The Jewish Federation of St. Louis completed its first round of interfaith and inclusion mini-grants awarded to two local community partners in April 2022. The goal of these mini-grants is to create a more welcoming and inclusive St. Louis Jewish community for Jewish Adjacent family members. The interfaith and inclusion mini-grants process is funded by the Jonas and Herschel Weil Fund of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis.

As of 2020, 61% of all Jews married over the past 10 years have a spouse who does not identify as Jewish. The interfaith and inclusion mini-grants process aims to encourage community partners to be more thoughtful and purposeful in engaging Jewish Adjacent individuals (i.e., members of Jewish families who do not identify as Jewish) and Jewish+ families (i.e., Jewish families with at least one family member who is Jewish Adjacent). In this way, the St. Louis Jewish community can be a place where all members of Jewish families can find connection and meaning.

Projects awarded during this first round of mini-grants include scholarships for interfaith families attending Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School and funding for holiday tabling supplies for Central Reform Congregation families to celebrate Jewish holidays in their homes.

Launched on January 3, 2022, applications for the interfaith and inclusion mini-grants process are received and reviewed on a rolling basis by a committee of lay leaders and staff at the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. Local Jewish organizations can receive more than one mini-grant each year, but the total in mini-grants per organization per year cannot exceed $3,000.

Click this link to learn more about the process and to apply. If you have any questions, please contact Marla Guggenheimer at 314-442-3764 or MGuggenheimer@JFedSTL.org.