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social & economic justice PROGRAMS The Green Environment Fund — $348,000 ◆ The New Israel Fund’s partnership with The Nathan Cummings Foundation and Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies aims to protect and preserve Israel’s environment, promote environmental justice and strengthen the country’s environmental movement. This consortium makes grants to dozens of local and national organizations each year and helps vulnerable populations participate in environmental decision-making. Major grants in 2004 were made to the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership, Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Green Network, Green Course and the SHELI (small grant) Fund. State Budget Allocation Program —$50,000 ◆ This NIF/SHATIL pilot project aims to create clear, equitable criteria for the distribution of government grant funds to serve the educational, social and economic needs of Israel’s diverse populations. The project has three components: analyzing the state budget to propose reforms that will ensure transparency and more equitable allocations; identifying organizations interested in addressing these issues; and developing workshops to teach non-profit organizations how to apply for government funding. WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP ◆ Dafna Izraeli Fund — $88,000 ◆ Sponsored by the children of the late Dafna Izraeli, NIF vice president and board member, this fund supports programs that promote women’s leadership and the mainstreaming of feminist values in key
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areas of social change. The first round of funding supported three organizations: Itach, Al-Tufula and Kol Ha’Isha. ◆ Yaffa London-Yaari Fund — $5,500 ◆ Sponsored by the family of NIF Executive Director in Israel Eliezer Yaari, this program funds an annual scholarship for an Israeli woman who develops a program that has a positive impact on other women. The first program was in the field of economic empowerment for older women, and the model is currently being documented to enable broad dissemination in other communities. Israel Social Entrepreneurship Program — $20,000 ◆ NIF has partnered with the Israel Venture Network (IVN) to support two twoyear fellowships for social entrepreneurs. The first two fellows’ projects are in the fields of internet job networking for new immigrants and environmentally sustainable waste disposal for farmers. The Right to Health is in Your Hands — $218,000 ◆ Managed by NIF and funded by the Pfizer Foundation and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Ltd., this program raises awareness about health rights and services among diverse disadvantaged populations. The program targets Bedouin women, gays, disadvantaged youth, young women in the IDF, women with disabilities and Israel’s Arab community. Six of the nine grant recipients are members of the NIF family: The Galilee Society for Health Research and Services, Mahapach — Education, Housing and Employment, Jerusalem Open House, Yedid: The Association for Community Empowerment, Israel AIDS Task Force and Bizchut: Center for Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
SHATIL PROJECTS FOSTERING LEADERSHIP THROUGHOUT ISRAEL’S CIVIL SECTOR A multi-faceted program to train promising leaders from various communities, who have varying levels of experience, to lead social change efforts and advance the shared interests of disadvantaged populations. ◆ Multicultural Course — $95,000: Skills training for activists from the Arab, Russian, Ethiopian and Mizrahi communities in multiculturalism and education. ◆ Community Organizing — $150,000: Academic studies and fieldwork to train professional community organizers, advised by Harvard Professor Marshall Ganz. ◆ Bedouin Youth — $82,000: Quality extracurricular programs to develop leadership among young adults in the Bedouin community, and advocacy to address their ongoing needs. ◆ Single Parents Forum — $30,000: Training to prepare single parents from many cultural backgrounds, who live in northern Israel, to promote the rights of single parents. ◆ Ethiopian Managers — $22,000: Taught together with Bar-Ilan University, intensive skill-building classes on management issues for directors and senior managers of Ethiopian organizations. Bedouin Women’s Empowerment Project — $150,000 ◆ This project enables Bedouin women to participate more fully in modern Israeli society by developing their skills and knowledge. Five training courses provide women with practical job skills, teach them about their rights and improve communication and cooperation between mothers and the school system; the more advanced courses teach advanced facilitation skills and economic empowerment.
The Everett Fellows for Social Justice Program — $144,000 ◆ Placing Israeli student interns in nonprofits, thereby providing crucial human resources to social change organizations while simultaneously giving these students first-hand experience in the public interest community. In addition to their work, students participate in SHATIL enrichment and skill-building sessions, thus cultivating a strong cadre of leaders for Israel’s civil sector. Social and Economic Justice IniItiative — $275,000 ◆ This project trains and guides local activists in organizing their communities to fight poverty, with special attention to single parents, the unemployed and those living in the geographic periphery of the country. Environmental Justice — $215,000 ◆ This project trains Israelis from disadvantaged groups, which often bear the brunt of environmental hazards, to become effective advocates for their communities. The project establishes coalitions to advance regional and national issues, such as public health in the North and, in the South, a Negev Forum comprising Jews and Arabs to address environmental issues. SHATIL also coordinates an annual conference that is the premier event for Israel’s environmental movement. Assistance to Ethiopian Immigrants Project — $220,000 ◆ Established in 1992, this project has cultivated national and local Ethiopian groups across Israel, equipping them with tools to improve the lives of their constituencies in critical areas such as employment, education, housing and health. The project reaches out to local activists, women and students in the Ethiopian community, increasing the level and effectiveness of their activities with training and consulting.
Assistance to Russian Immigrant Organizations — $170,000 ◆ Advancing democracy, this project trains activists from the former Soviet Union to operate effective nonprofit organizations and provides a forum for networking with other activists from the Russian and veteran Israeli communities.
GRANTS Because of space limitations, the following list is limited to general support grants of $20,000 or more. ADVA Center — $70,000 ◆ Policy analysis, advocacy and public education on issues of inequality among various population groups in Israel. Al-Ahali Center for Community Development — $30,000 ◆ Community organizing and educational activities that promote civic participation by Arab citizens of Israel. Al-Beit — $20,000 ◆ Support for the establishment of a Jewish-Arab housing cooperative designed to promote mixed communities on stateowned land in Israel Al-Zahraa: Organization for Women — $30,000 ◆ Educational activities and community programs for women in the city of Saknin and the surrounding area. Al-Yater: Association for Promoting Culture and Social Development — $20,000 ◆ Educational activities and advocacy efforts to promote the rights of the Arab population of Akko. Association for Arab Youth — $25,000 ◆ Activities to promote social involvement and democratic values among young Arab Israelis.