The Bernard and Etta Weinberg Family Fund of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia was established by Etta Weinberg during her lifetime and funded through her estate.
It is one of the Jewish Federation’s largest restricted endowment funds, with over $23 million in assets. The fund distributes grants in accordance with the terms of Etta’s trust to the areas she cared most about during her lifetime: geriatric counseling and care management (50% of grant), older adults (33% of grant), and Jewish education (16% of grant). Any unallocated dollars may be directed to Israeli charities. The allocations of this fund are overseen by a committee of lay leaders and professionals, who continue to search for programs that are new, innovative and reflect Etta’s core areas of interest.
For Fiscal Year 2025, more than $1,095,000 in grants have been provided to the following 15 programs in the Greater Philadelphia area and in Israel:
Geriatric Care Management and Older Adult Services
Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater works to strengthen families and individuals across generations and cultures to achieve stability, independence and community. The grant supports the expansion of JFCS’ LGBTQ+ services to hire a full-time care manager to focus solely on the LGBTQ+ older adults to decrease loneliness and isolation and increase inclusivity and belonging. The initiative offers support groups, care management and specialized training for JFCS case workers as well as relevant industry professionals at Jewish and non-Jewish organizations throughout the area.
Jewish Learning Venture empowers families to make Judaism more meaningful and relevant for themselves through programming and community building. The grant supports its initiative to help grandparents positively impact the Jewish experiences of their grandchildren in interfaith and multifaith families while combating social isolation and loneliness. The program is hiring three grandparent ambassadors to cultivate relationships throughout the region and is offering Get Together Grants for grandparents to host intimate multigenerational programs.
JEVS Human Services’ Tikvah Residence is a supportive home in Delaware County that strives to improve the quality of Jewish community life for vulnerable adults with serious and persistent mental illness. The grant supports the hiring of a care manager to assess the needs of eight low-income aging adults with serious chronic mental illness, helping them apply for benefits, arranging for home-based care services and training another position to provide long-term care after the grant period ends.
Located in Wynnewood, the Kaiserman JCC works provides services for and fosters Jewish peoplehood through programs and activities that impact families, teens and older adults.
Chapter Three: Live Well @ the Philly J – $40,000
The grant supports the Kaiserman JCC’s initiative to engage older adults through fitness, clubs, health talks, lectures, arts and culture classes, and Judaica and holiday programs. In addition, the organization provides blood pressure screenings, EKGs and intergenerational programming.
Dorot-Bucks County Intergenerational Program – $13,722
In response to the need for more Jewish resources and connection in Bucks County, the grant supports Kaiserman JCC’s five-part intergenerational series that provides programming for grandparents and their grandchildren to converse and connect around Jewish themes.
Keystone Care is a nonprofit organization offering services to seriously ill patients regardless of income or insurance, in the Philadelphia region. The grant supports its specialized program designed to offer comprehensive hospice and palliative care services to patients across hospitals, nursing facilities, and in the comfort of their homes.
This initiative augments the offerings of both KleinLife, a community resource center, and Abramson Senior Care, which provides healthcare management services for older adults, to increase the quality of life for seniors and establish the link between community center participation and overall wellness. The grant supports individualized health and wellness plans, quarterly check-ins with nurse practitioners and care managers, fitness visits, socialization and therapeutic programs, congregate lunches, health and wellness workshops.
OneTable empowers young adults to find, share and enjoy impactful Shabbat dinners as a way to engage in Jewish life. The grant supports a pilot program to focus on expanding existing offerings for older adults, in order to address isolation, loneliness and disassociation from Judaism. The initiative includes providing a platform for connection, resources, and monetary incentives for hosts and guests.
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PROGRAMS FOR JEWISH EDUCATION
Based in the Pocono Mountains, Camp Golden Slipper provides a meaningful summer of fun for over 500 Jewish and non-Jewish children, ages 7 to 15, and approximately 100 professionally trained staff. The grant will support more Jewish programming, which will help foster a greater sense of identity for Jewish campers and help non-Jewish campers become more accepting as they grow up.
The US-Israel Academic Bridge Fellowship is a pilot program to bring 30-40 young Israelis to the University of Pennsylvania for a month-long academic and research internship and for engagement with faculty and students working at Penn during the summer. The grant supports Israeli students’ needs, such as flights, housing, meals, an orientation program in Israel, and local trips.
Student Care Inc. aims to reduce isolation and loneliness amongst seniors. The grant supports the training of undergraduate healthcare students, who are paired with isolated older adults at six Federation Housing communities across the area for weekly visits and events.
Philly Up engages Center City teens to get actively involved, builds Jewish identities, strengthens connections to Jewish community and creates future leaders. The grant supports an education, service and leadership program. This includes a monthly service project and social program, an annual trip, and includes a leadership development program for 11th and 12th graders.
18Doors works to empower people in interfaith relationships and families in formation, providing them with connection to Judaism in a non-judgmental way. The grant supports the organization’s educational programs to help interfaith couples learn and appreciate each other’s identities, provide resources for spouses to support their Jewish partner, family and community during this unprecedented rise in antisemitism, and educate about the horrors and impact of the Holocaust.
ISRAELI CHARITIES
The Hadar Institute is a center of Jewish life, learning and practice that builds vibrant egalitarian communities in North America and Israel. The grant supports the organization’s efforts to help 15 communities across Israel build resilience and connection post Oct. 7 through community Shabbat and holiday meals, educational lectures, and community volunteer projects.
K’far Aza, situated between the cities of Sderot and Netivot, is a kibbutz in southern Israel and located near the Gaza Strip. This grant supports group therapy and retreats not covered by government funding for 180 young adults who are from K’far Aza.
“The Bernard and Etta Weinberg Endowment Fund has and will continue to make a significant impact in the lives of our older adults and for our Jewish community at-large for generations to come. I am proud of this year’s grants, which have been thoroughly vetted as a way to ensure that they address the highest needs, make the largest impact and abide by the wishes of Etta Weinberg.”
– Liz Shaid, Chair of the Weinberg Fund Committee
For more information about the Bernard and Etta Weinberg Fund, please visit jewishphilly.org/grants or contact grants@jewishphilly.org.