Deadline Is December 31 for Alumni to Apply for JTS Seeds of Innovation Grants

Alumni of The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) may apply until December 31, 2015, for a 2016 grant from the JTS Seeds of Innovation Project, which provides support for initiatives that cultivate Jewish engagement through the principles and ideals of Conservative Judaism. This will be the third year of funding by JTS Seeds of Innovation.

The project has distributed more than $100,000 since its inception. Rabbi Jessica Minnen (RS ’13) was the inaugural recipient with her project, Seven Wells, a program inviting adults in their 20s and 30s to explore intimacy, relationships, and sexuality through a Jewish framework.

The 2015 recipients are:

Rabbi Justin David (RS ’99)
Come and Eat: A Jewish Food Justice Initiative
Northampton, Massachusetts

Rabbi Megan Goldman (RS ’14, GS ’14)
Building progressive traditional and egalitarian Jewish communities on college campuses
New York City

Rabbi Jill Jacobs (RS ’03, GS ’03)
The T’ruah Liturgy Project (Connecting prayer with social justice)
New York City

Rabbi Avi Olitzky (LC ’03, RS ’08, GS ’08)
Leveraging Family Camp (Lowering the cost barrier for engaging young families)
Saint Louis Park, Minnesota

Rabbi Brent Spodek (RS ’07, GS ’07)
Masa Initiative (Reimagining congregational education for youth and adults)
Beacon, New York

Ms. Annie Glickman (DS ’97)
Priya: A New Fund for Jewish Reproduction
Overland Park, Kansas

Funding by the JTS Seeds of Innovation Project is determined by a selection committee that includes JTS alumni and is chaired by the executive vice chancellor. Eligible programs may be synagogue-based, organization-based, or independent. They must have clear-cut leadership goals and be intended to impact the Jewish community.

The application form and instructions are available at jtsa.edu/seeds-of-innovation. As part of the application process, applicants are asked to tweet or post their project proposals on Facebook using the hashtag #JTSseeds.