Women's Endowment Fund Grants

Supporting programs that empower and improve the lives of women and girls

Women’s Endowment Fund (WEF) Grants provide up to $10,000 for programs and projects that improve the lives of girls and women in the Western Washington Jewish community. Grants are awarded every two years.

All community grants are subject to the Federation’s grant-making, marketing, co-sponsorship, and partnership guidelines. Please click here to review the guidelines.

Women’s Endowment Fund Grant Recipients

2023-2024

$8,000 to Chabad of Mercer Island – Jewish Women’s Circle
The Jewish Women’s Circle program at Chabad Mercer Island fosters community, cultural awareness, and empowerment for Jewish women. Launched in Fall 2021 after COVID-19 isolation, events like Menorahs and Martinis, Babka Bake, Mezuzahs and Mimosas, Hamantaschen Bake, and Succulents & Sangria provide opportunities for connection, learning about traditions, and engaging in creative workshops. The program aims to create a supportive and inclusive space for Jewish women to come together, network, and participate in meaningful experiences that promote sisterhood, creativity, and cultural celebration.
$10,000 to Friendship Circle of Washington – Mom’s Night Out
Mom’s Night Out is a monthly gathering of Jewish mothers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We host a two-hour activity or outing out at various locations in the community, facilitated by our Program Director and special guests. Over dinner, a facilitated art activity, a boat ride on Lake Union, or another outing, we keep the following objectives at the forefront: Empower participants with strategies to prioritize their own self-care and mental health; Create a powerful community, enabling Jewish mothers of children with special needs to receive peer support and know they are not alone; Arm mothers with critical resources and information for their children’s future.
$10,000 to Jewish Family Service – Project DVORA Domestic Violence Services
Established in 1999, Project DVORA is Jewish Family Service’s (JFS) trauma-informed recovery program for survivors of domestic violence (DV). This program includes a range of survivor-driven services, including advocacy, legal assistance, case management, counseling, and basic needs assistance. We also lead trainings at local schools and synagogues. Our goal is to create a community that supports healthy relationships and has the capacity to respond to DV incidents. JFS requests $10,000 to add a community engagement and advocacy manager to our Project DVORA team. This position will expand program engagement with Seattle’s Jewish community while also advocating for DV survivors’ rights.
$10,000 to Jewish Mothers of Metropolitan Seattle – Momentum Year Long Journey
Jewish Mothers of Metropolitan Seattle (JMOMS) started in 2010 when the first group of Jewish mothers from Seattle participated in Momentum Unlimited’s Year of Growth Program. Momentum Unlimited is a worldwide organization and their Year of Growth programs fosters unity without uniformity in local communities by sending local Jewish moms to Israel on a mostly subsidized trip. Upon returning, the cohort continues their community building and learning for one year. The cohort forms a tight bond with frequent lifelong friendships being made. Momentum requires the local partner organization, JMOMS, to financially contribute toward the Year of Growth. The goal is to send 13 women in 2023 and 13 women or more in 2024 and continuing forward.

2021-2022

$8,000 to BBYO Evergreen Region – Supporting Mental Health for Female Identifying Teens
The core values of the B’nai B’rith Girls, recited by teens at the launch and close of every meeting, speak to wrapping themselves in “strength and dignity” and leading lives that enrich and uplift others. Over this past year, BBYO in Western Washington has made major strides in making mental health a priority in everything that we do. About one in five young people suffers from a mental health-related illness, and yet teens experiencing mental health struggles tend to feel alone. By normalizing and providing essential education around mental health and wellness practices, we aim to remove the stigma and taboo that surround mental health conversations. By training teens in Youth Mental Health First Aid, we are empowering them to not only know what red flags are, but what their next steps should be when they recognize red flags in themselves or their peers. By giving our teens free access to mental health professionals, they can strike the balance of leading programming while having the backing of a professional.
$8,000 to Chabad at University of Washington – Jewish Women’s Club
The goal of the Jewish Women’s Club is to create a familial safe space for Jewish women on campus to learn and grow Jewishly. Since the group’s creation, students have been coming together to learn about Jewish values and perspectives on feminism, group discussions on a range of topics of interest, and events to build community among the women. Having a safe space to wrestle with the complex issues young women confront on a college campus where Jews are a minority and where Jewish perspectives are not always a priority enables these young women to bring a Jewish lens into their academics and provides a sense of purpose, fulfillment, and a feeling that they are part of something bigger.
$8,000 to Jewish Family Service – Project DVORA Domestic Violence Services
Project DVORA assists 150-200 domestic violence survivors and their families annually, providing vital advocacy-based counseling and support to help them as they stabilize their lives and develop comprehensive strategies for safety and autonomy. The program’s overarching goal is to create the conditions in the Jewish community to support healthy relationships and build capacity in the community to respond to domestic violence. Project DVORA offers a range of survivor-driven resources, tailored to meet individual client needs. Our program includes the following components: Case Management and Advocacy, Flexible Financial Assistance, Individual Counseling and Group Therapy, and Advocacy through Partnership and Activism.
$4,550 to Kadima – Gaymara (Gaymara requested funding only for FY2022)
Gaymara’s goal is to create a queer- and femme-centric learning environment in which all learners engage in Talmud text study as their full selves. Jewish women and non-binary people are more likely not to have received a rigorous Hebrew education, and gender-inclusive learning usually focuses on Tanakh or texts in translation. Gaymara eliminates barriers to Talmud study for people who need to work full-time or care for children (we have a playroom for kids). It is tuition-free and the only prerequisite is knowledge of the aleph-bet. Texts are taught in Hebrew/Aramaic. Gaymara focuses on texts where the rabbis use innovative halacha to combat injustice, so students see themselves as part of an innovative tradition. Past students have deepened their ties to Jewish community by joining synagogues, organizing chavurahs, and teaching their own text study sessions. Gaymara is also piloting a new Hebrew curriculum.
$8,000 to Stroum Jewish Community Center – Rosh Hodesh
Rosh Hodesh (RH), is an empowerment program for female-identifying teens that is designed to support the mental health of participants while fostering a strong connection to Judaism. RH helps girls foster self-discovery, challenge sexism, and understand healthy sexuality while establishing a commitment to Jewish life. Through discussion, arts and crafts, creative ritual, games, and drama, the girls and their facilitator draw on Jewish values and a gender lens to explore the issues the girls care about most. RH was developed by educators, rabbis, social workers, and psychologists to address the real needs of teen girls within a rich Jewish context. It was the first program to draw on Jewish teachings and traditions to keep girls healthy and whole, instilling in them the ability to counter narrow views of gender in popular culture.

2019-2020

Be’er-Sova – Recipe for Success
Hillel of Western Washington University – Rosh Chodesh Women’s Circle
Holocaust Center for Humanity – Women’s Voices in History
Jewish Family Service of Seattle – Project DVORA
Kadima – Gaymara
Machshava Tova – Tech Empowerment Program for Teenage Girls at Risk
Washington State Jewish Historical Society – Highlighting Our Jewish Women in Washington State through the Washington Jewish Museum

2017-2018

Aluma for Social Involvement for Jewish Identity – Likratech
Nishmant Ethiopian Women (N.E.W.)
Jewish Family Service – Project DVORA
Washington State Jewish Historical Society

To learn more, contact:

Emilia Picklesimer | Foundation Operations Specialist | emiliap@jewishinseattle.org | 206.774.2218