Jewish Community Teen Foundation dba Jewish Community Federation of S F Marin Peninsula and Sonoma Counties

What are the Jewish Teen Foundations?

Philanthropy isn’t easy. It requires training, experience and a commitment to tzedakah. The Jewish Teen Foundations offer select groups of Bay Area Jewish teens the opportunity to explore Jewish values and ideas, develop leadership skills, and the opportunity to practice informed and directed philanthropy. Teens who serve on one of the four Jewish Teen Foundations learn how to run their own non-profit foundations and to become strategic grantmakers.

What do teens get out of it? They get to:

• Connect with Jewish teens
• Enhance leadership skills
• Develop Jewish identity
• Debate tough choices and engage in social justice issues
• Contribute to a fund being matched by the program's funders
• Become effective grantmakers and strategic philanthropists

Participation in the Jewish Teen Foundations requires a one-year commitment. The board members dedicate themselves to a weekend retreat and attend seven Sunday teen board meetings. These meetings are part skill-building and part teen-led, and further the work of each Foundation.