FEBRUARY 25 • 2021 | 17
M
ichigan’s Jewish
Women’s Foundation
is resuming its
grant-making activities under
the leadership of a new director,
after temporarily halting activi-
ties last spring due to COVID.
Sigal Hemy started as director
in September. She is the only
paid staff of the organization,
which is directed by a leader-
ship committee of its trustees.
The Jewish Women’s
Foundation of Metropolitan
Detroit (JWF) began in 1998
as an autonomous fund within
the United Jewish Foundation.
A number of studies in the field
of philanthropy had shown that
few grants nationwide were
going to programs that benefit
women and girls — and even
fewer were going to programs
that promote social change and
gender equity.
Women can become JWF
trustees by making a significant
donation that is in addition to
their annual gifts to Women’s
Philanthropy of the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit. There are also opportu-
nities for lifetime and intergen-
erational trusteeships. From its
original 11 trustees, the organi-
zation grew to more than 65 at
the end of its first year and now
numbers more than 145. The
foundation fosters a democratic
environment where all trustees
have a voice and a vote.
The JWF’s 2020 grant
cycle was suspended after the
COVID pandemic hit. The
organization curtailed its activ-
ities and gave $100,000 of its
2020 grant funds to Federation’s
emergency COVID relief fund.
The organization is now con-
tinuing its 2020 grant cycle by
evaluating all open grant appli-
cations; it is also preparing to
accept new applications for the
2021 cycle. With a maximum
grant of $20,000, the JWF has
granted more than $3 million
to local nonprofit organizations.
These agencies, many of them
Jewish-sponsored, have used
JWF grant dollars to respond
to domestic abuse, help women
become economically self-suf-
ficient, enrich the lives of girls
and women of all ages through
educational programs and cul-
tural events, support women
dealing with substance abuse,
fund work training programs
and help women with chronic
illnesses.
Hemy was a program officer
at the Fred A. and Barbara M.
Erb Family Foundation, where
she managed a $3.6 million
grants portfolio in arts, culture
and sustainability.
She grew up in Pittsburgh
and holds an undergraduate
degree from Michigan State
University and a master’s in
clarinet performance from the
University of Michigan. After
working in arts administration
for five years, she earned a
master’s in business adminis-
tration at U-M’s Ross School of
Business, specializing in strategy
and social impact.
Hemy, 32, was appointed by
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to the
Michigan Council of Arts and
Cultural Affairs and is on the
board of directors for People for
Palmer Park.
“The trustees at JWF are an
amazing group of women, and
my favorite thing about this
position is working with them
to ensure that their giving is as
meaningful as it can be,
” said
Hemy, who lives in Pleasant
Ridge with her husband, Mike
Spiegel, a software developer,
and Sammie, a rescue German
shepherd mix.
Leaders of the JWF trust-
ees are thrilled with Hemy’s
knowledge and enthusiasm.
“She is intelligent, skilled and
very engaging in an unas-
suming way,
” said Helen Katz
of Bloomfield Hills, who was
one of 11 founding trustees of
the JWF and served as its first
director.
While respecting the group’s
traditions, Hemy is “poised to
make the kinds of changes that
will help us grow and thrive.
The leadership is thrilled with
what she has accomplished in
her short tenure at JWF,
” Katz
said.
Debbie Singer, chair of the
trustees’ leadership team, said
she was impressed with Hemy’s
calm demeanor and breadth of
knowledge of foundation grant
making.
As the organization moves
into its 2021 cycle, Hemy will
be teaching the trustees how to
evaluate grant applications, said
Singer, and will be working with
community members to assess
the needs for Jewish women
and girls.
Mara Moss of Bloomfield
Hills, trustees’ co-chair, added,
“She’s young and dynamic, and
we’re excited to have her.
”
Women’s Foundation resumes grants with new director.
Aid for Women
Is in the Works
BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Sigal
Hemy
JWF provides
support for
Giving Gardens