grants for bay area organizations

Capacity Building Grants

Do you have a professional development idea for your school? Do you keep postponing educational pilots that have the potential to build your program or school? Is your organization looking for ways to collaborate across programs? For the 2026–27 program year, Jewish LearningWorks is investing in innovative projects that foster cultures of experimentation and collaborative learning. Learn more and apply!

Basic Details

  • What: Capacity grants of up to $8,000.
  • When: Grant review process begins in August, 2026. Projects must be completed by June, 2027.
  • Who: Open to Bay Area Jewish educational programs serving children ages 0-18. Institutions may apply for more than one grant if the grants will support different programs/age groups.

Selection Criteria

In alignment with Jewish LearningWorks strategic priorities, successful grant projects will establish or extend experimental initiatives in the areas of spiritual education, nurturing a caring teaching community, and/or creating more inclusive classrooms. In particular, we are looking for projects that will:

  • Support staff in enriching their teaching practice through ongoing professional development, community building experiences, reflective supervision or mentorship.
  • Extend learning through existing professional development, curriculum development, or a community of practice.
  • Create a sustainable project which can be implemented beyond the initial capacity grant time frame.

Applications open in July, 2026.

Grant applications will be reviewed starting August 17, 2026. Please contact Ellen Lefkowitz, Senior Educator, at ellen@jewishlearning.works if you have any questions.

Grants to Support Inclusion in Early Childhood

Every February, during Jewish Disability, Accessibility and Inclusion Month (JDAIM), we recognize the year-round work of educators creating learning experiences for learners of all abilities. To support this critical effort in our Jewish educational spaces, we are offering grants for early childhood centers to secure annual memberships to Sequential Development Consulting (SDC) for the 2026-2027 school year.

 Membership allows schools to partner with a team of occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and mental health clinicians to support children on their individual path of growth, and development in the preschool classroom.

  • What: Five fully-funded, annual memberships to SDC.
  • When: Grant review process began on February 23, 2026. Recipients were notified on June 1, 2026. 
  • Who: Open to all Bay Area Early Childhood Education Programs.

The application process is now closed.

The application process closed on February 20, 2026. Please contact Ellen Lefkowitz, Senior Educator, at ellen@jewishlearning.works if you have any questions.

Other Important Dates

July 1, 2026

  • SDC will begin onboarding the new five Member Schools.
  • SDC will be available to teaching teams to help design and set-up their learning environments, and prepare for the upcoming school year.
  • Schedule Professional Development Trainings Teachers can schedule consultation with an OT, SLP or MFT to discuss any topic related to speech and language development, sensory and motor development, and social and emotional development.
  • Teachers will have access to SDC’s vast library of content and resources, which can be shared with families too.

august 1, 2026

  • Schedule on-site evaluations for each classroom for September and October.
  • The SDC team is available for consultation, teachers can schedule a call with an OT, SLP or MFT to discuss and brainstorm any challenge, idea, or concern coming up in the classroom.