Community Priorities Grant Request for Proposals

We are no longer accepting proposals. Please check back in the fall for future community priority grant opportunities.

Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Community Priorities Grant Request for Proposals (RFP)

MISSION: Cultivate Resources, connect people and collaborate across the community to live and fulfill Jewish values.

VISION: A flourishing Jewish community where everyone feels included, supported and inspired.

To meet the Federation’s mission and vision, this grant opportunity will invest in programs that support three priority areas:

  • Engaging Young Adults: Create or strengthen opportunities for Jewish young adults (ages 22-45) and their families, as well as emerging young adults (ages 18-22) to explore and connect to each other, their Judaism and/or Jewish identity and community.
  • Intended impact: cultivate a sense of Jewish identity so young adults feel connected to our community and remain engaged.
  • Achieves one or more of the following outcomes:
    • Create new, or strengthen existing, safe spaces for Jewish young adults to build community.
    • Create more innovative and creative opportunities for deepening Jewish knowledge, connection and engagement around rituals, history, etc. for young adults and their families.
    • Increase training opportunities for professionals in Jewish organizations to build confidence and capacity to meet the ever-changing needs of young adults.
    • Fills a specific need within the young adult Jewish community.
  • Addressing antisemitism:  Empower Jewish and non-Jewish allies to act against antisemitism (as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) through increased understanding, education, advocacy and collaboration.
  • Intended impacts: 1. ensure members of the greater Pittsburgh Jewish community feel empowered to live, celebrate and engage in Jewish life safely and publicly; 2. increase awareness among non-Jews about antisemitism to foster allyship and support.
  • Achieves one or more of the following outcomes:
    • Increase the number of allies or expand established coalitions to address antisemitism.
    • Contribute to greater collaboration and communication among organizations in the Jewish and non-Jewish communities to address antisemitism.
    • Create more advocacy for causes that support the Jewish community; including but not limited to the adoption of IRHA definition of antisemitism in Jewish and non-Jewish spaces.
    • Provide additional education about the incorporation of Jews/Judaism in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives and increase awareness of modern antisemitism.
    • Increase pride in being Jewish through additional trainings, capacity building and resources for Jewish community members.
    • Improve overall physical and psychological safety and security for Jewish communities.
  • Addressing teen mental health: support Jewish teens (ages 13-22), their educators, clergy and parents by providing grants that will embed mental health and emotional wellness into the heart of Jewish communal life.
  • Intended impacts:
    • Integrate mental health awareness into everyday Jewish communal experiences.
    • Encourage youth leadership, giving teens and young adults the tools to shape conversations around emotional well-being.
    • Build resilience, emotional literacy, and coping skills.
    • Foster meaningful relationships across generations, creating spaces where young people feel supported by trusted adults.
    • Promote healthy habits and self-care, helping teens build emotional resilience that lasts into adulthood.
    • Highlight Jewish identity as a source of strength, using cultural and spiritual traditions to support mental wellness.
  • Achieves one or more of the following outcomes:
    • For Teen/Young Adult Participants:
      • Stronger ability to manage emotional challenges and seek support when needed.
      • Greater sense of ownership and leadership in creating inclusive, supportive Jewish spaces.
      • Deeper community connection to Jewish values and traditions as tools for personal growth.
      • Improved peer relationships built on empathy, trust, and shared understanding.
    • For the Community:
      • Expanded access to Jewish-contextualized mental health supports within local Jewish organizations.
      • Increased collaboration between local Jewish institutions and mental health professionals.
      • Increased understanding and recognition of the emotional strengths and needs of local Jewish teens and young adults.
      • Reduced stigma around mental health in Jewish communal spaces.

Start your application on our portal: grantmakingportal.smapply.io

Application FAQs

  • Why is the Federation only issuing requests for proposals for these priorities?
    • As part of the Federation’s recent strategic plan, we are focusing on deepening our grantmaking impact on topical issues that have arisen in the community. In the summer and fall of 2023, the Federation staff met with stakeholders about the top issues facing our community. There were six issues that rose to the top. Because of our existing investments in the other areas, the decision was made to carry out a limited open request for proposals (RFP) process with Young Adult Engagement, Addressing Antisemitism and Teen Mental Health. We will continue to fund Jewish education, camps, human services, etc. through the Federation Community Campaign.
  • Who can apply?
    • Any 501c3 organization with initiatives addressing the Jewish communities located in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland Counties.
  • Will there be preferences given to applicants?
    • Yes. The following preferences will be given:
      • Any organization that holds a majority of its endowment dollars with the Federation Foundation.
      • Any application that collaborates with another organization, whether Jewish or non-Jewish.
      • Any application for a program that is data informed, evidence-based or evidence-informed.
      • Any application that focuses on innovation, or an innovative enhancement or expansion of an existing program.
  • Can my organization apply if it received a Community Campaign allocation or a grant from the Federation in the past?
    • Yes.
  • How much can my organization apply for?
    • This grant opportunity is intended to fund requests of at least $10,000.
  • Can my organization apply for multi-year funding?
    • Yes, but such commitments are made rarely, on a case-by-case basis, as we are testing this funding model.
  • Will there be other opportunities for grants?
    • The Federation also has year-round small grant opportunities through SteelTree, micro engagement grants and Jewish Life and Learning micro grants.
  • Can my organization apply for more than one grant?
    • Yes, but only one submission per priority area.
  • If my organization applied last year, can we apply again?
    • Yes. We encourage speaking to a member of the Federation staff in advance of applying.
    • If you are reapplying for the same project you received funding for last year, you are required to:
      • Submit a grant report prior to submitting a new grant application. Information about your report is available on the grant portal.
      • Show in your new proposal how second-year Community Priorities grant funds would enhance your program or project.
  • Can I apply for ongoing operations?
    • Yes, if they meet the relevant priority's intended impact and describe how it enhances the work that your organization is doing.
  • What are some examples of projects that could get funded?
    • $20,000 for a collaborative project between three young adult serving organizations to provide holiday materials and food for young adults with young children to celebrate and learn about Jewish holidays.
    • $15,000 to a day school to create more programming for parents of day school students to engage with each other, and the community at large, through a partnership with a non-Jewish non-profit organization.
    • $20,000 to create a task force at a university to address the harmful impact of rising antisemitism on campus and to ensure that protection, respect and belonging extends to everyone.
  • What does a successful application look like?
    • It will answer all the questions on the application clearly and share outcomes on how the program will move the needle on the relevant priority.
  • Who makes the decisions?
    • There will be committees of dedicated community volunteers that will review the proposals and make recommendations to the Federation Board of Directors that will approve the grants.
  • When will grant decisions be made?
    • The Federation’s Board of Directors will review grants at their April 21, 2026 meeting and applicants will be notified on April 22nd.
  • Will I have to present my application to the committee?
    • No, but you are welcome to have conversations with Federation staff members in advance of applying.
    • If awarded, grantees may be asked to invite the members of the grantmaking committee to visit the program at a site visit.
  • Whom do I contact if I have questions?

APPLICATION PREVIEW

Organizational Information (required questions in bold)

  • Organization Name
  • Are you representing an organization with 501c3 non-profit status? If no, please provide fiscal sponsor information.
  • Organization TAX ID
    • Are you in good standing with the IRS (e.g. have submitted 990s or equivalent on time for the last three consecutive years). If no, please explain.
  • Organization Mailing Address: Please provide if your organization has not received funding from the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh before, or if address has changed
  • Organization Mission
  • Organizational Website and social media
  • Does your organization hold the majority of its endowment dollars with the Federation’s Foundation?
  • Total Organizational Budget
  • Total number of Full-Time Employees (FTEs)
  • Primary Contact Name
  • Contact Title
  • Contact Email
  • Contact Phone Number

Project Information

  • Project Name
  • One sentence description of project. This description will be used in our dashboards for our grantmaking committee, so keep it short and to the point. (50 words max)
  • Are you requesting more than one year of funding for this project? Note that funding is generally approved on a year-by-year basis, but a request for funding commitment spanning multiple years will be reviewed by the committee.
    • How many years of funding are you seeking?
    • If this is a multi-year grant, what are the annual milestones that will gauge success and determine whether additional funding should be released?
    • If only one year of funding is approved, can this program still move forward? Y/N and please explain your response.
  • Is this a new or existing project? Please indicate the project start date and end date (if not ongoing) below.
    • Project Begin Date
    • Project End Date
  • Amount Requested (for this year and for entire project if requesting multiple years)
  • Please list the partner organizations, if any, that are critical to the success of this project and what the role of each will be.
  • Please describe any efforts to-date on soliciting community and stakeholder input into this project.
  • Total project budget

NARRATIVE (all required) – Answer the following questions. If preferred, you may submit video responses to these questions. Video responses should be created on a desktop computer, laptop or smartphone (landscape orientation), be in .mov, .mp4, .avi, or .wmv file type, filmed in a quiet room with good lighting, be no more than 3 minutes long, and must address all elements of the question.

You may choose to submit a video response for as many narrative questions as you would like, but you should make separate videos for each question (rather than one video encompassing responses to multiple questions).

  • Select which community priority will it address: Engaging Young Adults, Addressing Antisemitism or Addressing Teen Mental Health
  • What is the community opportunity/need your project will address?
  • Describe how the program relates to the relevant Federation's community priority, and its outcomes. (up to 500 words)
  • Describe your proposed program or project. Be specific, describing activities, strategies, staffing, partners, timelines, etc. Explain how the design will enable you to address the problem or need. Clearly identify the demographics or groups served by the project, and the number of people impacted if known. If you are applying for a program that was funded by a 2025 Community Priorities grant, please also explain how Year 2 funding will enhance the program. (up to 500 words)
  • How will you know if your project is successful? How will you measure the outcomes and outputs of the program? (up to 250 words)
  • What research, evidence, or established best practice suggests that your project will be successful? If the approach is new and therefore untested or unproven, why do you think it will be successful? (up to 250 words)
  • What are the most significant possible risks and rewards associated with this project? (up to 250 words)
  • Does this project engage members of the Pittsburgh Jewish community, or Pittsburgh community at-large? If so, how many (an estimate is fine)? (up to 250 words)
  • Describe why your organization is well-suited to implement the proposed program. Provide a description of how the project is complementary/additive to and not duplicative of existing community efforts, initiatives, and plans. (up to 250 words)
  • Is this project innovative? Please explain your response. Innovation is defined as a new project, program or event for your organization, or seed funding for an organization new to the Federation’s geographic catchment area (Allegheny, Butler, Beaver, Washington and Westmoreland counties)
  • Provide a project budget (PDF preferred) as well as a brief narrative to describe the project budget. (up to 250 words for narrative)
  • If awarded funds, how would you recognize the Federation’s support? (up to 150 words)
  • Any additional information to share?

Questions:

Ilene Rinn
Ilene Rinn
Associate Vice President, Planning & Impact
[email protected]
412-992-5205
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