2024 Request for Proposals

Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta is no longer accepting Letters of Inquiry for 2024 domestic projects. See full info below.

2024 Grant Cycle Application Instructions and Request for Proposals

Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta is no longer accepting Letters of Interest (LOI) for the 2024 grant cycle.  Please read through all of this information carefully for full guidelines and instructions.

The Women’s Leadership Grants RFP will be released in early 2024.

If you have any questions, please contact our Grants Manager at grants@jwfatlanta.org.

2024 Grant Guidelines

Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta Mission

Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta promotes social change and creates positive opportunities for Jewish women and girls.

Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta Core Values

  • We value repairing the world by supporting organizations and programs which promote social change for women and girls in the Jewish community.
  • We strive to achieve Maimonides’ highest level of tzedakah: helping someone help herself.
  • We place a priority on grants that hold the promise of long-term, transformational community impact.
  • We aim to be an educational vehicle for Jewish women in philanthropy and to advocate for the overall needs of Jewish women and girls.
  • We value inclusion and active participation on the part of our Trustees and will strive for respect and consensus.
  • We value collaboration with those who share our goals and will seek partnerships and encourage coalitions.

Organizations and Projects We Fund

  1. We accept grant proposals from programs and organizations creating social change for Jewish women and girls.
  2. Organizations may submit requests for either specific program support or general operating support. We welcome requests for general operating support from organizations whose entire mission aligns with ours.
  3. JWFA seeks to fund projects that place an emphasis on sustainability, leveraged funding, and partnerships.
  4. All proposals should be for a one-year period: July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025.

Issue areas we fund (all through a gender lens and social change lens):

  • Economic empowerment
  • Gender-based violence prevention
  • Gender equality
  • Leadership development
  • Mental health and the Superwoman Complex
  • Mentoring
  • Professional development
  • Reproductive justice
  • Social justice and legal advocacy
  • And more!

Please note: we do not fund scholarships.

Defining Social Change and Gender Lens

Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta is committed to expanding opportunities and promoting social change for Jewish women and girls through a gender lens.  This means we focus on initiatives that address the underlying factors contributing to the challenges faced by self-identifying Jewish girls and women.

Social change is a systemic approach seeking to alter cultural or social patterns.  Social change through a gender and Jewish lens seeks to address the inequity and disparity within the Jewish community that works against women’s empowerment, self-determination, economic empowerment, and gender equity.  For example, social change programming approaches an issue such as the elimination of domestic violence in the Jewish community from a place of prevention, rather than funding direct services meeting the needs of victims who have already suffered abuse.

Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta seeks grantee partners who achieve social change through a gender lens by:

  • Creating long-term changes in the lives of self-identifying Jewish women and girls and their communities
  • Addressing underlying causes of inequity, suffering, and disenfranchisement
  • Identifying and testing innovative programming solutions
  • Facilitating leadership development as well as the self-empowerment efforts of self-identifying Jewish women and girls
  • Specifically focusing on the unique experiences of self-identifying women and girls during the program design phase

The following are six indicators of social change. In your LOI, you will be asked to tell us which indicator your program exhibits:

Indicator of Social Change Definition Typical Strategies/Activities Example
Shifts in definition An issue or idea is given new meaning. The community or society sees the issue differently as a result of your work. Research, documentation of actual experiences, articulating concepts through writing and/or presentations. Rape is understood as an act of violence with legal and civil consequences, not a sexual transgression.
Shifts in behavior People are behaving differently for the better in the community or larger society, usually building a sense of personal empowerment. Immediate support for individuals and families in need and/or for organizations serving immediate needs. Women seek appropriate health care for themselves/ the community is providing more opportunities.
Shifts in engagement More people are engaged in an idea or action as a result of your work. Enough people get involved that they are noticed and a “tipping point” is reached. Community-based organizing and public education; media campaigns; networking; supporting a group to find a collective strength or identity. People show up to rally for a cause they care about.
Shifts in policies Organizational, local, regional, state, national, or international policy or practice has changed to better serve social change ideals. Public policy reform, education and interaction with policy and system-level decision-makers. An organization’s policy changes to allow for greater participation of women.
Current position maintained Earlier progress on issues is maintained in the face of opposition. Strengthen organizations and leaders and their ability to withstand backlash and resistance to change. Funding for breast cancer research is saved from budget cuts.
Strengthening social change organizations Providing the resources to strengthen projects and organizations dedicated to social change. Operating support; professional development. An organization invests in its leaders to give them valuable professional development.

Eligibility

Grants are made only to tax-exempt organizations that qualify under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Grants are not made to individuals. Since we cannot support all eligible projects, please take the time to review our guidelines thoroughly to determine if your organization, program, initiative, or project meets our criteria.

Additional Grant Guidelines

A complete list of current and past grants can be found on our website. After five years of consecutive funding from JWFA, projects will be required to take one year off before re-applying for funding. This does not preclude the organization from applying for funding for a different project or general operating support, provided it meets JWFA’s mission, core values, and grant guidelines.

2024 Application Process

Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta is no longer accepting Letters of Inquiry for the 2024 funding year for organizations/projects that promote social change for women and girls in the Jewish community. Before submitting a Letter of Inquiry (LOI), please review our Mission Statement, Core Values, and Grant Guidelines available in this document and on our website. This will assist you in understanding how we review your LOI.

If you have questions, please contact our Grants Manager at grants@jwfatlanta.org

Step 1 – Letters of Inquiry

Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta accepts Letters of Inquiry (LOI) from tax-exempt organizations that qualify under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.  Grants are not made to individuals.  For the 2024 grant cycle, there are three different categories of grants available.

Please note: funding requests for international projects/organizations – including Israel – will be accepted by direct invitation only.

  1. Domestic Proposals: Projects taking place within the United States seeking grant funding must submit an LOI by January 5, 2024 at 3pm EST through this form. Please note: U.S.-based organizations seeking funding for a project that takes place overseas will be considered international organizations. We accept funding requests for general operating support or for funding restricted to a particular project. Projects/organizations should either be taking place in the Metro Atlanta area or national in scope. We do not fund projects that specifically serve other cities.
  1. Women’s Leadership Grants: We are offering a limited number of Women’s Leadership grants to self-identifying Jewish women in Atlanta who work in senior level positions in Atlanta-based nonprofit organizations within the Jewish community. (Local or regional offices of national organizations do not qualify.) These grants must be used for professional development purposes, such as coaching, workshops, or courses, and will be granted to the organization on behalf of the leader herself. Recipients of 2023 Women’s Leadership Grants may not apply again in 2024. Applications for this grant opportunity will be available in early 2024 and will be posted on our website in a separate RFP.
  2. Renewals for Current (2023) JWFA Grantee Partners: JWFA 2023 Grantee Partners do not need to submit an LOI, provided they are requesting funding for the same program in 2023. Those Grantee Partners who have already been contacted regarding FY24 Sustaining Grants do not need to submit a renewal proposal and are not eligible for funding for a new project.

Please note that all communication about the grant process will occur via email; please notify JWFA about any email changes that may occur so we can properly contact you.

Step 2 – Full Grant Proposals

Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta will review all Letters of Inquiry by late January 2024, after which time you will be notified as to whether or not you will be invited to submit a full proposal.

Step 3 – Interviews and Final Decisions

We may request a site visit or interview prior to making final determinations regarding grant allocations. Interviews will be conducted in mid-to-late spring. Final decisions will be made in May 2024. Grantees will then be required to adhere to reporting and oversight guidelines; details to follow.