The Jewish Community Foundation’s Community Legacy Fund has awarded $81,438 in innovative and emergency grants. The grants support high-quality, new programs that provide an innovative approach to an existing or emerging community need, or respond to financial or humanitarian emergencies.
Community Legacy Fund grants were awarded for the following programs:
COVID-19 emergency funding - $40,000
The J: A Production of “Memphis” - $1,000. With the Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas, The J will produce the musical “Memphis” at the Lewis and Shirley White Theatre in February of 2022. The grant will be used to pay the equity actors from the Black Repertory Theatre who are participating in the show.
JCRB/AJC: Educate to Prevent Initiative - $5,000. The goal of this program is to combat antisemitism in public schools by training school administrators and teachers to be allies to their Jewish students. In a recent survey of local middle and high school students, 75% of the 66 respondents stated that they had experienced some form of anti-Semitism at their schools.
Jewish Family Services: Navigator System - $17,938. JFS’s Navigator System integrates three innovative strategies to rapidly connect new and existing JFS clients with the right mix of services – from both JFS and community partners – and social services expertise to meet their immediate needs and help them achieve greater stability over time.
Jewish Vocational Service: Emergency Assistance for Clients - $2,500. This grant will support two to six JVS families who need help with rent, utilities, food, and medical costs. The goal is to provide the tools and aid to help these families become financially stable.
KU Hillel: Mental Health Initiative - $10,000. KU Hillel has partnered with JFS to provide free counseling with a licensed therapist to Jewish KU students. The program was created to overcome the six-week waiting time experienced by students trying to access counseling via KU’s health services.
Union Station: “Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away.” - $5,000. Featuring more than 700 original objects and 400 photographs, this is the most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the history of Auschwitz and its role in the Holocaust ever presented in North America.
The Community Legacy Fund consists of permanent endowments from which grants are awarded to community agencies whose applications are reviewed and evaluated by the Foundation’s Grants Committee and board of trustees.
“The Grants Committee appreciates that our strategic plan allows us to focus grant dollars on innovative programming as well as emergency needs in the community,” says Linda Lyon, Grants Committee chair. “This helps ensure that Community Legacy Fund dollars are as impactful as possible for evolving needs.”
In addition to innovation and emergency grants, the Community Legacy Fund also provides annual core grants which support operations central to the accomplishment of an organization’s mission or for funding unique services not otherwise available within the Jewish community that are essential to Jewish life.
For more information about the Community Legacy Fund, please contact Beatrice Fine at or 913-327-4618.
