Business & Professional

Slingshot

Latest guide highlights innovative Jewish programs.

New York

W

hen a group of young philan-
thropists decided to put togeth-
er a short Zagat's-style directory
of innovative programs four years ago, the
goal was to identify cutting-edge Jewish
causes for their peers to invest in.
The result was Slingshot, an annual direc-
tory of 50 hot nonprofits that has helped
put several upstarts on the philanthropic
map and offered a yearly snapshot of giving
trends in the Jewish foundation world.
Among the cutting-edge groups named
in the first edition: JDub, a Jewish record
label that produces artists whose music is
an expression of their heritage; Storahtelling,
a drama troupe that retells biblical stories
through modern avant-garde theatrical
works; and Jewish Funds for Justice, an
organization that uses Jewish charitable
resources for supporting nonsectarian social
action projects.
Since landing on the initial list — it
emerged out of Grand Street, a project
of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman
Philanthropies that convenes Jews aged
18-28 who have seats on their families' chari-
table foundations — these organizations
have attracted additional support and moved
toward financial stability.
This year's edition of Slingshot, released
last month, lists all three groups, as well as
other repeat choices with similar reputations
for innovative programming. But in what
organizers describe as a significant shift, the
new edition also includes decades-old orga-
nizations (the Jewish Book Council and the
Foundation for Jewish Culture) and seem-
ingly conventional ones (JCC of Manhattan).
In addition, some of the relatively newer
groups focus on causes generally identified
with older generations. Two of the entrants
— the National Yiddish Book Center and
Yiddishkayt LA — are dedicated to preserv-
ing Yiddish, and several others are dedicated
to Holocaust education, including Centropa
and Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation.
The diversity of this year's list, organizers
say, underscores the continued sprouting
up of new, innovative groups, but also the
increasing willingness of old-school orga-
nizations to adapt — and of foundations to
recognize such efforts.

A90

September 25 • 2008

"One of the things we noticed this year is
that while many skeptics worry that innova-
tion signifies hip or young Jewish life, we
found that many of the organizations out
there are making the old new',' said Sharna
Goldseker, the Bronfman foundation's vice
president. "Many are focused on Jewish his-
tory and language and heritage, and we see a
number of organizations that really build on
tradition in an innovative way'
Holocaust education, for example, might
be a topic that one would not expect to find
in a guidebook billed as identifying the
next wave of worthwhile, innovative Jewish
programs. But Centropa has eschewed the
creation of a textbook, instead conducting
interviews with 1,400 elderly Holocaust
survivors and collecting some 25,000 photo-
graphs from them, leading to the creation of
a digital archive.
Overall, even with the inclusion of some
longstanding organizations and groups
focused on more traditional issues, this year's
edition — chosen by the young representa-
tives of more than 20 foundations — shows
that the social entrepreneur movement is
taking root among Jewish nonprofits.
The philanthropic world in general
increasingly is driven by social entrepreneurs
— loosely defined as those who seek social
change through innovation and a radical re-
thinking of how the status quo works.
The Jewish nonprofit sector has experi-
enced a similar groundswell of innovative
Jewish nonprofits in the past decade, from
the advent of Birthright Israel, which seeks
to take every Jew between the ages of 18 to
26 on a free trip to Israel, to the rise of the
independent minyan movement and the
creation of a slew of Jewish social service
organizations.
As the trend picks up steam, longstand-
ing Jewish organizations are starting to
contemplate their role in supporting such
initiatives: The United Jewish Communities,
the umbrella organization of the Jewish
federation system, recently partnered with
two other organizations to hold a day-long
symposium for social entrepreneurs and
potential fenders.
Still, those behind Slingshot say, support
from the Jewish communal establishment
has been slow to arrive.
"If you compare the amount of money
spent on funding dedicated to continuity
and renewal and renaissance, it towers over
the money that has gone to the social entre-

support and respect in the philanthropic
community.
"We have definitely had a couple of
small donations made from those who saw
us in the book:' said Aaron Bisman, the
executive director of JDub. "But being able
to talk about the inclusion in the book is
definitely helpful. As a young organization,
we need a lot of validation." CI

courtesy of the S l ings hot F

Jacob Berkman
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Project Chessed Noted

"Slingshot" has catapulted several

upstarts and offered a yearly snapshot

of giving trends in the Jewish foundation
world.

preneur movement',' said Roger Bennett, the
Bronfman foundation's senior vice president.
"What is crucial now is to look at the series
of actions that have occurred and to see that
social entrepreneurship and the organiza-
tions in the Slingshot book are alive and well
— and to close the gap in terms of philan-
thropic dollars!"
According to research commissioned by
the Bronfman foundation, organizations
listed in past editions of Slingshot say they
have benefited from being included: Ninety-
three percent say the book has been a useful
tool for them; 86 percent have collaborated
with other organizations listed in the book;
and 62 percent have been able to enlist new
board members because of the book.
In the past year, Grand Street has started a
Slingshot fund that allows the organizations
included to apply for $45,000 grants.
Ultimately, though, those included say
that the real benefit is not in the immedi-
ate donations that come in but securing a
stamp of approval that will help them gain

For a hard copy of the book, send an
e-mail request to
info@slingshotfund.org . A PDF ver-
sion of the book can be downloaded
from www.slingshotfund.org .

Project Chessed, a program
of Jewish Family Service of
Metropolitan Detroit, has been
named one of the nation's 50 most
innovative Jewish nonprofits in
Slingshot 08/09, a resource guide to
Jewish innovation. Project Chessed
made the cut this year after an
extensive evaluation process over-
seen by 25 foundation professionals.
Project Chessed is a referral net-
work that coordinates access to
health care for medically uninsured
Jewish adults ages 19 through 64.
All care is donated by a large net-
work of hospitals and more than
600 individual providers.
Local institutional partners in
care include: William Beaumont
Hospitals, Botsford Hospital, Detroit
Medical Center, Henry Ford Health
System, Barbara Ann Karmanos
Cancer Center Institute, Michigan
Endoscopy Center, Millennium
Diagnostic Center, Providence
Hospital and Medical Center, St.
John Macomb, St. Joseph Mercy
Oakland and Straith Hospital.
Project Chessed is supported by a
grant from the Jewish Fund. Since
its inception, Project Chessed has
served more than 800 Jewish
adults.
Rachel Yoskowitz, JFS' direc-
tor of health and healing initia-
tives, said, "Inclusion in Slingshot
08/09 is a strong validation of the
work Chessed and Jewish Family
Service are doing in the community.
Slingshot exposes us to a vibrant
funding community, a valuable vehi-
cle as we work to grow our capacity
and take our programming to the
next level."