32 | MAY 26 • 2022 

D

aniel Aschheim, 
Deputy Consul 
General at the 
Consulate General of Israel 
to the Midwest, was in Metro 
Detroit last week to get the 
word out about 
Social Impact 
Grants from the 
Israeli Consulate. 
Three grants of 
up to $5,000 will 
be offered to 
applicants who 
are committed to creating 
social impact in new ways or 
through maintaining existing 
social programs.
Aschheim, based in 
Chicago, said part of his job 
is to “showcase the diverse 
Israeli society. What Israel 
does is embrace diversity, 
whether it’s in the Jewish 
community, the non-Jewish 
community, minority 
communities or any others.”

As part of the Israeli 
Consulate’s work in the 
Midwest, Aschheim does 
outreach outside the Jewish 
community, to the African 
American and Hispanic 
communities, for example, to 
show that, “yes, you can be 
liberal, progressive and pro-
Israel.”
According to Aschheim, 
it’s a part of Israel’s DNA to 
empower other communities. 
Eight months ago, the 
Consulate provided its first 
Social Impact Grants in the 
Minneapolis community. 
“We said we are looking 
to invest in groups and 
organizations that deal with 
pressing matters of their 
community, whether it’s 
connected to sustainability, 
health, equity, education, 
accessibility, LGBTQ rights, 
women, empowerment, youth 
empowerment, dealing with 

discrimination, hate crimes,” 
he said. “We want to invest 
in those who deal with these 
issues in their communities.”
Aschheim said they 
received 104 applications 
and chose three winners: 
an organization called A 
Mother’s Love, a group whose 
members were victims of or 
who had family who were 
victims of gun violence 
in the African American 
community; Minnesota 
STEM Partnership, which 
provides people of color 
with opportunities in math 
and science; and Her Time 
to Play, a WNBA-affiliated 
group empowering young 
women to develop life skills 
through basketball.
“Now we want to do the 
same thing in Metro Detroit,” 
he said. Organizations that 
deal with pressing issues 
in the community are 

encouraged to apply. 
Applicants must be 
residents of Michigan and 
committed to improving 
social change. Certified 
501(c) (3) nonprofit 
organization status is 
preferred, but not required. 
You do not need to be Jewish 
to apply; the grants are open 
to anyone. 
Grant winners must 
utilize funding provided by 
the Consulate during the 
upcoming calendar year. 
Applicants have until the end 
of May to apply at https://
tinyurl.com/mwzhrhvt. The 
process is very user-friendly.
Applicants will be judged 
beginning in June and the 
grants will be awarded in 
mid-June at a local ceremony 
in Detroit.
 “There’s nothing to lose 
from applying,” Aschheim 
said. 

Israeli Consulate to Target Detroit 
with Its Social Impact Grants

OUR COMMUNITY

Daniel 
Aschheim

Applications are open to anyone and must be submitted 
by the end of May.

JACKIE HEADAPOHL DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL

