WAEF announces grant awards

Formed in 1993, the Women’s Alliance Endowment Fund (WAEF) has allocated more than $165,700 to diverse organizations serving Jewish women and children in Rhode Island and overseas communities.

WAEF members convened on May 21, 2025, to consider submitted grant proposals to be awarded for the next fiscal year. The group, chaired by community member Susan Leach DeBlasio, awarded grants totaling $10,850 to the following programs:

Local

Chabad of Southern RI – $1,000 for Interactive Children’s Holiday Workshops

Community Beit Midrash of RI – $800 for Quarterly Intergenerational Learning

Jewish Collaborative Services – $1,000 for Hanukkah Gifts for Seniors

Jewish Community Day School – $1,000 for Social-Emotional Learning Lunch Bunches

University of Rhode Island Hillel – $1,050 for “Tastes from Home: Transmitting Jewish Food Traditions from Generation to Generation”

Israel

Beit Ruth Educational and Therapeutic Village – $1,000 for Promoting Physical and Emotional Health for At-Risk Girls Through Sports

ELEM – $1,000 for Outreach to At-Risk Haredi Girls

Emunah – $1,000 for “Emunat Ha’em” (Mother’s Self-Confidence)

Ethiopian National Project – $1,000 for Leadership Program for Girls

Haifa Rape Crisis Center – $1,000 for Sexual Trauma Support Group

Jaffa Institute – $1,000 for Welfare to Wellbeing

To date, the WAEF has 105 living members. Each one contributed $1,000 to the fund to join. The fund is invested with the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island’s endowment and relies on donations from new members to increase the income available to distribute each year.

A gift of WAEF membership is a meaningful way to introduce adult children and grandchildren to community philanthropy, and several WAEF members have included the next generation in membership. Membership to the WAEF allows the Rhode Island community’s women to directly impact women and youth around the globe in meaningful and critical ways, through programs and services necessary for a strong Jewish future.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the WAEF, or gifting a membership to a daughter, granddaughter, ether family member or friend, or would like to discuss giving to your Jewish future, contact the Jewish Federation Foundation at 401-421-4111 or endowment@jewishallianceri.org.

Submitted by the Women’s Alliance Endowment Fund