Avi Chai

This piece is cross-posted here on eJewishPhilanthropy.com. by Yossi Prager Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill once said, “All politics is local.” Should philanthropy be the same? AVI CHAI’s spend-down goals include building funding partnerships with others whose values and interests align with ours. I have therefore had the privilege of meeting with and learning from impressive and dedicated Jewish philanthropists across the country. Time and again, I have learned that most funders focus their … Read More »

In February of 2010, the Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston (SSDSGB) had an opportunity. A Jewish early childhood education program which was located on the school’s property abruptly decided to close.  Although unaffiliated with SSDSGB, this program had been a wonderful partner in Jewish education and was a significant feeder to the school’s Kindergarten.  Faced with a decision about what to do with this suddenly vacant rental space, some members of the SSDSGB … Read More »

Following the inaugural Day School Video Academy, AVI CHAI asked our winners of the Popular Vote category to share some tips and lessons learned from the making of their award-winning videos. This should be especially helpful for those looking to enter Jewish Day School Video Academy Awards: The Sequel. Submissions open on March 22. One theme running through the winners’ responses relates to the power of networking. The schools found that a combination of in-person, … Read More »

With a theme of “Reach Beyond the Bunk,” this year’s Foundation for Jewish Camp Leaders Assembly took place from March 11-13th in New Brunswick, NJ. In true manifestation of the strength of the growing field of Jewish camping, over 650 were in attendance; in representation of beyond-the-bunk reach, only around 40% were camping professionals – the rest were comprised of lay leaders, Jewish Federation and foundation representatives, and others who care deeply about Jewish camp … Read More »

The AVI CHAI Foundation is sparking a timely conversation for the field of day school education: What does effective leadership look like in a day school? In this issue of RAVSAK’s HaYidion, Program Officer Rabbi Dr. Michael Berger shares a Framework for Effective Jewish Educational Leadership, providing nine distinct areas of day school functions requiring effective leadership. It is our hope that specifying these capacities will lead to recognition of the contemporary complexities of running … Read More »

By: Allison Fine The Social Media Academy supported by The AVI CHAI Foundation recently concluded its first pilot effort. Micah Sifry and I wrote a report reflecting on the process and immediate results of the Academy. The full report can be accessed on the Foundation’s website here. I’ve written about the process and participants before here. In short, the Academy ran for six months and included three in-person workshops, individual coaching, online support and sharing, … Read More »