Jewish Pride Fund 2025 - Request For Proposals

Mission & Values Statement:
The Jewish Pride Fund, a Giving Circle of the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation, is committed to supporting the intersecting needs, values and interests of the LGBTQIA+ and Jewish communities in the Bay Area and in Israel.

Our vision is to create a world where Jewish LGBTQIA+ voices are heard across Jewish secular and religious society. We believe that if we empower LGBTQIA+ individuals and families that identify with the Jewish community through financial and activist support of deserving organizations, we contribute to the rising power and agency of the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole. We believe that members of the Jewish LGBTQIA+ community have a unique role to play in civil rights, social justice, and religious inclusion.

Background and Grant Focus
Over a year after the Hamas attack in Israel and the ensuing wars, grave impacts such as displacement, trauma, increased antisemitism and anti-Zionism remain ever present for Israel and in the diaspora. As residents of the Bay Area, we have a particular concern for the local LGBTQIA+ Jewish community. As part of our continued commitment to support the LGBTQIA+ community during these unprecedented and challenging times, we are focusing on proposals concerned with building services, networks, and resilience for Jewish LGBTQIA+ people in the Bay Area and in Israel. National organizations are welcome to apply if their proposal is focused on direct services for the Bay Area LGBTQIA+ Jewish community. Please read the grant focus section carefully to see if your organization is eligible to apply.

In 2024 the Jewish Pride Fund awarded grants totaling $43,235 to 6 organizations in the grantmaking cycle and to 3 organizations in the days immediately following the 7th of October for acute emergency needs to current grantees. Grant cycle allocations ranged from $2,515 to $8,000. Available grant funding for 2025 is projected to be around $50,000. To manage expectations, please apply for grants between $5,000 - $10,000 each.

For All Applicants:

The Jewish Pride Fund welcomes proposals from organizations focused on fostering resilience, building community and belonging, and providing a sense of safety and security for Jewish members of the LGBTQIA+ community. We will prioritize organizations focusing on:

• Direct support for LGBTQIA+ people in need.
• Building community and belonging for members of the Jewish LGBTQIA+ community.
• Direct service of needs including food, housing, mental health and trauma recovery, safety and security, and job training or employment for members of the LGBTQIA+ Jewish community.
• Organizations serving Arabs and Jews together to strengthen solidarity, mutual support, and resilience.
• Grants are offered for program support or general operations if the entire organization is dedicated to Jewish LGBTQIA+ work.

All applicants are strongly encouraged to reach out to the Federation’s Senior Director of Collaborative Philanthropy, Danielle Meshorer, to verify the eligibility of your organization to apply and if applying for a specific program, your proposal idea.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR EACH GEOGRAPHIC AREA

1. Organizations Serving the Bay Area (Open RFP)

The Jewish Pride Fund is inviting organizations serving the Bay Area Jewish LGBTQIA+ community through an Open RFP. Organizations that are either registered 501c3 o BTQIA+ serving or can submit a proposal for a dedicated LGBTQIA+ focused initiative or program operating within a larger Jewish organization.

• Organizations must be focused on creating Jewish LGBTQIA+ resilience, community, social cohesion, connections, and services in the Bay Area.
• Grants between $5,000 - $10,000 each.
• National organizations already operating in, or that have plans to operate in the Bay Area to serve the local Jewish LGBTQIA+ community are welcome to apply. These organizations may have:

1. A satellite office with Bay Area staff;
2. Bay Area programs, initiatives, or retreats operated from a headquarters in another location; or
3. Ongoing significant LGBTQIA+ cohort membership (70%+) based in the Bay Area.    

2. Israel (By Invitation Only)

Organizations based in Israel are invited to apply by invitation-only.

• Only Israeli organizations invited to apply will be considered for funding.
• If you are an Israeli organization completing this application but have not been invited to apply your application will not be considered.
• Applicant organizations will be entirely LGBTQIA+ serving.
• Grants between $5,000 - $10,000 each.    

ELIGIBILITY
Applicants- or their fiscal sponsors- must be tax exempt under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code and be based in the United States. The Jewish Pride Fund will NOT fund:

• Capital campaigns
• Endowments
• Partisan political activities
• Organizations that are in conflict with the Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund’s Policy and Guidelines on Israel-Related Programming

FUNDING BOTH SERVICES AND SOCIAL CHANGE

The Jewish Pride Fund is open to proposals seeking to address both systemic changes focused on root causes of problems and direct service. Systemic change works to improve the conditions that lead to inequality and brings about long-term change tracked over time. Direct service seeks to ameliorate the symptoms of societal problems, and is often measured in concrete ways with more immediate results, even as the need is ongoing.  

How to Apply:
There is just one application that members of the Jewish Pride Fund will use to learn more about your organization. Please submit this application through the Jewish Community Federation’s portal. Organizations invited to stage two will be asked to schedule a Zoom interview with the Jewish Pride Fund members so we can meet and ask questions directly. Grant allocation decisions will be made by a group vote of the Jewish Pride Fund members in May 2025.    

Timeline
This is a two-stage grant proposal process with the first stage being an application and, if advanced, the second stage will be an interview.

PLEASE VISIT THIS LINK TO APPLY FOR THE JEWISH PRIDE FUND 2025 GRANT
 

For More Information:
Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Danielle Meshorer, Senior Director of Collaborative Philanthropy to verify the eligibility of your organization to apply and if applying for a specific program, to share your proposal idea and to ask questions.

If you have technical questions about how to apply, please contact Federation Grant Support at grantsupport@sfjcf.org.