Grants in Support of Seniors & Single Moms in the Bay Area
The San Francisco Jewish Women’s Fund makes its mark
Founded under the leadership of esteemed philanthropist Lisa Goldman, and currently under the dedicated leadership of Julie Levine, the San Francisco Jewish Women’s Fund (SFJWF) of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund brings community members together to leverage their resources and explore issues affecting women and girls through a Jewish and gender lens. Following a landscape survey and presentations from numerous community partners, the SFJWF identified elderly Jewish women and single Jewish moms as important underserved populations. The Federation is now thrilled to announce $267,350 in grants awarded by the SFJWF to spark social change in these two key areas.
ISOLATED SENIORS: $114,100
Many older adults experience isolation as they age due to limited mobility and access to transportation. By the year 2030, one out of every three residents in Marin will be older adults over the age of 65 with similar increases anticipated in cities throughout the country. According to the Marin County Civil Grand Jury, an independent watchdog body, Marin is failing to prepare for this “silver tsunami,” with insufficient services to meet the needs of its aging population. Understanding that 75% of older adults are women, the SFJWF supports initiatives that alleviate senior isolation and keep seniors connected to community, which in turn helps them lead more active, healthy lives. Grants include:
Osher Marin JCC: $80,000
This grant helps cover the cost of a bus that will be deployed to keep able-bodied isolated seniors involved and active in the community. The JCC plans to build a program around this new bus that includes both overnight trips and day trips. The bus will allow the JCC to double the number of senior excursions offered each year and triple the number of participants.
Jewish Community Center of Sonoma: $17,100
This grant supports the inclusion of two additional senior excursions through JCC Sonoma that engage younger seniors who are beginning to need social and physical support. The goal is to ease the transition of younger seniors into accepting services as they age and to keep them connected to Jewish community.
The Jewish Home: $17,000
This grant underwrites a study of Bay Area transportation for seniors conducted by the Jewish Home. The study will review transportation options for seniors provided by four cities with size and infrastructure comparable to San Francisco’s. The study includes an inventory and evaluation of existing transportation resources and the development of a plan to coordinate access into a one-stop service model for the Jewish Home.
SINGLE JEWISH MOTHERS: $148,250
Single mothers are among the fastest growing vulnerable populations nationally, yet are often overlooked in the Jewish community. These grants focus on raising awareness and strategizing to include the growing number of single Jewish moms in the Bay Area Jewish community. Grants include:
Big Tent Judaism: $34,000
This grant supports Big Tent Judaism’s Concierge program to expand system-wide thinking and collaboration across institutions to be more inclusive of single Jewish moms. The Concierge program provides referral services, coordinates meet-ups for solo moms and their children, and advocates on their behalf at Jewish communal institutions (We are currently seeking funding partners to support the total cost of this project for the coming year. Those interested should contact Sue Schwartzman at SueS@sfjcf.org).
Camp Tawonga: $21,800
This grant supports a special program track exclusively for single moms and their children at two family camp weekends. This single mom track includes personalized support from staff, scholarships, counselor-directed outdoor activities for children, and a variety of group-centric offerings for adults, and increased babysitting to allow moms to participate in all late night programming.
Congregation Shomrei Torah: $19,450
This grant enables Congregation Shomrei Torah to launch its “Modern Mishpacha” to help single mothers find and build a local community that is both Jewish and works for the hectic single mom schedule. This program fosters community for single moms through havurot, babysitting at all synagogue events, child care co-op, and outreach to unaffiliated single Jewish moms.
Peninsula Jewish Community Center: $58,000
This grant allows for the creation of the “Nashim” program, headed by the Peninsula Jewish Community Center and involving many North Peninsula Jewish institutions. The program creates opportunities for engagement and increased accessibility to existing programs at North Peninsula institutions for single Jewish mothers. Nashim includes a community passport for 10 single moms, a navigator to coordinate, direct, and connect single moms, and free/low-cost programs for single-parent families.
Shalom Bayit: $15,000
This grant supports Shalom Bayit’s Empowerment Project for single Jewish moms. The Project recognizes becoming a single parent can be a time of great vulnerability and aims to provide tools for navigating key challenges, like money or the prospect of new relationships. The Project includes workshops for single moms on Safe Dates and Economic Independence.
For more information on the San Francisco Jewish Women's Fund, contact Sue Schwartzman or call 415.512.6259.
