The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee Awards Grants to Eight Regional Organizations
The Federation continues its tradition of building collaborative partnerships with organizations and initiatives throughout the Sarasota-Manatee region.
(Sarasota-Manatee) In the past five years, The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee has been a leader in granting funds for vital programs and initiatives in the Sarasota-Manatee region. According to Howard Tevlowitz, JFSM’s executive director, it’s all about building and nurturing community partnerships. He explains that, several years ago, the JFSM team made a bold decision to change the way it spent donor dollars. The organization moved away from providing large unrestricted allocations to the same few organizations from year to year.
“This decision wasn’t made lightly, as this had been the standard operating procedure for Jewish federations for decades,” Tevlowitz says. “We replaced the allocations model with a granting and partnership model. The result has blossomed into dozens of creative, collaborative partnerships with organizations throughout the Sarasota-Manatee region. We’re especially interested in programs that explore diversity, nurture educational opportunities, and promote a vibrant and civically engaged community. The friendships made, the projects tackled and the impact felt has been simply wonderful.”
According to Tevlowitz, the Federation awarded grants to eight initiatives in the past year. Those grants include awarding $50,000 to Embracing Our Differences for its educational programs and staff support; $25,000 to All Faiths Food Bank for the organization’s Campaign Against Summer Hunger; $15,000 to Florida Studio Theatre for its Dialogues on Diversity forums; $12,500 to the Sarasota County School District and the Education Foundation of Sarasota County for its Restorative Strategies initiative; $161,000 to the Jewish Family & Children’s Service of the Suncoast (JFCS) to fund 3.5 staff positions supporting the Jewish Healing Program and caseworkers that work with Holocaust survivors and the greater Jewish community and an additional $50,000 for emergency funding for Jewish individuals and families in need; $15,000 to Perlman Music Program/Suncoast for support of its programs; and $125,000 to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens for its recent Marc Chagall exhibit, specifically to fund the painting, “The Lovers,” on loan from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
For more information about The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, call 941-371-4546 or visit www.jfedsrq.org.
About The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee
The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to save Jewish lives and enhance Jewish life in the Sarasota-Manatee region, in Israel, and throughout the world. In addition, the Federation is responsive when worldwide catastrophes occur. For more information, call 941-371-4546 or visit www.jfedsrq.org.
