Contributing to the Growth and Vitality of the Community

The Jewish Community Foundation, with the input of its donors, awards grants for new and innovative projects, community-wide initiatives and a broad range of programs that continue to enrich and improve our quality of life.  Grantmaking falls within seven major charitable areas.

Arts and Culture

The arts stimulate and celebrate the human spirit.  Foundation grants for cultural programming foster and enhance Jewish theater, art, music, literature and other visual and performing arts in the Greater Hartford community.  Maintaining connections with our rich cultural heritage will help secure a strong Jewish future for our community. To view recent grants, click here.

Children and Families

Children and families benefit from Foundation grants in many ways:  financial assistance to enjoy a summer camp experience, support in difficult times through individual and family counseling, and access to social services programs, including those to help counter child abuse and bring parenting skills to new mothers and fathers. For recent grants, click here.

Education

Grants for Jewish education sustain the programs and formal and informal educational experiences that enrich Jewish learning for all ages and strengthen the training of Jewish educators.   By investing in Jewish education, we perpetuate our values and our heritage. To see recent grants, click here.

Elderly

The commandment to “honor your father and mother” instructs us to take care of older Jewish men and women in our community, especially those who are alone or infirm and who require home or institutional care and critical social services.  Not only do Foundation grants provide resources to help our frail elders live with dignity, but they also support cultural, recreational and educational programs that bring hope and renewed vitality to able-bodied seniors in our Jewish community. To view recent grants, click here.

Israel Programs and Projects

The Talmud teaches that all Jews are responsible for one another. Threats to Jews in one corner of the world endanger Jews everywhere.   As a worldwide community, Jews are responsible for sustaining Jewish life wherever Jews live.   Foundation grants for Israel programs and projects build bridges of understanding with the people of Israel, provide needed human services and help Israel integrate recent immigrants from diverse cultural backgrounds into a unified and healthy community. For recent grants, click here.

Social Justice

Grants for social justice have one goal: to extend the presence and influence of the values of tolerance, social justice (tzedek) loving kindness (chesed), mutual respect, and ethical behavior within the Jewish world.  Programs supported through the Foundation are oriented toward social action and enhancement of relations between the Jewish community and other groups.  The commitment to justice and the obligation to “repair the world” are moral standards that remain at the forefront of Jewish communal life. To see recent grants, click here.

Special Populations

In the spirit of tzedakah, it is our responsibility to enhance the quality of life for those we can help, particularly those of challenged ability physically, emotionally or mentally.   Grants addressing those with special needs provide support for men, women and children with physical, mental and developmental disabilities so that they can live as active, productive participants in our Jewish community. For recent grants, click here.