Tags: Arabella Advisors, Grantmaking, Innovation, Jewish Community, Jewish New Media Innovation Fund, Jim Joseph Foundation, Lucy Bernholz, Philanthropy, Research, Righteous Persons Foundation, Schusterman Family Foundation, Technology Summary: Many organizations that serve our communities struggle to maintain working technology infrastructures, let alone to experiment and imagine how to achieve their missions in a digital world. Bridging this gap between media innovation and mission accomplishment was the core goal of the Jewish New Media Innovation Fund (the Fund), a pilot launched in 2010 by the Jim Joseph Foundation, the Righteous Persons Foundation, and the Schusterman Family Foundation.
The very act of establishing the Fund has already helped prompt conversations around technology and social innovation in organizations that may not have otherwise occurred. These conversations will only continue to grow and deepen as we watch and monitor the types of impact that these projects have on Jewish communities and individuals. The ultimate outcome of the JNMIF will rest as much on what the community learns from this experiment as it does on the results of the individual projects. In Innovating on Tradition: Reflections on the Jewish New Media Innovation Fund, we attempt to provide a foundation for spurring discussion about the experiment by reflecting on three key questions:
- What is the state of new media innovation in the organized Jewish community?
- How can the JNMIF process be improved?
- What might come next?
Author: Lucy Bernholz and Conan Liu, Arabella Advisors
Download: Innovating on Tradition: Reflections on the Jewish New Media Innovation Fund