Paths to Leadership

Projects in this category will contribute to the Foundation’s goal of ensuring that Jewish communal organisations are equipped to engage Jews with positive Jewish life and learning through education, leadership development and community engagement.

We invite Jewish communal organisations to propose a new strategy, programme or project that addresses the need for a pipeline that leads graduates of youth and student frameworks into professional and volunteer leadership roles in their local or country-wide community.

With the support of this grant, community organisers will consider the required training, support, peer-learning and creative thinking that will be needed by future community leaders. Young adults will be Jewishly inspired and empowered to lead and will know how and where they can best contribute to the future of their Jewish Community.

Proposed projects can be a new initiative or an upgrade of an existing programme. If you are looking to improve an existing programme, the budget and narrative should reflect how the funds requested will be allocated to new activities aimed at strengthening the Jewish knowledge and delivery skills of the participants.

Expense items may include the following as long as they are clearly linked to the project:

• Staff time – Programme coordinators, teachers, lecturers, mentors, tutors.
• Experts – External leadership consultants and facilitators, Jewish educators.
• Group Activities – Shabbatonim, volunteering experiences, field visits
• Peer-visits – Travel and accommodation expenses related to a learning visit or a shadowing scheme in another community.
• Seed funds for communal engagement projects led by participants

Requests for funding should range from a minimum of £10,000 per year to a maximum of £40,000 per year for up to 2 years (a maximum total of £80,000).

We will fund up to 70% of the project budget and at least 30% of the cost of the project will need to come from other funding sources. We favour proposals that include co-funding from other organisations as well as clear evidence of financial commitments from your own institution (eg. institutional reserves, money raised from ticket sales etc.) Of this 30%, up to half can be attributed to in-kind contributions or allocated costs (see below).

Applications requesting more than 70% of the total project budget will be rejected.

In-kind contributions and allocated costs can make up a maximum of 15% of the total cost of your project. Please ensure you identify these on your Project Budget Form under Project Income and use the Budget Explanation section to provide further details eg. breakdown of salaries, volunteer time etc.

In-kind contributions include any materials, goods, services or facilities that you would otherwise have to pay for but that are being provided free of charge or at a reduced rate. This may include:

• volunteer time (i.e. how much would the time donated to the organisation cost if it had to be paid at an hourly rate in your country)
• new equipment that is donated to be used by the project
• dedicated space for the project that would otherwise have to be rented

Allocated costs include expenditure which must be paid for at some point by your organisation and do not qualify as in-kind contributions. This may include:

• services of an employee currently employed by your organisation for time spent on the project (e.g. staff costs, project management or supervision)
• additional time spent on the project by existing employees, beyond their current contracted hours, e.g. a part-time staff member who takes on additional responsibilities for the duration of the project
• supplies and material bought by your institutions which will be used on the project
• additional dedicated space for the project that will need to be rented

We support applications for project-related costs so please ensure your project budget fits our criteria.

We support a wide variety of projects at different stages of development, including stand-alone initiatives and new aspects of an existing project. However, we do not fund retroactively. This means we will not consider a request for funding for an activity that has already happened or is scheduled to happen while the application for funding is being considered.

We do not fund the following:

• operating costs for schools, synagogues, museums or other communal buildings
• building and construction work for museums or other communal institutions
• acquisition of objects
• launch events or exhibition openings
• restoration work of Jewish built heritage
• artistic projects in the fine arts, performing arts, film production and creative writing – including artwork commissioned by museums
• publication and translation of academic books

Please read our statement regarding funding for Jewish community libraries and Holocaust museums and memorials.

We welcome applications from nation-wide communities based in Europe, EU and non-EU states alike except for Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. 

The organisation’s activities must be deemed charitable under UK charity law, and we will require proof of its charitable status. This includes organisations which are either not-for-profit or publicly funded e.g., state or private libraries, archives, museums, research institutes, universities, cultural centres or non-profit organisations. For more information, please consult the UK’s Charity Commission website and its list of Charitable Purposes. 

If you are in the process of obtaining charitable status, please be aware that no payments will be made to your organisation until you have achieved this status. Additionally, if your organisation is awarded a grant but fails to secure charitable status within 3 months of having been notified of the award, the grant will be cancelled.

The criteria that we will use to assess the applications will include:

• Participants – Is there a big enough pool of relevant participants to draw from? Are they interested?
• Purpose – we will look at how this project balances engagement of existing and new audiences, deep Jewish learning and community building.
• Capacity building – We will prioritise projects that give relevant skills, knowledge, tools and connections to the participants. We will also look at the relevant skills and experience of the people developing the project, use of experts, consultants and professional training.
• Need: Is there a similar opportunity already available? Is this a priority for the relevant stakeholders? (Current leadership, potential participants, etc.)
• Access and Diversity – We will look at the outreach strategy and publicity plans. How will people find out about the project and how accessible will it be to different groups in the community.
• Sustainability – We will prioritise projects that show long-term planning for follow up support, mentoring and training, adapting to changing needs.
• Outcomes – We will look at what participants are expected to do, know and experience differently after the project.

Please make sure you have submitted all the required documentation with your application. If it is not included, your application cannot be considered.

If your application is approved, you will need to submit further supporting documentation once you receive your Grant Letter and Agreement.

1. Budget table and budget explanation for the proposed project (Required): An example of a completed budget form can be downloaded from the application form.

2. Proof of charitable status (Required): This will vary from country to country and according to the type of organisation making the application. This may be a UK charity number where applicable. If your organisation is a not-for-profit or a publicly funded body, such as a university, research centre or museum, we will accept a copy of the relevant portion of the organisation’s statutes as proof of its charitable status. 
   • Certification from the tax authorities: If you have a certificate from the tax authorities that demonstrates charitable status in your country, this can also be submitted as proof. 

3. CVs of key staff members working on the project (Required) (maximum 2 pages for each staff member): This should reflect their experience in undertaking projects such as the one outlined in this application. Qualifications include professional certificates, university diplomas, and relevant experience. Please combine all the CVs into one document before uploading it. 

4. The most recently available audited accounts or financial statement (Required): This is a formal record of your organisation’s financial activities for either a one- or three-year period. The statement must include a summary of the income and expenditure over a given period. It should have been prepared by your financial department or a chartered accountant and, if your country requires it, approved by the relevant authority. 
   • Income and Expenditure: If the submitted audited accounts or financial statement are not in English, you are required to submit an English summary of the income and expenditure account and balance sheet. 

5. Strategic Plan: If you are applying for a multi-year grant, please submit the latest organisational strategic plan which includes the larger vision of the organisation and how your project fits within that. 
   • If your organisation doesn’t have a strategic plan, please create one describing your institution’s vision, its goals for the next 2 to 3 years and how your project fits within that.

6. Photographs: If appropriate and relevant, please include up to 10 photographs (saved together into one word document or PDF). This could be some examples of past activities. Please ensure that each photo is no larger than 1MB. Please note that you have a combined application file size allowance of 20MB. 

7. Project Update/Final Report: If you currently receive funding from the Foundation, please submit a one-page project update of your existing grant. If you have recently finished a grant funded by the Foundation, please ensure the final report has been submitted before the closing date for the current grant round as this will be assessed alongside your new application. 

8. Other supporting documents: If there are any additional supporting documents which are relevant to your application, such as a letter of support from a partner organisation or a letter confirming copyright ownership, please submit them as well.

Translations: For documents not originally written in English please include an English translation. This does not need to be an official or full translation, but it must be clear and accurate. Documents in a language other than English that are not accompanied by an English translation will not be processed.

Financial summaries: If financial documents are very long, please provide a translation summarising the main income and expenditure included in your financial statements and organisational budget. This document should be no longer than 10 pages.

Please upload your translated/summarised document against the same upload title you use for the original document. This means you may have two documents saved under each upload title.

Once you have discussed your proposal with the Grants Programmes Manager, the application must be submitted by the deadline above. For Spring grant rounds, you will receive confirmation in late July. For Autumn grant rounds you will receive confirmation in early January.

If your application is approved, you will receive an official Grant Offer Letter together with an Award Agreement which you will need to e-sign and return with the necessary supporting documentation.

For guidance on starting and completing an application as well as our requirements for ensuring safeguarding and open access, please visit our website.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further information or advice as you prepare your application.

For queries relating to this grant category please contact Daniela Greiber (d.greiber@rothschildfoundation.eu).

For any other information including technical support please contact (info@rothschildfoundation.eu)

Please add the following emails to your contacts/safe senders list to ensure you receive all our communications regarding your application and grant notification: mailuk@grantapplication.com; mail@grantapplication.com; adobesign@adobesign.com 

Please make sure you submit your application by the appropriate deadline date which you can find here.