The Covenant Foundation's Signature & Ignition Grants

The Covenant Foundation's Signature & Ignition Grants is sponsored by The Covenant Foundation. Celebrates excellence in Jewish education by funding innovative projects that enhance educational practices. Supports diverse institutions across North America for creative programs that can adapt and disseminate effective practices.

The Covenant Foundation Announces 2025 Grants **The Covenant Foundation Announces 2025 Grants, Supporting Diverse Focus Areas Including Dialogue and Wellness; Increase in Available Grant Dollars to Begin in 2026** _We are currently accepting 2026 Signature and Ignition Grant applications. Visit our__website__for information and guidelines. The deadline for submitting an initial Letter of Inquiry is February 24, 2026.

_ **New York – Jan. 7, 2026** –The Covenant Foundation announced $2. 2 million in new grants today, supporting projects that center wellness and promise to nurture and support students across the spectrum of Jewish life.

“With loss, fear, and sharply different views among leaders in the Jewish community about how best to meet these times, we are grateful this year to support grant projects that will enrich the lives of so many learners in the Jewish community,” said Deborah Meyer, Chair of the Board of The Covenant Foundation.

“From projects that foster meaningful dialogue across difference and connect families across generations, to those that nurture wellness and social-emotional well-being and others that bring the arts to life, our grantees are helping to strengthen both individual and communal resilience.

It is inspiring to watch how these efforts draw on Jewish text and practice to promote connection, creativity, and understanding throughout Jewish life. ” Foundation grants have historically been offered in two categories: **Signature Grants****,** which typically provide up to $150,000 over three years, and **Ignition Grants****,** which offer up to $20,000 for one year to support new and untested approaches.

Beginning in 2026, **Signature Grant** applicants may request up to **$225,000 over three years**, **with no more than $75,000 being requested in any one year**, and **Ignition Grant** applicants may request up to **$35,000** for one year.

This increase honors the steady, often unseen labor of Jewish educators, and affirms the Crown and Goodman family and The Covenant Foundation’s commitment to sustaining their work in challenging times. “The Foundation has always welcomed open grant applications and watched closely for emerging trends,” said Joni Blinderman, Executive Director of The Covenant Foundation. “This year, one theme stood out: wellness.

And in the wake of the pandemic and ongoing challenges in Israel and the U.S., supporting social-emotional health and spiritual well-being has become even more essential—it’s clear there is so much more to do. “We are profoundly grateful to the Jewish educators whose talent and dedication enrich this work and uplift countless students and families.

” **The 2025 Covenant Grants** **Signature Grants****:** **American Jewish University**, Los Angeles, CA. **_Scaling AJU’s Learning Experience_**. To expand the university’s Jewish learning program for high school students by launching cohorts in new locations and strengthening relationships with community and educational partners.

Project Director: Rabbi Carrie Vogel; $150,000 (3 years) **Civic Spirit**, New York, NY. **_Building Civic Bridges_**. To support the national expansion of a multi-faith cross-school partnership program that fosters dialogue and collaboration on civic issues among Jewish high schoolers and students from other faith-based schools.

Project Director: Yael Steiner; $165,000 (3 years) **DOROT**, New York, NY. **_DOROT’s B’Mitzvah Experience: An Intergenerational Journey_**. To formalize the organization’s B’Mitzvah Experience as a cohort-based program that brings together youth and older adults for an intergenerational journey of Jewish learning, communal service, and meaningful engagement.

Project Director: Shai Rosenfeld; $150,000 (3 years) **Illuminate**, Sharon, MA. **_Healing Story Circles_**. To expand Jewish adult learning of Jewish wisdom tales by training educators in story-based pedagogies, refining curriculum, and developing a community of practice.

Project Director: Rabbi Dr. Ariel Burger; $75,000 (1 year) **Institute for Jewish Spirituality**, Philadelphia, PA. **_Marbeh: Cultivating Senior Jewish Mindfulness Teachers_**. To create a fellowship program that will cultivate a new generation of master Jewish mindfulness and spirituality educators to lead the field with enhanced teaching and practice.

Project Director: Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell; $175,000 (3 years) **Jewish Studio Project**, Berkeley, CA. **_Tending the Fire: The Educator Studio_**. To expand the reach of The Educator Studio by offering a fourth national fellowship cohort to reignite Jewish educators’ passion and purpose, codifying the program model, and developing new collaborations.

Project Director: Rabbi Adina Allen; $50,000 (1 year) **The Jewish Theological Seminary of America**, New York, NY. **_The Emerging Leaders Fellowship for High School Teens_**. To expand the seminary’s fellowship for high school students by enriching the curriculum and offering additional learning opportunities with both professors and rabbinical student mentors.

Project Director: Marissa Aaronson; $124,000 (3 years) **The K’ilu Company**, Northbrook, IL. **_Ark Adventures: Bringing Jewish Family Education to Life Through Theatrical Play and Imagination_**. To bring the techniques of immersive theater and sensory engagement to additional communities across North America by training cohorts of Jewish family educators and expanding the Ark Adventures program.

Project Director: Jonathan Shmidt Chapman; $225,000 (3 years) **Kirva**, Sharon, MA. **_Disability Wisdom as Soul Care_**. To develop a training program for Jewish community educators and leaders with disabilities to prepare them to facilitate Jewish learning experiences that integrate disability Torah, community building, and spiritual growth.

Project Director: Rabbi David Jaffe; $174,000 (3 years) **Let it Ripple**, Mill Valley, CA. **_The Neuroscientific Brilliance of B’Mitzvah: A New Avenue of Engagement for Teens, Parents, and Jewish Educators_**. To create and disseminate educational materials and discussion guides that integrate Jewish learning with neuroscience to support Jewish teens and their families during the _b’mitzvah_ period.

Project Director: Tiffany Shlain; $50,000 (1 year) **Mitsui Collective****,**Cleveland, OH. **_Nitzatz Jewish Embodiment Teaching Fellowship_**. To create a national fellowship and a national convening of Jewish embodiment educators that will train Jewish educators to integrate Jewish embodiment into their work.

Project Director: Yoshi Silverstein; $175,000 (3 years) **MoEd**, Chevy Chase, MD. **_Tovanot_**. To expand the organization’s educational program centered on the Israeli-Palestinianconflict by training Jewish educators across the United States to facilitate the program in their communities.

Project Director: Dr. Ruti Kadish; $160,000 (3 years) **Moment Magazine**, Washington, D. C. **_The Wide River Project_**.

To bring together Black and Jewish educators and leaders to create and implement educational content on the historical and present-day relationship between the two communities for adult and young adult learners. Project Director: Nadine Epstein; $225,000 (3 years) **Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools**, New York, NY. **_Mental Health and Wellness for Jewish Day Schools_**.

To expand the organization’s mental health and wellness initiative by formalizing a mentorship program for day school mental health professionals, developing new mental health resources, and collaborating with additional partner organizations. Project Director: Debra Drang; $60,000 (1 year) **Rabbi Jacob Pressman Academy of Temple Beth Am**, Los Angeles, CA. **_Transforming Israel Education for a New Generation_**.

To launch an Israel education program, including new curricula, professional development for teachers, and parent engagement, to foster critical thinking, empathy, and strong Jewish identity amongst the entire school community. Project Director: Yonatan Rosner; $150,000 (3 years) **Ramah New England**, Norwood, MA. **_Camp Ramah Sasson_**.

To expand the organization’s Jewish family camp that brings together families affected by serious illness and loss to immerse in deep Jewish learning and build relationships within a supportive community. Project Director: Riki Wiederhorn; $150,000 (3 years) **SVIVAH**, Washington, DC. _**HerTorah and HerSpirit**_.

To formalize the organization’s educational and pastoral-educator training models that will enable educators to enrich and expand Jewish learning in the HerTorah and HerSpirit programs. Project Directors: Ariele Mortkowitz and Rabbanit Aliza Sperling; $50,000 (1 year) **Tkiya**, Brooklyn, NY. **_Tkiya Gedola_**.

To support a national expansion of the organization’s training program that prepares cohorts of educators to implement participatory Jewish music experiences for young children and families in their communities. Project Director: Carla Friend; $135,000 (3 years) **Vancouver Talmud Torah Association**, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

**_Plant-Based Learning as a Framework for Connecting with Jewish Values, Traditions, and the Land—Torah, Eretz, u’Masoret_**. To formalize and deepen the school’s plant-based Jewish learning program by expanding curricula, training additional teachers, offering garden-based intergenerational and community programs, and increasing opportunities for experiential service-learning.

Project Director: Jessie Claudio; $90,000 (3 years) **70 Faces Media**, New York, NY. _**Hey Alma Hebrew School**_. To pilot a virtual learning program in which Jewish young adults of all backgrounds can explore elements of Judaism they never learned while delving into Jewish history, culture, and practice.

Project Director: Molly Tolsky; $20,000 (1 year) **Ammud: The Jews of Color Torah Academy**, New York, NY. **_Ruach JOC Torah Cohort Program_**. To launch a national program for JOC nonprofit professionals to further develop as Jewish educators through in-depth Torah study and collaborative learning in a constructive and reflective learning cohort.

Project Director: Rabbi Sass Brown; $20,000 (1 year) **Ayin Press**, Brooklyn, NY. **_The Four Questions Podcast_**. To produce and launch the pilot season of the _Four Questions_ podcast, an educational interview series that will bring together voices from diverse disciplines, backgrounds, and traditions for conversations across difference.

Project Director: Tom Haviv; $20,000 (1 year) **First Foundations Jewish Community Preschools**, Toronto, ON, Canada. **_Jewish Holiday Educator Training and Family Engagement Program_**. To pilot the organization’s educational model in other early childhood centers by training educators to implement immersive sensory experiences, play-based learning, and family education activities.

Project Director: Alisa Daly; $20,000 (1 year) **Olamim: Latin Jewish Belonging for Families**, Oakland, CA. **_Olamim Family School_**. To concretize and grow the organization’s Shabbat family cohort program and learning resources to create meaningful intergenerational experiences that weave together Latin and Jewish cultures and traditions.

Project Director: Ariela Ronay-Jinich; $20,000 (1 year) **Tribe 12**, Philadelphia, PA. **_More than Treading Water: Jewish Wisdom for Finding Joy, Hope, and Resilience in Times Like These_**. To launch a cohort experience that brings together young Jewish adults to engage with Jewish wisdom and foster a sense of belonging to combat disconnection and uncertainty in today’s complex world.

Project Director: Rabbi Megan GoldMarche; $20,000 (1 year) Project Director: Daniel Kraft; $20,000 (1 year). _Since 1991, the Foundation has provided more than $47 million to support Jewish education in North America. Past grantees are highlighted on the Foundation’s__website__.

_ The Covenant Foundation is a program of The Crown Family Philanthropies.