We know that building the Atlanta Jewish teen ecosystem takes new ideas, community collaboration and a rethinking of what is possible. It is in this spirit that we are proud to introduce JumpSpark Grants.

Fall 2018 Spark Collaboration Grant Recipients: NFTY-SAR and The Temple partnered to exhance their Fall Kallah experience in Atlanta for 200 attendees.

Spark Grants are large-scale strategic investments into the Jewish teen ecosystem that could create new programs, fund new initiatives, support programmatic growth or rethink existing models.

Spark Grants must:

Serve either Jewish teens, Jewish professionals who work with teens, the families of Jewish teens, or all three.
Support, develop or foster the infrastructure of the Atlanta Jewish teen community.
Seek to create new points of entry for Jewish teens, parents and professionals to thrive in the Atlanta Jewish community.
Meet an identified need or want in the community and have a supportive constituency.
Create spaces that are pluralistic and radically welcoming.
Provide high-level Jewish learning and community building opportunities.
Foster collaboration with multiple partners with one clear project owner.

Do you think you’re sitting on the next big thing for Atlanta? Are you ready to finally take that risk you’ve been dreaming of? Let’s think big and build something together!

Think BIG! Our grants can support multi-year programmatic initiatives, operational costs and organizational overhead for your organization.
Don’t have the bandwidth to pull off your idea? We will partner with you to provide the programmatic support, educational consultation, and marketing assistance you need to succeed.
Afraid to take a risk? We want to offer support but leave you in the driver’s seat. JumpSpark partnerships will provide financial and programmatic support, but your organization will own and steer the program. With JumpSpark Big Idea Grants you can feel comfortable taking a risk and trying something new.
What to make a lasting impact? We are interested in supporting programs for multiple years. Let’s discover how we can grow your idea together!

Apply at jumpsparkatl.org/jumpspark-grant-application.

JumpSpark, Atlanta’s initiative for Jewish teen engagement, invests in Atlanta’s Jewish community to expand and enrich the Jewish teen landscape by collaborating with existing programs, supporting new and innovative ideas, and thinking creatively to meet the needs of teens, their parents, and the Jewish educators and professionals serving them. Supported as an innovation initiative of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and the Jim Joseph Foundation. Learn more at jumpsparkatl.org.

Nov 21 2018

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Spark Grants

By Charlie Render JumpSpark

Chanukah 2018 is officially in the books. It is time to clean the wax out of your menorah, wipe the splattered oil off your stove top and try to forget how many jelly doughnuts you have eaten this week. It’s a time of giving, light and coming together to celebrate your community, and even though Chanukah is over the giving doesn’t need to end. JumpSpark is working everyday creating the sparks to enrich the Jewish teen landscape in Atlanta, and we are just getting started.

In October of this year, JumpSpark announced its first foray into grant giving with the Spark Collaboration Grants. Collaboration is essential for a building the culture of innovation needed to raise the level of engagement for our community teens. Therefore, we offered $1000 grants for any educator, professional or organization that met the following requirements:

Innovative teen (9th-12th grade) programming that expands the current programmatic landscape.
Ideas that rethink what it means to prepare Jewish teens for life.
Engaging and unique collaborations with Jewish or secular partners.
Spaces that are pluralistic and radically welcoming.
High-level Jewish learning and community building opportunities

Out of the proposals we received, JumpSpark is funding 6 amazing new collaborations for Atlanta’s teens in the 2018-2019 school year. These collaborations bring together 11 Jewish organizations in our city and have the potential to engage 1000+ of our community teens.

In addition to $1,000, grant winners will receive programmatic support, educational consultation and marketing assistance from JumpSpark.

Congratulations to the recipients!

Winners: NFTY-SAR & The Temple

Program: Jewish Values at NFTY-SAR Fall Kallah
The first of these grantees to run the first week in November, this program brought 200 teens to Atlanta’s premier cultural institutions including The Center for Civil and Human Rights, the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coke and CNN to see how Jewish values are reflected in our city.

Adam Griff, Senior Regional Director for NFTY-SAR said, “We were lucky and fortunate to partner with JumpSpark, and the Spark grant we received allowed us to do this innovative, off-site programming.”

Winners: NFTY-SAR & BBYO

Program: Teen Micro-Grant Fellowship
These two youth organizations are offering their Spark Grant to teams of NFTY & BBYO members who will work in partnership to create new programs for their less engaged peers. Teens in the program will be mentored by professional staff and receive training to learn how to develop and implement their ideas.

Winners: NFTY-SAR & 7 Atlanta Reform Congregations

Program: Spark Ambassadors
This Spark Grant is providing scholarships for teens to be Atlanta Spark Ambassadors to the 2019 NFTY Convention; after they return, each Ambassador will be responsible for hosting a pop-up event to bring an element of what they learned or or were inspired by at NFTY Convention to their peers.

Winners: NFTY-SAR & Hillels of Georgia

Program: Ma’avar at NFTY-SAR Spring Kallah
NFTY is partnering with Hillels of Georgia to fund guest speakers at NFTY-SAR Spring Kallah and elevate the opportunities for high school juniors and seniors as they transition, or ma’avar, to college.

Winners: American Jewish Committee (AJC) Atlanta and Southeast Jewish Camps

Program: AJC LFT at Camp
AJC and four Southeast camps (Barney Medintz, Coleman, Judaea and Ramah Darom) will create a one-time Jewish and Israel advocacy program for high school campers modeled after AJC’s Leaders for Tomorrow (LFT) year-long Israel advocacy and leadership training course.

Winners: The Weber School & 6 Points Sports Academy

Program: Women’s Sports Clinic
Weber and 6 Points Sports will partner to run a day-long sports clinic for teenage females in the Atlanta area, offering different sport options and bringing in professional coaches to help lead the girls through skills, drills and leadership training sessions.

Seeing the amazing impact micro-grants could have in our community, JumpSpark is stepping it up with our next project: large-scale strategic investments into the Jewish teen ecosystem called Spark Grants that can create new programs, fund new initiatives, support programmatic growth or rethink existing models.

Do you think you’re sitting on the next big thing for Atlanta? Are you ready to finally take that risk you’ve been dreaming of? Let’s think big and build something together! Apply at jumpsparkatl.org/jumpspark-grant-application.