Episode 48 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. We continue our series of messages from the stage of the 2024 JFN International Conference. This week, Oded Adomi Leshem, author of Hope Amidst Conflict, gives his perspective on hope, resilience, and vision, and shares a first person account of Israel's civic strength in the wake of October 7th.

Episode 47 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. We continue our series of messages from the stage of the 2024 JFN International Conference. This week, Dan Senor, host of 'The Genius of Israel', speaks at the JFN International Conference about what makes Israel unique and why it will come back from the events of October 7th.

Episode 46 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Explore the vital role of philanthropy in Israel's current challenges and opportunities for growth. JFN Israel Executive Director Sigal Yaniv Feller highlights the transition from nation-building to society-building, underscoring the importance of strategic philanthropic efforts in shaping Israel's resilient future.

After the unthinkable events of October 7th and the subsequent crises in Israel, we made the decision to suspend the podcast so that we could better focus on Israel’s recovery. Now, we are resuming our work on What Gives, sharing with you expert knowledge in the field of Jewish philanthropy. Episode 45 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. We felt it appropriate to transition back into the show by sharing some of the powerful messages presented at the...

Episode 44 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Dr. Mijal Bitton, Rosh Kehilla and co-founder of the Downtown Minyan, talks to JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny about being a translator for the stories of Sephardi, Mizrahi, and other non-Ashkenazi Jewish communities. Andres and Mijal talk about what the trajectory of those communities has been in the United States, and the misunderstandings that the larger American Jewish community has about the...

Episode 43 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Rabbi Leon Morris, President of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, talks to JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny about his essay in Sources, "In Defense of Surrender in Liberal Jewish Life." Morris argues that a Jewish response to individual agency having eclipsed every other important value is necessary, and can be done through a sense of surrender (of our defenses, our time, and our notion of...

Episode 42 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Yotam Polizer, CEO of IsraAID, talks to JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny about how IsraAid is able to deploy to places where Israel doesn't have diplomatic relations, and the knock on effects of sending aid from Israel to unfriendly territories. Yotam spoke about how a humanitarian organization fundraises at times when there isn’t a disaster in the news, and about the steps that he and his team take to...

Episode 41 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Casper ter Kuile, CEO of the Nearness, talks to JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny about Casper’s work in seeking to create a new structure of community experience that uses the ease and accessibility of the internet while also building local connections that become deep friendships. Casper and Andres dive into what the spiritual leadership of the post-COVID world looks like, which models of community we...

Episode 40 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Award-winning author, essayist, and professor of literature Dara Horn talks to JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny about her recent essay in the Atlantic, Is Holocaust Education Making Anti-Semitism Worse? They speak about this hallmark of Jewish education, and education about Jews, that has been so prevalent for the last 50 years. Dara talks about what she found in her research for the piece, her...

Episode 39 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Daniel Smokler, Chief Innovation Officer of the Office of Innovation, talks to JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny about how the philosophy of l'chadaysh et ha'yashan, renewing the old, informs his practice of innovation, how his family history of philanthropy influences his own journey, the changes in rabbinical leadership, and the delayed awakening that could come out of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Episode 38 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. David Bernstein, Founder and CEO of the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values, talks to JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny about the threat of illiberalism facing the Jewish community and the United States at large. They discuss what kind of America the Jewish community should be striving to live in and how that can be achieved. 

Episode 37 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Businessman and social activist Eli Paley, talks to JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny about strategies for opening our communities to the Haredi sector.

Episode 36 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Ari Wallach, Founder and Executive Director of Longpath Labs, talks to JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny about the case for presenting a positive vision of the future. We discussed the long-term goal of a vibrant and meaningful Jewish future, and spoke about working backwards to determine what steps are necessary to get there

Episode 35 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute, talks to JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny about the consequences of the new Israeli government’s judicial reform initiatives, how today’s issues compare to existential threats of Israel’s past, and Yohanan's hopes and aspirations for the future of Israeli democracy.

Episode 34 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Carly Maisel, Global CEO of The Kirsh Foundation, talks to JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny about Shine a Light on Antisemitism, a new initiative that she is spearheading. They speak about offering a new take on an intractable problem, partnering among funders, and how to get competitive organizations to work together.

In Episode 33 of "What Gives," author and former Knesset member Einat Wilf talks to JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny about why so many people in the world misunderstand Israel and Zionism.

Episode 32 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Eric K. Ward, a nationally recognized expert on authoritarian movements, hate groups and preserving inclusive democracy, talks to JFN's Andres Spokoiny about the importance of fostering respectful and open debate.

Episode 31 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. New York Times columnist and Sapir Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens talks with JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny about the importance and limits of civil debate and making room for a diversity of opinion in a time of polarization and echo chambers.

Episode 30 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Brother and sister Jonathan Goodman and Shawna Goodman Sone (a JFN board member), of the Morris and Rosalind Goodman Family Foundation, talk about growing up in a philanthropic family, Jewish summer camp, and their shared funding interests.

Episode 29 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. In Episode 29 of "What Gives?", the Jewish philanthropy podcast, Amy Mandel of Tzedek Social Justice Fund talks about participatory grantmaking, her decision to cede power over her foundation's grantmaking, and what it was like growing up the daughter of Morton Mandel, a major American Jewish philanthropist.

In Episode 28 of "What Gives?", the Jewish philanthropy podcast, Maimonides Fund COO and Sapir Managing Editor Felicia Herman talks about "geeking out" in Jewish historical archives, Jewish giving circles, and the impact of the pandemic on Jewish giving.          

In Episode 27 of "What Gives?", Danny Hakim, a board member of the Azrieli Foundation talks about the power of sports to solve social problems and bring disparate groups together. The founder of Budo for Peace (now called One Team – Sports for Social Change), Danny recently launched the Sports for Social Change Coalition, a growing movement of sports for peace stakeholders in Israel. Mapping of Sports for Peace Coalition (in Hebrew) Sports for Peace Coalition Info (in English)  

In episode 26 of Jewish Funders Network's "What Gives?" philanthropy podcast, Fay Twersky, the president and director of the Atlanta-based Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation (and former vice president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation) discusses everything from the critical role philanthropy played in the LGBTQ rights movement to participatory grantmaking, to strengthening grantmaker-grantseeker relationships,          

In Episode 25 of JFN's Jewish philanthropy podcast, former JFN Board Chair Georgette Bennett talks about her new book, "Thou Shalt Not Stand Idly By," her experience growing up the child of Jewish refugees, and how to forge multifaith coalitions.