2025 Request for Proposals
Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta grants process for our 2025 cycle for projects in the US and Israel is now open.Full details on the application process are below.
2025 Grant Cycle Application Instructions and Request for Proposals
Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta (JWFA) is now accepting Letters of Inquiry for the 2025 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. This will help you understand how we review your LOI.
Please use this form to submit your LOI.
If you have questions, please contact Melissa Scholten-Gutierrez at melissa@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, or who are fiscally sponsored as such. Grants are not made to individuals or other types of organizations. For the 2025 grant cycle, there are three different categories of grants available.
- Domestic Proposals: We accept funding requests for program-specific requests or for general-operating funds when the organization’s entire mission is aligned with ours. Projects/organizations should either be in the Metro Atlanta area or be national in scope. We do not fund projects that specifically serve other cities. Please note that U.S.-based organizations seeking funding for a project that takes place overseas will be considered international organizations.
- New Israeli Grantees: We are accepting new applications for both program-specific requests or general-operating funds when the organization’s entire mission is aligned with ours. No other international applications will be accepted this year. (A US-based organization must fiscally sponsor all Israeli organizations.) *For the 2025 grant year, sustaining grantees who were on the tapered grant cycle may submit this category of application.
- Renewals for Current (2024) JWFA Grantee Partners: JWFA 2024 Grantee Partners do not need to submit an LOI, provided they request funding for the same program in 2025.
All LOIs are due by December 30, 2024 (11:00pm, Eastern) and must be submitted using the above form. Please note that all communication about the grant process will occur via email; please notify JWFA with 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 before the end of January 2025, after which time you will be notified whether you will be invited to submit a full proposal.
Step 3 – Interviews and Final Decisions
Final candidates will be expected to complete a Zoom interview with JWFA Trustees, prior to making final determinations regarding grant allocations. Interviews will be conducted in mid-to-late spring. Final decisions will be made in May 2025. Grantees will then be required to adhere to reporting and oversight guidelines; details to follow.
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For information about Women’s Leadership Grants please see our website or contact Melissa.
Additional Grant Guidelines
ABOUT JEWISH WOMEN’S FUND OF ATLANTA
Mission: Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta invests in solutions that drive social change for Jewish women and girls.
Vision: Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta envisions a world where all Jewish women and girls realize their full potential.
Core Values:
- BOLDNESS: We are fearless leaders and advocates who seek creative ideas and take risks.
- INTEGRITY: We act with compassion, fairness, intention, and transparency in our work.
- RESPECT: We welcome diverse voices and recognize the unique and meaningful contributions of each person.
- COMMUNITY: We create a sense of belonging and participation within a multi-faceted community of Jewish women.
Organizations and Projects We Fund
We accept grant proposals from programs and organizations creating social change for Jewish women and girls. Organizations may request specific program support or general operating support. We accept requests for general operating support from organizations whose entire mission aligns with ours. JWFA seeks to fund projects that place an emphasis on sustainability, leveraged funding, and partnerships.
Issue areas we fund (all through a gender and social change lens):
- Economic empowerment
- Leadership development
- Gender-based violence prevention
- Reproductive justice
- Social justice and legal advocacy
- Mental health and the Superwoman Complex
- Professional development
- Gender equality
- Mentoring
- 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 aims 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
There are six indicators of social change. In your LOI, you will be asked to tell us which indicator(s) 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. |