Center for community change

Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
2011 Grants

Israel (37%)

The Abraham Fund Initiatives
The Abraham Fund Initiatives works to advance coexistence, equality and cooperation among
Israel’s Jewish and Arab citizens by creating and operating large-scale initiatives, cultivating
strategic grassroots projects and conducting public education and advocacy that promote its
vision of shared citizenship and opportunity for all of Israel’s citizens.
Agenda – Israeli Center for Strategic Communications
Agenda works to reprioritize and reframe social change issues within the Israeli public debate and
media.
Alliance for Middle East Peace
The Alliance for Middle East Peace is a coalition of non-governmental organizations that
promote people-to-people coexistence and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, Arabs
and Jews in the Middle East.

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee provides rescue and relief to Jews in need
both in Israel and abroad.

Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now works to focus the international community’s attention on the issue of
settlements in Israel; educates the American Jewish community, Capitol Hill, the Administration,
students, and reporters on the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; and promotes
positive Congressional and Administrative positions of the peace process.

Arab Labor (Avodah Aravit)
Created by Sayed Kashua, an Israeli-born Palestinian journalist, Arab Labor (translated from the
Hebrew “Avoda Aravit”) is a hit Israeli sitcom focusing on Amjad Alian, a Palestinian journalist
and Israeli citizen in search of his identity. Poking fun at the cultural divide, Kashua and his
characters play on religious, cultural and political differences to daringly depict the mixed society
that is Israel. This show marked a milestone on Israeli television as the first program to present
Palestinian characters speaking Arabic on primetime, and it generated great controversy between
Arab and Israeli media.
Arava Institute for Environmental Studies
The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies is the premier environmental teaching and research
program in the Middle East, preparing future Arab and Jewish leaders to solve the region's
environmental challenges cooperatively.

Blue White Future
Blue White Future aims at enhancing and making visible the Israeli public's support for a two-
state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in order to preserve Israel's character as a Jewish
and democratic state.
B’Tselem – The Israeli Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
B'Tselem works to document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights
violations in the Occupied Territories and help create a human rights culture in Israel.


Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
2011 Grants

Encounter
Encounter is an educational organization dedicated to providing Jewish Diaspora leaders from
across the religious and political spectrum with exposure to Palestinian life.

Givat Haviva Jewish-Arab Center for Peace
Givat Haviva Jewish-Arab Center for Peace works to empower the Arab minority as a key to
creating a more peaceful and tolerant society and brings Arab and Jewish youth together for co-
existence programs.

Hand in Hand: Centers for Jewish-Arab Education in Israel
Hand in Hand operates three integrated, bilingual, multicultural Jewish-Arab schools for Jewish,
Muslim and Christian children in grades pre-K through high school, with the vision of creating a
new model of integrated education.
Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues
Inter-Agency Task Force on Arab-Israeli Issues works to inform the American Jewish
community on majority/minority relations in Israel; increasing awareness of economic,
educational and social service weaknesses facing Israeli Arab communities.

Israel Religious Action Center
The Israel Religious Action Center strives to advance religious freedom and pluralism, tolerance,
social justice and civil liberties in Israel.
J Street Education Fund
J Street was founded to promote meaningful American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and
Israeli-Palestinian conflicts peacefully and diplomatically. It supports a new direction for
American policy in the Middle East and a broad public and policy debate about the U.S. role in
the region.
Jewish Federations of North America
Social Venture Fund for Jewish-Arab Equality and Shared Society
The Social Venture Fund for Jewish-Arab Equality and Shared Society works to leverage the collective resources of members and stakeholders by funding initiatives in Israel that: build mutual respect and understanding between Jewish and Arab citizens; increase opportunities for Israel’s Arab citizens to share equally in the social, educational, and economic life of the country; and promote structural and institutional reforms that support the vision of Israel as a shared society that benefits all of its citizens. Just Vision
Just Vision uses media and educational tools to raise awareness to local and international
audiences about under-documented Palestinian and Israeli joint civilian efforts to resolve the
conflict nonviolently.
Merchavim – The Institute for the Advancement of Shared Citizenship
Merchavim - The Institute for the Advancement of Shared Citizenship in Israel works to equip
young Israelis of all backgrounds to build a shared future by learning about their fellow citizens,
appreciating the diversity of Israeli society and working together to improve their classrooms,
schools and communities.
NISPED -- Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development
NISPED promotes peace and development, focusing on the centrality of the civil society, and conducts programs of education, training, project development and consultancy. Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
2011 Grants

New Israel Fund
New Israel Fund is the leading organization committed to equality and democracy for all Israelis.
Peaceplayers International – Middle East
PeacePlayers International’s Middle East Program engenders meaningful interaction between
Arab and Jewish children in Israel and the West Bank through joint basketball activities and life
skills sessions which take place regularly throughout the entire school year.
Physicians for Human Rights – Israel
Physicians for Human Rights advocates for the right to health in Israel and the Occupied
Territories and provides direct medical relief through a mobile clinic and specialist clinics in the
West Bank, an open clinic for migrant workers, and training for Palestinian medical
professionals.
Sikkuy: The Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality
Sikkuy is a Jewish-Arab advocacy organization dedicated to advancing Civic Equality between
Jewish and Palestinian-Arab citizens of Israel.
The Israel Project
The Israel Project (TIP) is a non-profit educational organization that provides factual information
about Israel and the Middle East to press, public officials and the public. The Israel Project is not
affiliated with any government.
Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
Van Leer Jerusalem Institute is an intellectual center for interdisciplinary study and discussion of issues related to society, culture and education, giving expression to the plurality of opinions in Israel.
YEDID : The Association for Community Empowerment
Yedid is a national network of Citizen Rights Centers in disadvantaged communities throughout Israel working with cases on social security, employment rights, debt management, housing rights, and food insecurity. 1,366,500

Jewish (10%)

Adas Israel Congregation
The Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Endowment Fund at Adas Israel Congregation supports an
annual lecture on "The State of the Jewish People" for residents of the metropolitan Washington
community.
American Jewish Committee
Founded in 1906, the American Jewish Committee seeks to protect the rights of Jews throughout the world; combats anti-Semitism and bigotry; works for the security of Israel; enhances human rights, democratic pluralism and inter-group understanding; and promotes the creative vitality of the Jewish people. Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
2011 Grants

American Jewish World Service
American Jewish World Service supports more than 200 grassroots organizations working
towards sustainable agriculture, increased access to education and health care, women’s
empowerment, and economic self-sufficiency in 30 countries throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin
America.
American University Center for Israel Studies
The Center for Israel Studies exists to present the creative and intellectual contributions of
modern Israel in the arts, sciences, social sciences and humanities.
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry in the U.S. and
abroad through information, education, legislation, and advocacy. ADL serves as a resource for
government, media, law enforcement, educators and the public.
Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps
AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps engages young people to live out and deepen their
commitments to social change and Jewish life through a year of full-time work at anti-poverty
organizations in Washington, DC.
Birthright Israel Foundation
Taglit-Birthright Israel provides the gift of first time, peer group, educational trips to Israel for
Jewish young adults ages 18 to 26.
Clal – The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
Clal strengthens Jewish identity and uses Jewish wisdom to serve the wider community.
The Foundation supports the Rabbis Without Borders Student Retreat program led by
Rabbi Sid Schwarz.

Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington
The Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, one of the largest metropolitan JCCs in
the country, promotes Jewish continuity and identity and creates community in an atmosphere of
warmth and meaning.
Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington is the public affairs and
community relations arm of the Jewish Federation and 210 regional constituent organizations.
Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh
The Jewish Lecture Fund endowment fund supports lectures by Professor Dan Ben-David or
other Israeli scholars to address socio-economic policy issues affecting Israel and Israeli citizens,
including issues in the fields of economics, education, health care, social welfare and labor
policy.
Jewish Federation of Greater Washington
The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington develops financial and human resources, as well as programmatic initiatives and partnerships, all geared toward building and maintaining a strong Jewish community locally and worldwide. Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
2011 Grants

Jewish FundS for Justice
Jewish FundS for Justice educates and involves Jews in the problems of poverty by making grants
and providing technical assistance to grassroots groups working to eliminate poverty and
leverages Jewish money for investment in low-income neighborhoods that need revitalization.
Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington
Jewish Historical Society houses the Washington Jewish community’s archives, a collection that
archives local Jewry from the 1850s to today.
Jewish Social Service Agency of Greater Washington
Jewish Social Service Agency offers a wide range of family services including counseling and
therapy services, in-home hospice care, older adult services, special needs services, career and
employment services, adoption services and pastoral counseling.
Panim Institute of B’nai Brith Youth Organization
The Panim Institute works to train the next generation of Jewish leaders through the integration of
Jewish learning, values and social responsibility.

Sixth and I Historic Synagogue
Sixth & I is a non-denominational, non-membership, non-traditional synagogue that aims to
reinvigorate connections to Judaism by offering outstanding programming and dialogue
opportunities that speak to personal, spiritual, and social interests. As an incubator of innovation,
Sixth & I primarily works to engage unaffiliated Jews in their twenties and thirties, while
simultaneously serving as a multi-generational community resource.
Washington DC JCC
The Washington DCJCC offers cultural, educational, and community service programs.
Local Civic Affairs (10%)
Coaliton for Nonprofit Housing & Economic Development
CNHED's mission is to strengthen and support the ability of nonprofit community development
organizations to improve the quality of life in the District of Columbia's neighborhoods through
advocacy, information sharing, training, capacity building, research and communications.
DC Fiscal Policy Institute
DC Fiscal Policy Institute works to analyze the District’s fiscal problems and makes
recommendations for addressing serious budget shortfalls in ways that protect services vital to
low-income residents.
DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice
DC Appleseed conducts research and analyses that address important public policy issues facing Washington, DC and advocates for practical solutions to some of DC's most challenging problems. Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
2011 Grants

DC Employment Justice Center
DC Employment Justice Center secures and enforces the rights of low-income workers in the
Washington, DC metropolitan area by providing legal services and educational programs about
workplace rights and responsibilities and by working on legislative campaigns that benefit low-
wage workers.
DC Vote
DC Vote educates the public about the need for District of Columbia citizens to obtain full voting
representation in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.
DC Hunger Solutions
DC Hunger Solutions works to fight hunger and improve the nutrition, health, and well-being of
children and families in the District of Columbia by informing the public about hunger and food
insecurity in D.C., working to boost participation in D.C. child nutrition programs and working to
ensure better food stamp access for more District residents.
Defeat Poverty DC Coalition
Defeat Poverty DC creates the political will to reduce poverty in the District of Columbia by
building a powerful coalition of service providers, advocates, and leaders of the faith institutions,
small business, and local communities.
Jews United for Justice
Jews United for Justice leads Washington-area Jews to act on their shared Jewish values by
pursuing justice and equality in their local community.
Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless
The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless provides legal representation and helps homeless individuals secure benefits, avoid eviction, access shelter or subsidized housing, and secure mental health services. 360,750.00

National Civic Engagement (10%)

Center for Community Change
The Center for Community Change strengthens, connects and mobilizes grassroots groups to
enhance their leadership, voice and power.
Democracia USA
Democracia USA is a national nonpartisan Hispanic civic engagement, voter empowerment,
community organizing, and leadership development organization.
Demos: Ideas and Actions to Promote the Common Good
Demos is multi-issue national organization that combines research, policy development and advocacy to influence public debate and catalyze change. Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
2011 Grants

Government Accountability Project
Government Accountability Project helps to ensure government and corporate accountability by
uniting whistleblowers’ inside information and expertise with concerned citizens, policymakers
and the media and gives legal assistance to employees who choose to “blow the whistle.”

Leadership Center for the Common Good
Leadership Center for the Common Good provides training and technical assistance to strengthen
emerging community organizing groups in Florida, Ohio, Minnesota, Washington and North
Carolina.
The New Bottom Line
The New Bottom Line is a national campaign fueled by a coalition of community organizations,
congregations, labor unions, and individuals working together to build a movement that
challenges established big bank interests on behalf of struggling and middle-class communities.

Path to Power Project
The Working Families Party is fighting for a more just world.
People For the American Way Foundation
People for the American Way Foundation advocates for the values and institutions that sustain a
diverse democratic society.
Piper Fund
Piper Fund was established in 1997 as a funder collaborative to support the growing movement of
campaign finance reform efforts at the state level.
Voices for Progress Education Fund
Voices for Progress, a project of The Advocacy Fund, is a non-profit grass-tops organization of
philanthropists, business leaders, state & local elected officials, and other leaders who want an
efficient, effective way to advocate for the public good.
USAction Education Fund
USAction Education Fund works to increase civic and voter participation, especially among the
traditionally under-represented constituencies, such as people of color.
Women's Voices Women Vote
Women's Voices. Women Vote. works to activate unmarried Americans in government and democracy. Working America Education Fund
The Working America Education Fund reaches heartland America with a progressive perspective on economic issues. 355,000.00
Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
2011 Grants

Human Services & Affordable Housing (9%)

Bread for the City
Bread for the City provides legal, medical and social services, and emergency assistance to
impoverished children and adults in Washington, D.C.
Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place
The Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place provides outreach, medical and
psychiatric services, transitional and permanent housing, and social services for homeless men
and women living in upper Northwest Washington, D.C.
DC Central Kitchen
DC Central Kitchen collects more than one million pounds of food each year from local
foodservice businesses and restaurants and converts that donated food into nearly 4,000 meals
each day and trains unemployed men and women for jobs in the foodservice industry.
Downtown Cluster of Congregations
Downtown Cluster of Congregations is an ecumenical association of 43 congregations that share
resources to provide outreach, case management, and referrals to indigent street homeless in
Washington, DC.
Miriam's Kitchen
Miriam’s Kitchen provides warm meals for the homeless in the DC community and case
management to assist those in need of transportation, housing and other various needs.
N Street Village
N Street Village provides a wide range of services, including substance abuse treatment and
recovery, social services, emergency shelter, childcare, medical and mental health services and
affordable housing for low and moderate income families and individuals in the District of
Columbia.
So Others Might Eat
SOME (So Others Might Eat) is an interfaith, community-based organization that exists to help
the poor and homeless of the nation's capital.
Thrive DC
Thrive DC serves over 100,000 meals to homeless, men, women and children annually. 345,000.00

Philanthropic Institutional Support (9%)

Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington
The Catalogue for Philanthropy helps community-based nonprofits to gain visibility, increase
resources, diversify their funding streams, and move toward sustainability. It shines a light on
some of the beset nonprofit organizations in Metropolitan Washington while building an engaged
donor community.

Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
2011 Grants

Community Foundation for the National Capital Region
The mission of The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region is to strengthen the
Washington metropolitan region by encouraging and supporting effective giving and by
providing leadership on critical issues in our community.
Foundation Center - Washington, DC
The Foundation Center provides grantseekers and grantmakers with free public access to print
and electronic resources on fundraising, nonprofit management, and philanthropy and offers free
training programs.
Guidestar
GuideStar connects people and organizations with information on the programs and finances of
more than 1.7 million IRS-recognized nonprofits.
Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington
The Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington brings nonprofit leaders together in order to
address community issues.

Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers
The Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers promotes and supports effective and responsible philanthropy by serving the needs of grantmakers throughout the greater Washington region and by fostering closer ties between funders and the non-profit community. 326,500.00

Health (6%)

Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care
Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care serves multicultural populations throughout the metro Washington, D.C. region, serving individuals and families who have limited or no access to health-related services. Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington
Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington supports and advocates for the right of every
person to make responsible, informed reproductive health choices and provides low-income, at-
risk teens, women, and men with confidential reproductive and preventive health care and
education services.
Teen & Young Adult Health Connection
Teen and Young Adult Health Connection (TAYA Health) provides free/low cost reproductive
health care and education to female and male youth and young adults in the Washington, DC
metropolitan area.
Unity Health Care
Unity Health Care offers a citywide network of quality health and human services to the medically underserved regardless of race, ethnic background or ability to pay. Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
2011 Grants

Washington AIDS Partnership
The Washington AIDS Partnership encourages local philanthropy to become involved in HIV/AIDS grantmaking through locally-based community partnerships and matching grants. The Partnership has granted over $14 million to over 130 organizations that work on HIV/AIDS prevention, education and service programs. 220,000.00

Environment (5%)

Center for Environmental Health
The Center for Environmental Health protects people from toxic chemicals and promotes
business products and practices that are safe for public health and the environment.

Coaliton for Smarter Growth
Coalition for Smarter Growth addresses where and how the Washington region grows, partners
with communities in planning for the future, and offers solutions to the interconnected challenges
of housing, transportation, energy and the environment.

Community Forklift
Community Forklift, a project of Sustainable Community Initiatives, reduces construction
industry waste, keeps reusable materials out of the landfill, and reduces the mining and harvesting
of dwindling natural resources. It promotes environmentally-friendly building materials and
methods.
The DC Project
The DC Project is a nonprofit that connects and empowers communities to secure a sustainable
future shared by all. The program works with citizen leaders from across the city to ensure that
the clean energy economy will direct economic opportunities to D.C. businesses and residents
from communities of poverty and high unemployment.
Environmental Law Institute
The Environmental Law Institute provides information services, advice, publications, training
courses, seminars, research programs and policy recommendations to engage and empower
environmental leaders.
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
GAIA is a worldwide alliance of more than 500 grassroots groups, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in over 80 countries whose ultimate vision is a just, toxic-free world without incineration. Marine Conservation Institute
Marine Conservation Institute champions ocean conservation by advancing the science of marine
conservation biology and securing protection for ocean ecosystems.
National Coalition for Marine Conservation
The mission of the National Coalition for Marine Conservation is to build public awareness of the threats to our marine fisheries, provide constructive solutions, and convince state, national and international fishery managers to take appropriate action to protect living marine resources for the long-term benefit of the public. Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
2011 Grants

Product Policy Institute
The Product Policy Institute works to build a diverse network of key experts and innovative
thinkers to develop a strong framework for effective product-focused environmental policies.
Story of Stuff Project
The mission of the Story of Stuff Project is to build a strong, diverse, decentralized and cross-sector movement to fundamentally shift systems of production and consumption toward ecological sustainability and social equity. 170,000.00

Education & Youth Development (3%)

Beacon House Community Ministry
Beacon House provides after-school programs for children and youth, ages five through 18, in
low-income communities in Ward 5 of Northeast Washington.
Bright Beginnings
Bright Beginnings is a child development center for homeless children, ages six months to five
years, whose families live in shelters and transitional housing in the District of Columbia.
DC Scores
DC SCORES provides after school soccer and creative writing activities to elementary and
middle school students in 22 District of Columbia public schools.
Higher Achievement Program
The Higher Achievement Program strengthens the skills of intellectually curious middle-school
youth in under-resourced communities and enhances their readiness to excel in demanding high
school environments. Its mission is to develop critical academic habits and attitudes in young
scholars in order to improve their grades and increase their educational opportunities.
Latin American Youth Center
The Latin American Youth Center is a youth development center that supports more than 5,000
Latino, African, and African American youth and families with educational programs and
vocational training.
Urban Alliance
Urban Alliance works to prepare young adults from under-resourced neighborhoods in Washington, DC for the world of work and a life of self-sufficiency through education, mentoring, and meaningful paid internships. 100,000.00
Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
2011 Grants

Other International (3%)
Institute for Policy Studies
IPS is a progressive multi-issue think tank that has served as a policy and research resource for
visionary social justice movements for over four decades.
Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium
The Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium (Consortium) is a collaboration of U.S. states, local
governments and other public agencies working to help each member entity ensure its purchases
of apparel and other products are manufactured in lawful conditions, monitor industry
compliance, and do so more effectively and less expensively than any single one could
accomplish on its own. The purpose of the Consortium is to coordinate and represent public
officials and others who seek to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not spent on products made in
sweatshops.

Goodweave USA
GoodWeave works to end illegal child labor in the carpet industry and to offer educational opportunities to children in South Asia.
Total grants in 2011
$3,692,000

Source: http://www.nncf.net/programs/NNCF2011Grantees.pdf