For Immediate Release
Contact:
Glenn Rosenkrantz,
646-245-8975 or glenn.rosenkrantz@gmail.com
August 15, 2021 – The Good People Fund (GPF) today announced $2.6 million in grants to support grassroots organizations in the United States and Israel designing, practicing and advancing unique approaches to challenging social and humanitarian needs.
From empowering youth in under-resourced neighborhoods and providing care for survivors of the Holocaust, to advancing equity and inclusion for those who are marginalized, and lessening the economic and social devastation of the coronavirus pandemic, GPF enables visionaries to create impact, uplift individuals and communities, and address new and deepening needs.
“A global pandemic has vastly exposed – perhaps more than ever – vulnerabilities within our communities,” said Naomi Eisenberger, GPF Co-Founder and Executive Director. “It is the social entrepreneurs who populate the non-profit sector, and those who support them in myriad ways, who are devising and practicing ways to fill the gaps and in the process create sustainable solutions.
“Each of our grantee organizations is led by a spectacularly ‘good person,’ who has seen a need and a unique, often untried way to address it. Each is dedicated to a vision and path toward making positive change and teaches us how powerful a commitment to tikkun olam, repair of the world, is.”
Since its establishment in 2008, Millburn, NJ-based GPF has raised $20.8 million and supported 211 non-profit organizations in Israel and the United States. In the fiscal year ending June 30, GPF raised nearly $2.7 million.
GPF targets change-making initiatives in crucial areas, including coronavirus-focused aid and relief, poverty, inclusion, health and well being, women’s and girls’ empowerment, welfare of children and youth, care of elders, hunger relief, food rescue, support of new Americans, fighting anti-Semitism, and more.
A full list of GPF grantees appears at www.goodpeoplefund.org. New organizations receiving GPF grants are:
Detroit Phoenix Center, Detroit, MI – Detroit Phoenix Center, founded by Courtney Smith, is the city’s first-ever drop-in center for street connected youth and provides critical resources, support, and a safe and inclusive environment to improve outcomes and build futures. GPF is providing matching funds for administrative costs.
Everyday Boston, Jamaica Plain, MA – Everyday Boston, founded by Cara Solomon, works to break down divisions and stereotypes, and strengthen community cohesion and growth, through person-to-person story collecting projects and story share events. GPF is providing matching funds to support digital media production.
In Between – Bein Le Vein, Bnei Brak, Israel – In Between, founded by Michal Feffer, provides parents, youth and children with support and guidance as they manage the emotional trauma of separation and divorce in their families. GPF is providing a matching grant for programming in Tel Aviv.
Pure Heart Foundation, Detroit, MI – Pure Heart Foundation, founded by Sherelle Hogan, works with children of incarcerated parents, and through academic enrichment, family reunification, mental health, and recreation and arts initiatives, seeks to break the cycle of generational involvement in the criminal justice system. GPF is providing matching funds for administrative costs.
Refugee Assistance Alliance, Coral Gables, FL – Refugee Assistance Alliance, founded by Kristen Bloom, works to integrate new Americans from Middle Eastern, Asian and African countries into South Florida communities with educational, mentoring, empowerment and self sufficiency initiatives. GPF is providing a matching grant to support pandemic-related needs for the served community and for staff salaries.
ZA’AKAH, Roselle, NJ – ZA’AKAH advocates for survivors of child sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community by raising awareness, organizing and participating in educational forums for parents and teachers, and supporting legislative reforms to prevent sexual abuse and secure justice for survivors. Asher Lovy, Director of Community Organizing, is himself a survivor. GPF is providing matching funds for administrative expenses.
The Good People Fund, founded in 2008, is inspired by ordinary people with extraordinary drive to make deep, uplifting impact in communities in the United States, Israel and elsewhere around the world. We find them, support them, counsel them … and watch as lives are changed and new and creative ways of addressing seemingly intractable social and economic challenges take root and flourish. Our driving value is tikkun olam – repair of the world – and our extended family of visionaries, supporters and donors embrace the notion that small actions lead to huge impacts.
