2012 South Peninsula Regional Impact Committee Request for Proposals: Engaging Families in Jewish Life

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the 2012 South Peninsula Regional Impact Committee?

In April 2011, the Jewish Community Federation (JCF) adopted a new strategic plan, focusing on

three areas:

Investing strategically for high impact;

Building capacity; and

Engaging and developing Jewish philanthropists and leaders.

To support the first area, JCF has worked over the last year to lay the foundation for a new approach

to grantmaking, building on best practices in philanthropy. As part of this, JCF launched a pilot

Impact Grants Initiative (IGI) round in 2011, which employed a high engagement and

empowerment approach to grantmaking modeled on social venture philanthropy. We launched the

IGI last year as a way to provide donor-participants with a “hands-on” way to make a real difference

in our community by making high impact grants that focus on a pressing community need. Through

the IGI approach we have provided grantees with the multi-year funding needed to be successful, as

well as the type of nonfinancial support that helps them thrive. And ultimately, the grants awarded

as a result of this new model help build a more vibrant, connected and enduring Jewish Community.

As part of the new strategic plan, the JCF created Four Funds, which provide our donors with the

opportunity to personalize their giving toward an area of community need that is especially

meaningful to them. The Bay Area Initiatives Fund, which is one of the Four Funds, is comprised of

three funding focus areas: reducing barriers; supporting service opportunities; and regional

grantmaking.

It is within this context that the JCF established the inaugural 2012 South Peninsula Regional

Impact Committee. The new regional grantmaking effort is modeled, in part, after the pilot IGI and

will be shaped by the input of committee members to best meet the needs of the local community.

2. Are there Regional Impact Committees in JCF’s other regions?

There is a North Peninsula Regional Impact Committee that was created at the same time as the

South Peninsula Regional Impact Committee, and is currently engaged in a grantmaking process.

The JCF anticipates launching Regional Impact Committees in Marin and Sonoma Counties in 2013.

3. I remember that there used to be a regional grants committee called the South

Peninsula Regional Council. What happened to that body?

Until 2010, JCF’s presence in the regions (in other words, the smaller geographic areas noted in

JCF’s full name) was embodied by a Regional Council Structure. The South Peninsula Regional

Council, like the other Regional Councils, had numerous responsibilities including local

grantmaking, leadership development, community convening, fundraising, etc.

The South Peninsula grantmaking work under the Regional Council structure resulted in JCF local

support for many excellent local projects run by the many Jewish organizations in the South

Peninsula. Grants were designed as one-time, one-year grants, and awards typically ranged from

$5,000 - $10,000. Approximately $100,000 was distributed each year in one-time grants by the South

Peninsula Regional Council.

The JCF disbanded the Regional Councils as part of its reorganization in 2010 and is excited to

bring a new, high-impact grantmaking model to the regions this year as part of the rollout of the

new JCF strategic plan.

4. How are the new Regional Impact Committees different from the old Regional

Councils?

Significantly, the new South Pen and North Pen Regional Impact Committees have one focused role: to

engage local populations in JCF efforts to have high impact in local communities by funding

solutions addressing one or two of the largest challenges facing each region. Additionally, these

committees will utilize different grantmaking tactics to support strategic impact. Specifically, the new

Regional Impact Committees will:

Award three-year grants, enabling grantees to more effectively tackle entrenched problems;

Award a small number of grants in each region (as few as one and no more than six or

seven) each year, focusing on one or two issue areas and enabling higher impact with more

dollars per grant;

Engage in an intensive review process, including a strong emphasis on assessing leadership

of applicant organization(s) as indicator of institutional readiness; and site visits and/or

interviews as part of review and decision-making processes;

Focus on measurable outcomes as a key criteria of success;

Award a target amount of $500,000 over the three-year grant period (approximately

$166,000 per year);

Partner with grantees beyond the grantmaking by maintaining ongoing relationships with

grantees and helping to identify and provide non-financial support as appropriate (e.g.,

technical assistance) to maximize the success of grantees and the impact of grant dollars.

5. What happens after the 2012 grant decisions are made? Will there be more grants

made the next year or does our community have to wait until the three-year grants

are completed to see more grantmaking in our South Peninsula region?

Just as the 2012 committee is finalizing its grant decisions, the new JCF regional model calls for the

establishment of a 2013 committee, which will engage in a similar process, resulting in the next

three-year grant round for the South Peninsula. The vision for the regional structure is to have

“layers” of investment in high priority areas over rolling three-year periods. This also means that the

“weight” of the important decision to identify only one or two areas to fund in any given grant cycle

is ameliorated by the knowledge that future grant rounds will fund additional high priority areas.

6. I know that the 2012 South Peninsula Regional Impact Committee just issued an

RFP in the area of “Engaging Families in Jewish Life.” How did the Committee

identify “engaging families” as its target area for this first three-year grant cycle?

The committee engaged in a series of deliberations, which included informal interviews in the local

community; review of the research literature relevant to the issue of strengthening local Jewish

communities; and group discussion and analysis. The committee explored a number of potential

funding target areas, and recognized that there is no “wrong choice” among many worthy areas of focus

and investment.

That said, given the demographic concentration of families on the South Peninsula; the high level of

disengagement of families in Jewish life; the fact that Judaism as a religion and culture can engage

families by design; and the belief that investment in families will strengthen the future of the South

Peninsula Jewish community, the committee chose this focus area. Because of the diversity of family

structures in the Bay Area, the committee intentionally did not define what constitutes a family, and

is inviting potential grantees to identify the subset of the broad category of “families” they wish to

impact, given each organization’s specific mission and expertise.

In its deliberations, the committee found one particular article highly informative. The article,

entitled “New Pathways: An Evaluation of Two Pilot Initiatives Serving Jewish Families with Young

Children in Suburban Boston,” identified key attributes of successful family engagement programs.

While the committee is not limiting its interest to families with young children, the research findings

did inform the RFP, including some of the encouraged qualities of program proposals.

7. Who sits on the 2012 South Peninsula Regional Impact Committee?

The committee includes some members who have longstanding involvement with JCF and some

members who are new to JCF. All committee members have deep concern about the future of

Jewish life locally, and the group represents a mix of perspectives and experiences that enable the

committee to engage in robust deliberations and decision-making. Given the demographic and

denominational diversity of the South Peninsula, the Committee includes members with ages

spanning each decade from 20’s to 70’s as well as members representing the various Jewish

denominations, as well as some who do not identify denominationally. The list of sixteen committee

members is available by emailing AdinaE@sfjcf.org.

8. I am a community member and really want to participate in the Community

Conversation scheduled on July 24, 10:00 – 11:30. But I work during the day (or: I am

on vacation in July), and I don’t know if I can attend. Why did the Committee set

this important conversation for this time of day/summer?

You may have heard the phrase “don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” We are fully

aware that a late morning during July may not be an ideal time for many community members.

There were many constraints we needed to take into account when scheduling this meeting, and,

ultimately, had limited choices of when it could take place. That said, we felt that this period of time

during the RFP/proposal development process presented a unique opportunity for this

conversation, and we didn’t want to not hold the conversation at all due to the limited time choices.

Potential grantees are currently in the process of development proposal ideas, and this meeting will

take place two weeks before brief first-stage proposal concept papers are due on August 8. We

wanted potential applicants to have the opportunity to hear from interested community members

about their thoughts about the important topic of “engaging families in Jewish life.” In addition,

Committee members are interested in hearing from both community members and potential

grantees about their perspectives on this topic before reviewing first-stage proposals.

In sum, we know this will not be a definitive conversation; at the same time, we believe the

conversation will enrich the proposal development and Committee decision-making processes.

Importantly, JCF anticipates holding future community conversations as this new grantmaking

process becomes further refined going forward.

9. I am a potential grantee, and I have questions about the RFP process, but I am

unable to make either the in-person meeting on July 24 or the conference call on

August 2. I am working on a proposal that is due August 8. How can I get my

questions answered?

Adina Danzig Epelman is the Program Officer staffing the South Pen Regional Impact Committee

and this RFP process. She is more than happy to talk through all your questions with you, and will

be happy to share any “takeaways” gleaned at the July 24 and August 2 sessions if you aren’t able to

participate. Feel free to contact her at AdinaE@sfjcf.org or 415-512-6216. Please note that Adina

works part-time, so it may take her a day or two to return your message.