The Jewish Women’s Giving Foundation (JWGF), a program of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, has completed its most recent grantmaking cycle, awarding funding to seven impactful programs in Baltimore and Israel. The grants support organizations working to improve the lives of underserved women and girls facing challenges ranging from lack of access to education and employment to housing insecurity and sexual exploitation.

“This year, we received a record number of grant requests — a powerful reminder of both the incredible work being done and the immense need that still exists, both here in Baltimore and in Israel,” said Julie Newman, outgoing chair of The Associated’s Jewish Women’s Giving Foundation. “The volume and diversity of proposals reflect the many challenges women and girls continue to face and reinforce why our collective philanthropy is so critical.”

Now in its 22nd year, JWGF was established by a visionary group of women committed to the power of collective philanthropy to create lasting change for women and girls. Since its inception, JWGF has granted over 2.5 million dollars, championing innovative and bold approaches to address urgent issues locally and globally.

This year’s grantees include:

American Friends of Magen David Adom

Magen David Adom is an emergency response organization. Their National Human Milk Bank provides mothers’ milk to premature babies and to babies who were orphaned, whose mothers were abducted or injured, and to babies of mothers who were recruited to the IDF.

Baltimore Abortion Fund

The Baltimore Abortion Fund (BAF) is a community-based nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to women, girls, and pregnant people who live in or travel to Maryland for abortion care. BAF also provides funds to reduce logistical barriers to abortion care, such as transportation, lodging, childcare, and translation services. BAF actively works to reduce abortion stigma within Maryland and build a community of care in our home city of Baltimore.

Baltimore Hunger Project

Building on their success providing meals to Baltimore’s food-insecure student population, BHP recognized an additional barrier to student success: Period Poverty. Young girls, particularly those aged 9-13, often miss school due to another critical barrier: lack of access to menstrual products. BHP has identified this as a pressing and unmet need that directly impacts attendance, self-esteem, and overall academic performance. BHP aims to ensure that every student has the resources and support needed to thrive both in and out of the classroom.

Goucher Prison Education Partnership

Goucher Prison Education Partnership (GPEP) provides an excellent college education to female students incarcerated in Maryland. As they earn that education, GPEP students develop as scholars and leaders. Their hard work and academic accomplishments impact not only their own futures, but also their families and the communities to which students belong, both within and outside of prison.

Haifa Rape Crisis Center

HRCC is a non-profit that fights sexual assault in all its forms, serving Haifa and northern Israel, an area that includes over one million children, adolescents, and adults. HRCC goals are to support survivors of sexual violence and their families, to work with adolescents to prevent sexual assault, to raise community members’ and professionals’ awareness about sexual violence, and to protect the rights of survivors. HRCC works not only to help victims, but to prevent assaults from happening in the first place.

HER Resiliency Center

HER Resiliency Center is a Baltimore nonprofit that supports young women overcoming various hardships, such as aging out of foster care, homelessness, addiction, pregnancy, sexual exploitation (sex trafficking and sex work). As a Trauma-Informed Care certified organization, HER is sensitive about stigma, shame, and the possibility of re-traumatization. HER has developed a workforce development program in the construction trades called the Triple Crown Academy to provide women with employable skills and job training.

PIVOT

PIVOT is a reentry and workforce development program that connects women impacted by the criminal justice system with the comprehensive services needed to reclaim their lives, rejoin their families and reinvigorate their communities. PIVOT’s nine-week reentry and workforce development program is the only one of its kind in Maryland, focusing specifically on the needs of justice-involved women.