Total Grants & Loans Made or Influenced by JFSJ = $2,650,000+
(as of 8/07)
Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Jewish organizations across the country raised money, sent food and clothing, and advocated for a strong government response in support of relief and recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast Region. The Katrina Fund of the Jewish Funds for Justice seeks to engage the Jewish community in the region’s long-term rebuilding efforts, creating an ongoing Jewish response to the challenges facing the Gulf Region’s most vulnerable residents.
Long-term economic development is one of the major tests facing the Gulf Region, a test that will impact all communities, including the Jewish community. An ongoing Jewish communal response will help ensure the creation of a strong, inclusive economy for Gulf residents, all of whom need to have a voice in decisions about how to rebuild their communities.
The Katrina Fund makes strategic grants, loans, and deposits for community development and advocacy to benefit low-income and minority communities in the Gulf Coast Region – communities disproportionately affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Katrina Fund builds on the expertise of JFSJ’s legacy organizations, The Shefa Fund, the Jewish Fund for Justice and Spark - Partnership for Service.
Thus far, JFSJ has made or influenced more then $2.65 million in grants, loans, and deposits for Hurricane Katrina recovery and redevelopment activities. These activities represent a combination of two complementary strategies.
1. JFSJ is supporting access to credit by strengthening local community development banks and credit unionswhich already have strong community relationships and are uniquely positioned to play a critical role in the redevelopment of homes and businesses in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Access to Credit grants, loans and deposits total $1,620,000:
Grants Made ($695,000) to:
Enterprise Corporation of the Delta/Hope Community Credit Union (ECD/Hope), Gulf Region
National Community Investment Fund (NCIF), New Orleans
National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (NFCDCU), Gulf Region
Southern Mutual Help Association (SMHA), Louisiana
Loans/Deposits ($925,000) to:
ASI Federal Credit Union, New Orleans
Dryades Saving Bank, New Orleans
Hope Community Credit Union, New Orleans
Liberty Bank & Trust, New Orleans
National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, Gulf Region
Our funding partners for the above grants, loans and deposits include:
The Andrea & Charles Bronfman Fund at Brandeis
Estelle Friedman Gervis Charitable Foundation
FJC
Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston
Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
Susan Schewel Shefa Fund of the Jewish Funds for Justice
Society for the Advancement of Judaism
Ronna Stamm and Paul Lehman
Tzedec Economic Development Fund (TEDF) of the Jewish Funds for Justice
UJA-Federation of New York
Union for Reform Judaism (URJ)
United Jewish Communities, Inc.
2. JFSJ is supporting city, regional and state-wide grassroots advocacy and organizing by low-income and minority residents, so that public and private recovery and redevelopment efforts reflect their needs and perspectives.
Community organizing grants total $726,000 and have been made to:
ACORN Institute (Louisiana Rebuilds), Louisiana
Advocates for Environmental Human Rights (AEHR), New Orleans
Community Labor United, New Orleans
Dillard University, New Orleans
Family and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children (FFLIC)
Federation of Southern Cooperative Land Assistance Fund, Georgia
Houston Interfaith Sponsoring Committee, Houston
Institute for Southern Studies, Durham, NC
Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (MIRA), Mississippi
NAACP
New Orleans Neighborhood Development Collaborative
New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice
Northern and Central Louisiana Interfaith
People’s Hurricane Relief Fund and Oversight Coalition (PHRF), New Orleans
PICO LIFT (Louisiana Interfaith Together)
Southern Echo, Mississippi
STEPS Coalition, Mississippi
The Metropolitan Organization, Houston
Union Community Fund (of AFL-CIO), Gulf Region
Our funding partners for the above grants include:
Union for Reform Judaism (URJ)
Bob Lamm Shefa Fund of the Jewish Funds for Justice Donor Advised Grants Program
Schott Shefa Fund of the Jewish Funds for Justice Donor Advised Grants Program
Many other Jewish foundations and individuals
3. JSFJ has also assisted other Jewish organizations in making grants, loans, and deposits of over $300,000 to the following groups:
ACORN [funded by URJ]
ACORN-NY [funded by UJA-Federation NY]
America’s Second Harvest [funded by United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism]
Enterprise Corporation of the Delta/Hope Community Credit Union (ECD/Hope) [funded by URJ]
Hope Community Credit Union (Loan) [funded by URJ]
Working Interfaith Network of Baton Rouge [funded by URJ]
