Jewish Women's Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh

Divorce First Responders – $14,000
The Divorce First Responder Training Program addresses a critical gap in community support for individuals undergoing divorce. It aims to transform how the Pittsburgh Jewish community supports those individuals by equipping leaders with skills to mitigate the emotional and financial toll of divorce, with a particular focus on women. The program will connect women to financial, legal, and mental health resources, enabling them to make informed decisions, care for their emotional well-being, and advocate for themselves.

Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh – $13,000
Last year, with JWF’s support, the HCP mentored high school student, Lily Sassani, as she developed a Holocaust Education Girl Scout patch. The patch expands the definition of what it means to be a Girl Scout by modeling the European Girl Guides, who acted against injustice during the Holocaust, and in doing so will lead to conversations about antisemitism and identity-based hate, as well as providing opportunities for advocacy. This patch has the potential to impact 3,200 middle and high school Girls Scouts from western Pennsylvania.

Jewish Community Center – $10,000
With JWF’s support, the JCC developed Fostering Women’s Leadership at Emma Kaufmann Overnight Camp (EKC), a pilot program in 2024 addressing gender inequity. These initial efforts yielded noteworthy progress and impact. The 2025 program will continue focusing on empowering female staff, providing them with mentorship and tools for success, and creating a culture in which male staff become allies who foster understanding, empathy and active support for female staff. Piloting this program in the immersive environment of EKC is setting the stage for replicability across other JCC programs nationally.

Jewish Fertility Foundation – $10,000
Infertility can be an isolating and emotionally challenging experience, particularly within the Jewish community, where the centrality of family life can intensify the pressure to have children. The Jewish Fertility Foundation’s Strength in Numbers program provides mental, emotional, and financial planning support for Jewish women in Pittsburgh who are struggling with infertility.

Jews for a Secular Democracy – $13,700
JFSD’s Jewish Women and Religious Freedom in America program advocates for religious freedom as a matter of separation of church and state and leverages that perspective to address specific, ongoing policy challenges. Piloted with JWF’s funding in 2024, this initiative brings Jewish women into an intentional community of learning and advocacy around issues including reproductive rights, women’s equality, LGBTQIA+ rights, public education, antisemitism, and more. This grant is underwritten, in part, by Trustee Nancy Weissman, in memory of her beloved mother-in-law, Trustee Jackie Wechsler.

National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section – $7,250
NCJW Pittsburgh is a progressive women’s organization that has been working in our region and nationally for 125 years to support and improve the lives of families and women with children. They do this through free drop-in childcare at the Allegheny County Courts, free out of school time programming at Thriftique, distribution of free children’s clothing; and through MomsWork, which brings working moms together to learn about gender equity issues, encourage advocacy work, and amplify teen voices to hear their perspectives on current equity issues through a gender lens.

Our Giving Kitchen – $3,000
This pilot program, designed for girls approaching their Bat Mitzvah, will activate participants to become engaged citizens who understand the importance of volunteering and giving to their communities. OGK will educate participants on food insecurity, organizations addressing these challenges, and ways they can help their neighbors in need. Participants, in turn, will become more engaged, knowledgeable and compassionate members of their communities. This grant is underwritten by Trustee Lynn Farber.

Sacred Spaces – $5,000
Sacred Spaces builds healthy Jewish communities by partnering with Jewish institutions to prevent and respond to sexual abuse and other abuses of power. Through both prevention and support, they promote safe, respectful, and equitable institutions while shifting the culture around institutional abuse in the Jewish community. Sacred Spaces seeks to transform a divisive communal issue into a unifying endeavor to promote the sanctity of all Jewish communal spaces and the welfare of the women and girls in their midst.

Tzohar Arts – $7,250
Tzohar Arts addresses the important role the arts play in Jewish life as a vehicle for personal expression, social connection, and community impact. It is currently the only program in the world dedicated to helping young observant Jewish women discover and develop their unique creative talents. Many alumni have obtained employment in arts-related careers, including an animator for Marvel, a museum gallery curator and a designer of prosthetics.

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General Community Grants

Casa San Jose – $8,000
Casa San Jose connects, supports and advocates with and for the Latino community. The Direct Caregiver Training program will provide low-income women with the skills and knowledge to gain economic independence, by attending home health aide training sessions taught in Spanish, followed by additional support in resume writing, interview skills, and help to establish an LLC. Participants gain marketable skills, growth in self-awareness, self-esteem and confidence, and become financially independent. A portion of this grant is underwritten by Trustee Barbara Rosenberger.

Education Law Center – $5,000
ELC focuses on addressing barriers experienced by the most underserved students. Black girls are subjected to daunting educational barriers that impact their everyday reality at school, stemming from racism, sexism, and ableism. ELC’s Black Girls Education Justice Initiative focuses on challenging the root causes of inequity and improving the educational opportunities for Black girls by advocating for schools to offer all students opportunities to learn in safe, supportive, and inclusive environments.

HEARTH – $7,500
HEARTH’s program, A Safe Place Matters, addresses the specific needs of single mothers (88% of whom are Black and facing barriers due to systemic racism) by providing housing and basic needs, mental health treatment, employment readiness training, child care, financial literacy, and transitional support.

MAYA Organization – $10,000
MAYA empowers BIPOC and marginalized birthing people and birthworkers to create positive change in the systems that impact them. Projected to serve 650 women this year (majority of whom are low-income and uninsured), MAYA provides perinatal support that centers the needs of Black women, offers Spanish-language programming, and provides trauma-informed services to incarcerated women. They advocate for birth equity through their training programs for nursing students and medical professionals.

Open Field – $8,500
Open Field’s sport-based youth development programs promote girls’ empowerment, education, leadership and life skills, and health and well-being on and off the soccer field. The Women's College Program creates a women’s club soccer team at the Community College of Allegheny County, and programs to support women from marginalized communities pursuing higher education. Participants will become more confident and empowered to take actions that advance their personal, academic and professional development.

Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania – $5,000
PPWP’s Education Program fills the gap left by the lack of comprehensive sex education in schools by training teachers and empowering youth with accurate information and skills, enabling informed decisions about bodies, relationships, and sexual health, aligning choices with personal values. This education challenges harmful gender stereotypes, promotes gender equality, and fosters respect for diversity, contributing to a more equitable society.

Ruling Our Experiences – $7,500
ROX helps girls develop the skills they need to live healthy, independent, productive and violence-free lives. ROX’s Being a Girl in Allegheny County ROX! program is designed for girls in Allegheny County schools to build confidence, gain acceptance and support, develop critical life skills and plan for a successful and rewarding future.

TEAM G.R.O.W. – $10,000
Team G.R.O.W’s Women’s Power program addresses the often-prohibitive cost of home repairs for under-resourced women living in subsidized housing units. Participants are empowered by learning basic home repair skills, leading to financial savings, housing security, potential employment, enhanced self-esteem, and the creation of a newly formed sisterhood. The participants then use their skills to help others in their community, and several have volunteered to support the next cohort.

Women’s Center & Shelter – $9,000
WC&S provides safety, resources, information, and tangible assistance to victims and survivors of domestic violence (DV) including adults and children; loved ones, friends, and colleagues/employers who want to support them; professionals, members of the medical community, students, and community members who receive educational programming and training from WC&S, and those who use abusive behaviors. WC&S provides a wide range of emergency and longer-term services to support safety and healing. A portion of this grant is underwritten by Trustee Lynette Lederman.

Women’s Law Project – $6,000
The Women's Law Project aims to dismantle gender bias and discrimination using the power of the law by leveraging impact litigation, policy advocacy, public education, and direct representation to strike down gender-discriminatory laws, policies, and practices. WLP prioritizes work on behalf of people facing multiple forms of oppression based on sex, gender, race, ethnicity, class, disability, incarceration, pregnancy, and immigration status.

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