SRE Network invests in strengthening the capacity of Jewish organizations through grantmaking so that Jewish communities will be strengthened, become more cohesive, experience healing, and have deeper trust in each other, their institutions, and leaders. Over the past six years, SRE has invested over $6.5M across 108 projects and 52 organizations through its grantmaking, technical assistance, and partnerships.

Throughout the year, we provide grants to outstanding Jewish organizations whose organizations and projects focus on advancing the safety, respect, and equity across North America’s Jewish communal landscape. Over the coming weeks, we will shine the spotlight on SRE's twelve extraordinary spring 2024 field building grant recipients.

This week, we are excited to introduce you to Jewish Women's Archive (JWA).

About JWA

JWA documents Jewish women’s stories, elevates their voices, and inspires them to be agents of change. Today, JWA is the world’s largest collection of information on Jewish women.

About the Grant

With a two-year grant, JWA will launch a writing Fellowship for Jewish women of color that supports the development of their talents, provides a platform that amplifies their voices, and builds the field of Jewish women of color thought leaders.

Q&A with JWA

SRE: Why is JWA excited to receive this grant? What change do you hope this grant will bring to your organization and the important work it does?

JWA: Revealing and showcasing the diversity of Jewish history and the Jewish people has always been foundational to JWA, and as we have moved into our second quarter century, we have reaffirmed diversity as our central orientation and pursuit. We have been working hard to ensure that our communal narratives reflect the full diversity of the Jewish community, highlighting the stories of Jewish women of color, Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, Jewish women from the global Diaspora, LBGTQ Jews, Jewish women with disabilities, and more. Our new Jewish Women of Color Writing Fellowship, funded by both SRE and the Jews of Color Initiative, will enable us to amplify the voices of emerging thought leaders by supporting their professional development and sharing their work with JWA’s global audience

SRE: How has being a member of SRE Network impacted JWA?

JWA: We have been proud members of the SRE Network from the beginning. In 2018, JWA received a grant from SRE to support our Archiving #MeToo project. Our CEO, Judith Rosenbaum, has served on the SRE grants committee. We look forward to continuing and deepening this relationship through our work on the Jewish Women of Color Writing Fellowship.  

SRE: What is your hope for the future of the broader Jewish nonprofit landscape?

JWA: We at JWA dare to imagine a time when the values of safety, respect, and equity are so deeply ingrained in the work of both Jewish and non-Jewish nonprofits that they no longer need to be articulated, incentivized, and sustained by special initiatives, and where diverse voices are understood to be a source of strength and inspiration. 

Learn more about JWA here.

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