The Hadassah Foundation is funding $450,000 in unrestricted grants to Israeli feminist organizations.

The Foundation has awarded a “Visionary Partner” grant to Israel Women’s Network (IWN), which advances women’s equality through policy advocacy, public awareness campaigns, litigation, and a hotline providing free legal assistance in four languages. One of Israel’s oldest feminist organizations, IWN has had consultative status with the United Nations since 2006. Paid over five years, the Visionary Partner grant of $130,000 goes to trusted past grantees whose missions align with the Hadassah Foundation’s and whose work is especially timely. Meet the three continuing Visionary Partner recipients here.

In addition, the Foundation has awarded “Core” grants of $80,000 each to four nonprofits:

• The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, which is the national umbrella organization for Israel’s rape crisis centers, advocates for laws, amendments, rights, services, and policies to benefit survivors of sexual violence.
• The Eden Association for the Advancement of Educational, Social and Cultural Projects in the Northern Negev provides trauma-informed care to women and girls in the Gaza envelope region.
• The Ruth and Emanuel Rackman Center of Bar-Ilan University promotes the status and rights of women in matters of family law and works to end gender discrimination and inequality in Israel through advocacy and legislative change.
• Women’s Spirit promotes the financial independence of women survivors of physical, sexual, emotional, and economic abuse in Israel.

The Core grant is paid over three years. Meet the continuing Core recipients, whose grant cycles began in 2023, here.

“The Israel Women’s Network addresses a broad spectrum of issues affecting women and girls, which makes it perfectly positioned to respond to the immediate challenges that have emerged since October 7,” said Joanna Golden, the Hadassah Foundation board member who chairs its Visionary Partner grants committee. “Shortly after October 7, IWN mobilized 170 Israeli organizations calling on the UN to acknowledge and investigate Hamas’ gender-based war crimes. It also stepped up its services for women who were economically impacted by the war and continuing its advocacy to get more women into key leadership positions.”

Rabbi Marianne Novak, the Hadassah Foundation board member chairing the Core Israel grants committee, said, “Because there are so many needs in Israel right now, it was challenging to select just four organizations. We tried to home in on areas where our funds can have the greatest impact and where we believe the needs are greatest today and over the next three years.”

The four Core Israel grant recipients all address at least one of the following issues: gender-based violence, the impact of trauma and displacement on women and children, and the need for more women to be in policy-making roles during the war, in its immediate aftermath and throughout the national recovery.

In response to October 7 and the ongoing war, the Foundation made several changes to its grantmaking in 2024:

• It co-led with Elluminate the Jewish Women’s Collective Response Fund, a group of 11 Jewish women’s organizations that in May awarded $125,000 to five Israeli feminist organizations that are supporting, elevating, and empowering Israeli women in the aftermath of October 7. Learn more here.
• It will award a total of six Core grants, one more than awarded in 2023.
• Recognizing that Israeli and U.S.-based organizations are facing very different needs, it separated Core grant awards for Israeli and U.S.-based organizations into two processes. The Hadassah Foundation will award Core grants to two U.S.-based organizations in 2024.
• To reduce the burden on Israeli organizations, grantseekers were not required to submit applications; instead, the Foundation prioritized past grant recipients and awarded grants based on information it had collected previously and research conducted on the Foundation’s March 2024 study trip to Israel.

Along with the Visionary Partner and Core grants, the Foundation each year awards two other categories of grants to organizations that advance the status of women and girls in Israel and in the U.S. Jewish community:

• Spark: $20,000 grants awarded over 18 months to three young or startup organizations that are meeting pressing and emergent needs. A request for proposals for Spark grants will be announced in late July. View current Spark grantees here.
• Discretionary: Four $5,000 grants selected annually at the discretion of the Foundation’s director. View current Discretionary grantees here.