Coalition of US Jewish environmental groups gets major funding

(JTA) — A new network of US-based Jewish environmental organizations has received seed funding to develop a major initiative.

The Green Hevra received a start-up grant of $65,000 from the Nathan Cummings Foundation and the Morningstar Foundation to plan strategic collaboration across the Jewish environmental movement this year. The coalition will launch its initiative on April 23, the day after Earth Day. The same day, coalition members will meet to identify opportunities for cooperation and impact, as well as build a contact list and develop a plan for broader engagement.

“The Jewish environmental movement has the potential for real impact,” said Rabbi Jennie Rosenn of the Nathan Cummings Foundation. “But to do that, they need to work together much more strategically.”

The initial 15 members of the Green Hevra network are the Baltimore Jewish Environmental Network; Canfei Nesharim; Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL)/Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA); Eden Village Camp; Green Zionist Alliance; Hazon; Jewish Farm School; Jewish Reconstructionist Federation; Kayam Farm at Pearlstone; Neohasid.org; Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Shalom Center; Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center; Teva Learning Alliance; and Wilderness Torah.