Miriam Fund Grants awarded since 2001

Explore the organizations and programs supported by The Miriam Fund, CJP’s gender equity grants program advancing opportunities, safety, and equity for women and girls locally, in Israel, and beyond.

Local Jewish Community Grants

Grants that serve women and girls in the local Jewish community

BAIS YAAKOV OF BOSTON
Providing health education, nutrition awareness, and physical education to help promote health and self-confidence at a traditional girls’ high school, providing leadership development and social emotional learning.

BIG SISTER ASSOCIATION OF GREATER BOSTON
Counseling and mentorship for young women seeking a post-secondary education.

COVENANT HOUSE
Working with fabric artist Clara Wainwright and girls from the Jewish Community Day School, residents of Covenant House produce a wall-sized quilt depicting their homeland communities. The project reduces isolation and builds community as residents share their stories with one another and with JCDS students.

ETTY PROJECT
Funding teaching workshops and a theater production based on the diaries of Auschwitz victim Etty Hillesum.

GANN ACADEMY
Building self-confidence, self-esteem, and emotional resilience in girls as a way to develop leadership skills.

GATEWAYS
Offering individualized bat mitzvah training for girls with special needs, supporting parenting services for mothers of children with disabilities.

HADASSAH-BRANDEIS INSTITUTE
Providing support for women being subjected to get-based abuse; educating Massachusetts lawyers about how to deal with Jewish divorce issues in family law disputes; educating college students on how to avoid get-based abuse; and conducting a study of the role get-based abuse plays in divorce negotiations.

JEWISH ALLIANCE FOR LAW AND SOCIAL ACTION
Mobilizing and educating the Massachusetts Jewish community to defend access to abortion.

JEWISH BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS
Presenting “Littles” with images of capable women, career options, and choices for their futures. Funding FAME: The Female Activity Mentoring Experience, a group mentoring program that fosters both individual and group connections.

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTERS
Teaching adolescent girls to develop “Powerful Voices” by addressing issues they identify as important to them.

JEWISH COMMUNITY HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY
Offering the following services and programs: providing breast cancer information outreach to elderly Russian women to raise awareness and encourage screening, providing capacity building to train staff to recognize and respond to mental health issues and work with tenants to accept mental health services, and supporting women living in JCHE who are on the memory loss spectrum from mild cognitive impairment to end-stage Alzheimer’s.

JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDREN’S SERVICE
Supporting the following services and programs: the Kol Isha Russian Domestic Violence Project; Russian-language services for victims of human trafficking; the TeenSafe educational program, Healthy Relationships – Domestic Abuse Prevention; and support for the Journey to Safety domestic violence survivor program.

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE OF METROWEST
Strengthening the bonds between homeless mothers and children. Sensitizing the synagogue community to issues of eating disorders and body image in bat mitzvah age girls, and building self-esteem. Providing financial literacy and career development for women new to “head of household” duties. Supporting strategic planning to address homelessness and housing shortages in communities of senior women.

JEWISH ORGANIZING INITIATIVE
Training activists for community work.

JEWISH OUTREACH INSTITUTE – MOTHER’S CIRCLE
Offering support and education for women of other faiths committed to raising Jewish children.

JEWISH VOCATIONAL SERVICE
Supporting economically vulnerable women with developing job search and networking skills to enter the workforce.

JEWISH WOMEN’S ARCHIVE
Developing a curriculum focused on women’s achievements for school children. Fusing community service, family stories, and Jewish women’s history into individual bat mitzvah experiences with a three-year online project, My Bat Mitzvah Story.

JOOKENDER
Support for Ukrainian refugees in Massachusetts.

KESHET
Planning and implementing the first LGTBQ & Ally Shabbaton for self-identified young women and girls.

MAYYIM HAYYIM
Creating new rituals for new uses of mikvah; healing guide for Jewish women with cancer; Embracing Waters Initiative to work with survivors of domestic abuse and train volunteer and professional leaders who work with them; Beneath the Surface, a program for bat-mitzvah-age girls and their mothers; The Jewish Fertility Healing Guide for people embarking on a fertility journey. Let Justice Well Up: Educational series building bridges among diverse women in the Jewish community by creating new immersion ceremonies.

MZVIBE
Funding an issues-focused webzine for Jewish girls.

MOVING TRADITIONS
Promoting self-esteem, leadership skills, and Jewish identity in girls and boys grades 6–12. Bringing a new model of sexuality education to the Jewish community.

NEW ENGLAND YACHAD
Self-defense classes for women with and without disabilities, programming and social opportunities for girls with disabilities.

SOLOMON SCHECHTER DAY SCHOOL
Building girls’ knowledge and confidence in STEM subjects, increasing leadership opportunities through STEM initiatives, and providing access and exposure to positive female role models in STEM-related fields as mentors.

THE VILNA SHUL
Funding for a storytelling and art exhibition that honors important Jewish women throughout history.

TORAH ACADEMY
Fostering interest in STEM for girls in fifth through eighth grade through the creation of a Makerspace lab.

YAD CHESSED
Supporting senior women who live alone and face difficulty affording healthy food.

Local Secular Community Grants

Grants that serve women and girls in the local secular community

ADOLESCENT CONSULTATION SERVICES
Funding a girls’ group treatment program at Cambridge Juvenile Court Clinic.

BELLESINI ACADEMY
Providing an enhanced girls’ STEM program by creating a dedicated Girls’ STEM Lab.

BIRD STREET (UPHAM’S CORNER) COMMUNITY CENTER
Helping girls develop positive self-images and combat rising violence among girls through intense and inventive programming. Offering gender-specific programming that focuses on academic improvement (especially math), creative expression, and social/emotional wellness of 200 high-risk girls, ages 10-19.

BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER – HEY MAMA
Translating a birth and early parenting guide into Creole for at-risk, low-income Haitian women.

BOSTON AREA RAPE CRISIS CENTER
Training for first responders and counseling for adolescent survivors of sexual violence.

BROOKLINE COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER
Providing group mentoring for lower-income minority girls who are at risk for bullying due to social isolation. Funding a three-year grant in support of a group mentoring program.

BUDGET BUDDIES
Building financial literacy for low-income women.

CENTER FOR WOMEN AND ENTERPRISE
Training women to create small businesses.

CRITTENTON WOMEN’S UNION
Offering comprehensive support for single mothers searching for a way out of poverty.

FAMILIES FIRST PARENTING PROGRAM
Supporting parenting workshops and professional training for staff of transitional housing organizations serving women and families struggling with domestic violence.

FLYING CLOUD INSTITUTE
Funding the Young Women in Science (YWIS) program, which will include free after-school science clubs for female and nonbinary youth in grades 3-8, youth mentorship for high school and college students, and a weeklong summer STEM intensive.

GERMAINE LAWRENCE SCHOOL
Funding an arts therapy program for troubled girls unable to express themselves verbally.

GIRLS INC. OF GREATER LOWELL
Funding to support their multi-faceted programs for girls ages 5-18. The programs are designed to equip at-risk girls with valuable skills and resources; to boost self-esteem, increase interest in and promotion of formal education, instruct on healthy living practices, and heighten social awareness.

GREATER LAWRENCE FAMILY HEALTH CENTER
Creating a career pathway in nursing for girls from Lawrence High School.

HALEY HOUSE
Offering cooking, nutrition, and healthy lifestyle training for at-risk girls.

HEALTH CARE WITHOUT WALLS (formerly known as WOMEN OF MEANS)
Offering free health care and intensive nursing support to homeless women and children in shelters. Providing extensive support and counseling for pregnant and postnatal mothers.

HILLTOWN VILLAGE
It Takes a Village: Empowering women across Western Massachusetts who are facing rural isolation or urban poverty by expanding programs like basic needs deliveries and support for mothers who are suffering from postpartum depression.

HOMES FOR FAMILIES
Teaching homeless women to be advocates for the homeless.

HOPE AND COMFORT
Providing hygiene and personal care supplies to women and girls facing poverty.

JOOKENDER
Providing the virtual program “Go, Girls for STEAM!,” a pre-teen girls’ STEAM club.

JEREMIAH PROGRAM
Disrupting the cycle of poverty for single mothers and their children, two generations at a time through education and support.

JUSTICE RESOURCE INSTITUTE – MY LIFE MY CHOICE
Helping victims of the commercial sex industry become survivors and leaders in the fight against exploitation.

LEAP SELF DEFENSE, INC.
Supporting critical work in disrupting violence that affects girls and gender-expansive youth by providing critical life and self-defense skills to support their growth and safety.

MEDIAGIRLS
Teaching girls to advocate for themselves and others by providing them with mentorship, skills, and a platform to make and distribute content that challenges sexist media messages and gender stereotypes.

MOTHERS’ MILK BANK NORTHEAST
Marketing campaign funding to make the milk bank’s services known both to parents/mothers who need donor milk, and those who have donor milk to give.

ON THE RISE
Providing day programs for homeless and abused women.

ONE FAMILY SCHOLARS
Training for homeless women going from welfare to work.

ONE VOICE ECHOES
Funding a writing project for abused women.

PAIR PROJECT
Providing case-management (non-legal) services for women and children seeking asylum.

PROJECT HOPE
Training welfare mothers to be childcare providers. Training in literacy and English language to enable women to move toward self-sufficiency.

RAW ART WORKS
Offering arts education and therapy for inner city girls in Lynn.

REACH BEYOND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (REACH)
Providing advocacy training for Latina immigrant survivors of domestic abuse.

REACHING OUT ABOUT DEPRESSION (ROAD) [CAMBRIDGE HEALTH ALLIANCE]
Providing workshops, advocacy, and peer counseling for low-income women affected by situational depression.

RESPOND, INC.
Providing services through the first domestic violence program for women in a Massachusetts jail or prison.

ROCA, INC.
Improving the life opportunities of very high-risk young mothers so they can overcome trauma, violence, and poverty.

SCIENCE CLUB FOR GIRLS
Providing mentoring and tutoring in science for girls in kindergarten through high school.

SECOND STEP
Supporting mentoring for survivors of domestic violence, including public outreach and the publication of a book to help inspire, support, and lead others to healing.

STRONG WOMEN, STRONG GIRLS
Supporting mentoring from 100 college students to 300 Boston school girls in grades 3-5 to build healthy habits, concrete skills, and strong relationships.

TEEN VOICES
Funding mentoring, leadership training, and journalism training to write and publish Teen Voices magazine.

UNITED TEEN EQUALITY CENTER, LOWELL
Empowering young women to develop strong self-images and change their communities.

VICTIM RIGHTS LAW CENTER
Providing the following services: civil legal interventions for women who have been sexually assaulted, enabling them to return to everyday activities; and support for rape victims younger than 13 to provide them with legal recourse and remedy.

WOMEN’S BAR FOUNDATION OF MASSACHUSETTS
Empowering low-income women to end the cycle of domestic violence by providing the necessary legal assistance to sever the relationship with the abuser and the tools to secure appropriate custody arrangements and financial support.

WOMEN’S EDUCATIONAL CENTER
Providing services to survivors of domestic violence and other trauma.

WOMEN’S LUNCH PLACE
Providing funding for the legal program at WLP, which supports women who are experiencing legal issues that constitute barriers to their ability to find stable housing, care for children and loved ones, and/or build stable and healthy lives.

Israel Grants

Grants that serve women and girls in Israel

ADVA CENTER
Advocating to place more line items benefiting women in the Israeli government budget.

ALNUHUD
Providing training programs to increase high school graduation rates for Bedouin girls and guide them to university.

AJEEC NISPED
Leading a gap-year program for female high school graduates in the Bedouin community.

AMERICAN FRIENDS OF BEIT RUTH
Readying girls who have suffered trauma with professional and life skills to better prepare them for long-term sustainable employment.

ATZUM – SOCIAL JUSTICE
Foundation and maintenance of the Coalition Against Trafficking and Prostitution in Israel.

ARAB-JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER
Job-readiness training for unemployed Arab women from Tel Aviv-Jaffa, with focus on graphic design, bookkeeping, or daycare instruction.

CENTER FOR WOMEN’S JUSTICE
Supporting training and educational outreach to disseminate CWJ’s strategy for filing damage claims in civil courts against husbands who withhold a get.

ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT FOR WOMEN
Offering a business incubator to support low-income women in Haifa who have started micro-enterprises.

ELIFELET, CITIZENS FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN
Supporting status-less women and girls through after-school clubs, mentoring, tutoring, and other targeted programs.

EMET
Therapeutic program for women who have experienced sexual violence.

HAIFA RAPE CRISIS CENTER
Supporting training professionals in the identification, prevention, and treatment of sexual violence.

HILLEL – THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE
Serving Israeli women and children leaving ultra-Orthodoxy to help them integrate into secular Israeli society.

HOTLINE FOR MIGRANT WORKERS AND ISHA L’ISHA
Securing legal representation for victims of sex trafficking.

ISHA L’ISHA – HAIFA FEMINIST CENTER
Advocating in order to secure the social, medical, and legal rights of trafficking victims; direct intervention programs which include empowerment workshops to rehabilitate victims, and other strategies for combating sex trafficking.

ISRAEL WOMEN’S NETWORK
Advocating for women’s issues and legal assistance for precedent-setting cases.

ITACH-MAAKI
Fostering activism for women’s rights, including Jewish and Arab women and law students at the University of Haifa.

ITWORKS
Offering hi-tech training for low-income and marginalized women in the Greater Haifa area.

JERUSALEM RAPE CRISIS CENTER
Training educators to recognize signs of sexual abuse in young children.

JEWISH WOMEN’S FUNDS COLLABORATIVE GRANT
Funding public education, programs, and/or advocacy efforts to effect policy and workplace practices for Israeli women and female contract laborers.

KESHER
Programming for Jewish and Arab mothers of children with disabilities. Building personal, family, and community empowerment in Haifa and the energy to enable these mothers to deal with the experience of parenting a child with special needs and all its complexity.

KAIMA NAHALAL
Promoting economic empowerment through farming and agriculture.

KIDMA AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAIFA
Funding a program for immigrant girls to combat relationship violence.

LEKET
Funding an agricultural gleaning initiative that collects produce left in fields and orchards and distributes it to needy Israelis.

MAHAPACH-TAGHIR
Empowering disadvantaged women through higher education.

KOL HA’ISHA
Teaching business skills to help poor women become self-sufficient.

MAHUT CENTER
Providing skills training, job search assistance, and job placement for low-income women.

MASLAN
Funding to raise awareness about unhealthy relationships and prevent sexual violence among young people.

NEVE YOSEF COMMUNITY CENTER
Offering a trans-generational project linking Ethiopian women and their daughters through traditional embroidery skills.

RACKMAN CENTER AT BAR ILAN UNIVERSITY
Advocating for women’s rights in divorce proceedings.

SHALSHELET
Introducing divorce mediation acceptable to religious courts.

SHUTAFOT
Funding a collaborative grant of 17 women’s funds from the U.S. and Israel to develop a strong feminist voice whose aim is to promote gender equality and women’s rights, to eradicate exclusion and discrimination of women in Israel, and to minimize gender gaps on a variety of issues.

TAMKIN
Empowering girls with special needs and learning difficulties through education, providing physical and mental health support, and fostering friendships.

THE EDEN CENTER
Making the mikvah welcoming and accessible to all while using mikvah spaces and their history as a platform to increase women’s health and safety in Israel.

TRANSGENDERS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
Trans Doula Project: Holistic support for transgender women through their transition journeys.

VAN LEER JERUSALEM INSTITUTE
Creating The Gender Index, an innovative tool to expose and monitor gaps between women and men, as well as the status of women from different social groups in Israel, and helping to promote gender equality policies.

YEDID
Providing economic skills training for immigrant girls to help break the cycle of poverty.

YELLIN COLLEGE
Supporting training and skill development for poor women so they can enter the workforce and earn a sustainable wage.

YOZMOT ATID
Supporting women in the Arab, Jewish, ultra-Orthodox, and Druze community who are small business owners through skill-building training, mentoring, and networking support.

Many organizations have received more than one grant. Many grants have been renewed for up to three years.