Grantees
In the 2011 fiscal year, NCJW awarded ten grants as part of Women to Women: NCJW’s Empowerment Initiative:
Adva Center is a grassroots advocacy organization that promotes equality for all of Israel’s citizens. This grant will help fund The Women’s Budget Forum, a coalition of feminists in Israel whose work will involve advocating for government allocation of funds for gender-based programs for women and educating Israel’s lawmakers on women’s issues.
The Haifa Women’s Crisis Shelter was established in 1995 as a safe haven for women victims of domestic violence and their children. The Shelter functions as a multicultural organization, with a board, staff and group of volunteers, that consists of Jews, Arabs, and immigrants, who speak various languages and are familiar with the cultural background of the shelter’s resident. This grant will help fund the Empowerment & Support Group Therapy (for battered women) Project, a dynamic empowerment and support group which focuses on personal development and empowerment.
IT Works – Empowering People was established in 2006 in order to further implement the technological curriculum of the internationally known Cisco Networking Academy for low-income populations. Its mission is to provide the tools, knowledge and skills for personal and professional change through employment and technology. This grant will help fund the Women Empowerment Program (WEP) that combines technological education with preparation for the qualified workforce. By earning a diploma that is recognized internationally and by learning professional development and office protocols, IT Works’ graduates are able to find skilled employment – thus raising their income level and creating economic security and independence.
Itach – Women Lawyers for Social Justice is an organization advocating for civil rights and providing access to the legal system on behalf of disadvantaged women. This grant will help fund the Access to Justice: Employment Right of Ultra-Orthodox Women in Education System, a program which aims to protect the employment rights of Haredi women within the education system by working nationwide to raise awareness about employment law amongst Haredi women.
Kol Ha-Isha is a grassroots women’s organization with a mission to develop and promote a feminist multicultural model of social change. Each year, an average of 1000 women from different, often marginalized, socio-economic backgrounds are empowered through Kol Ha-Isha’s activities. This grant will help fund the Comprehensive Program for the Economic Empowerment of Women, which offers a choice of economic empowerment tracks between micro-business and a wide-ranging employment program- recognizing that women have different personalities, needs and aptitudes.
Koret Israel Economic Development Funds (KIEDF) was established in Israel in 1994 upon the initiative of the Koret Foundation of San Francisco to demonstrate that philanthropic funds could be used efficiently to stimulate economic development and employment opportunity in the private sector in Israel. This grant will help fund the Direct Non-Bank Loans for Jewish Israeli Women, a program with a goal of helping Israel’s most challenged population create independent income-generating activities. This funding will assist with training and distribution of direct loans to 100 Jewish low income entrepreneurs.
Ma’an – Forum of Arab-Bedouin Women’s Organizations is an umbrella organization of Negev Bedouin Women’s Organizations. Ma’an’s mission is to promote the status of Bedouin women in the Negev through raising awareness to women’s rights among Bedouin women and men, providing legal aid to individual women and enhancing Bedouin women’s leadership. This grant will help fund the Rights Awareness Raising Courses for Bedouin Women and Girls with an Emphasis on Personal Status Issues, Children’s Rights and Health Rights, a program consisting of 12 meeting courses that centre on the three main topics which are most vital for the protection of Bedouin women’s and girls’ rights: rights regarding personal Status issues, children’s Rights and Health Rights, including family planning.
Machshava Tova was established in 2003 and is dedicated to narrowing the digital gap which exists in Israeli society through computer literacy courses for the unemployed, new immigrants, single mothers, the elderly, children and youth-at-risk, minorities and those with disabilities and special needs. This grant will help fund Office Admin. Course for Underprivileged Women, three courses conducted in Jerusalem and Lod, for unemployed women and new immigrants who have never worked or can only find menial jobs with low compensation.
Mahut Center – Information, Guidance and Employment for Women was established in 2004 as a women’s organization dedicated to improving the economic situation of low-income and marginalized women in the Israeli employment market. This grant will help fund the Advancing Employment for Women over 40, a project that aims at educating and training low-income and marginalized middle-aged women from all ethnicities and backgrounds and providing them with the skills and tools they need to find and keep employment, advance professionally and become economically independent.
We Power: The Organization for the Advancement of Women’s Leadership in Israel was established in 2000 with a goal to promote women’s leadership and gender integration and equality in all levels of Israeli society and democracy. This grant will help fund the Municipal Women’s Leadership Network and Educational Series that aims to advance women in key leadership positions in the Negev and Galilee, by creating local leadership and networking opportunities that lead to the 2013 municipal elections in Israel.