The Jewish Community Foundation’s Community Legacy Fund has awarded $117,045 in innovative and emergency grants to communal organizations.
The grants are given to support high-quality, new programs that provide an innovative approach to an existing or emerging community need, or respond to financial or humanitarian emergencies.
The Community Legacy Fund consists of permanent endowments from which grants are awarded to community agencies whose applications are reviewed and evaluated by the Foundation’s Grants Committee and Board of Trustees.
Community Legacy Fund grants were awarded for the following programs:
- Jewish Community Relations Bureau|AJC: Fighting Antisemitism in the Workplace
- Jewish Family Services: Client Assistance Fund for Family-Centered Coaching
- Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City: Sasone Microgrants
- Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City: See KC
- Jewish Vocational Service: Emergency Assistance Program
- KU Hillel: Holiday Experiences by Intentional Design
- Village Shalom: Virtual Reality Equipment for Dementia Care Clients
“We’re thrilled to receive this support,” said Hope Howe, development manager of Village Shalom. “It means we can bring the ToverCare system to the Memory Support household.
It’s such a fun and meaningful way to help our residents connect, stay active and experience real moments of joy.”
In addition to innovation and emergency grants, the Community Legacy Fund also provides annual core grants which support operations central to the achievement of an organization’s mission or for funding unique services not otherwise available within the Jewish community that are essential to Jewish life.
“I’ve served on the Grants Committee for more than 10 years and am truly honored to now chair the committee, which is composed of people with such rich professional and life experiences,” Lara Krigel Pabst said. “We always have very thorough and thoughtful discussions about how our support can best make an impact on the community. This grant cycle is exciting because although most of the available Community Legacy Fund grant dollars are earmarked for core funding — which supports organizations’ overall operations — the innovation/emergency cycle gives the committee a chance to learn about new strategies the organizations are deploying to serve their constituents.”
More information about the Community Legacy Fund is available by contacting Beatrice Fine at or (913) 327-4618.
