The Avodah Blog

Avodah Named One of Chicago’s Top 20 Innovative Jewish Organizations in Annual Slingshot Guide

Avodah Named One of Chicago’s Top 20  Innovative Jewish Organizations

Thirteenth  Annual Slingshot  Guide Highlights the  Best of the Thriving Jewish  Nonprofit World

CHICAGO, NEW YORK – Avodah has been named one of Chicago’s top 20 innovative Jewish organizations in the 13th annual Slingshot Guide. The Guide has become a go-to resource for volunteers, activists, and donors looking for new opportunities and projects that, through their innovative nature, will ensure the  Jewish community remains relevant and thriving. Slingshot 2018 was released today.

Selected  from among  hundreds of finalists  reviewed by over 100 individuals  with expertise in grant-making and  Jewish communal life, the Guide said Avodah is “achieving both a shift in the way the American Jewish community engages in the fight against poverty and how the community engages with service, and it’s doing it big.”

Organizations included in this year’s Guide were evaluated on their innovative approach,  the impact they have in their work, the leadership they have in their sector, and their effectiveness at achieving results. Avodah is proud to be among the 20 organizations honored for meeting those standards.  

Avodah and the organizations included in the Guide are driving the future of Jewish life and engagement by motivating new audiences to participate in their work and responding to the needs of individuals and communities – both within and beyond the Jewish community – as never before.

“Avodah is so proud to be selected in this year’s Slingshot Guide and thrilled to be part of the amazing cohort of the hundreds of innovative Jewish organizations who are driving forward Jewish social justice and making positive changes in the Jewish community. Congratulations to all 20 change-making organizations included in this year’s guide.” Executive Director Cheryl Cook, said.

“We are proud to highlight organizations doing exceptional work,  serving as the trailblazers for what is possible, meeting the community’s evolving needs and inspiring all of us. Whether we look to the guide for funding ideas, best practices or trends in  Jewish life, it remains a resource for all of us, providing new tools and optimism for our collective future. We would like to thank our generous partners for helping support the Chicago edition of Slingshot 2018 – The Crown Family Philanthropies and the Jack and Goldie  Wolfe Miller Fund,” Stefanie Rhodes, Executive  Director of Slingshot, which publishes the Guide each year, said.

Sarah Rueven, Slingshot’s board chair, agreed, “We are excited to highlight the work of organizations that strengthen Jewish life by rising to the challenges of the day and making our community more relevant to our generation. We are inspired by projects that help people connect to Jewish life in ways that both feel both fresh and relevant while honoring our traditions. Readers will learn  about valuable new projects and gain a deeper insight into  the emerging needs in Jewish life, as identified by our community’s  top leaders.”

Being listed in the Guide is often an important step for selected organizations to attain much needed additional funding and to expand the reach of their work, as the Guide is a frequently used resource for donors seeking to support organizations transforming the world in novel and interesting ways.

About  the Slingshot  Guide:

The  Slingshot  Guide, now in its 13th year, was created by a team of young funders as a guidebook to help funders of all ages diversify their giving portfolios to include the most innovative and effective organizations, programs and projects in North America. The Guide contains information about each organization’s origin, mission, strategy, impact and budget, as well as details about its unique character. The  Slingshot Guide has proven to be a catalyst for next generation funding and offers a telling snapshot of shifting trends in North America’s Jewish community – and how nonprofits are meeting new needs and reaching new audiences. The book has been published annually since 2005. Each edition is available as a free download at www.slingshotfund.org,  where you can learn more about Slingshot’s work and new strategies for continuing their impact into the future.

About Avodah:

Avodah strengthens the Jewish community’s fight against the causes and effects of poverty in the United States. We do this by engaging participants in service and community building that inspire them to become lifelong leaders for social change whose work for justice is rooted in and nourished by Jewish values. For 20 years, we’ve been inspiring Jewish leaders to commit to a life of social change, promoting a vision of Jewish life rooted in justice, and engaging the broader Jewish community in some of the most pressing issues facing our country at a local and national level. Learn more at avodah.net.

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