Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen foundation supports civic engagement, homelessness, education, and social justice issues in the United States—primarily in Washington D.C.—and in Israel.
IP TAKE: This long-established funder does not accept requests for funding except from organizations that have previously received grants from the foundation. This is a crowded space that keeps out many new grantseekers. Network with its previous grantees to learn how to be one of the few to get on this funder’s radar.
PROFILE: The Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation was established in 1959 in Washington D.C. Cohen, a rabbi since the age of 17, immigrated to Washington from Israel in 1915 and opened a kosher butcher, which expanded over time to become the Giant supermarket chain. Originally established to coordinate the Cohen family’s charitable giving, under the direction of the couple’s daughter Lillian the foundation’s mission has expanded to “promote peaceful shared society among Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel; protect reproductive choice and health; provide human services and affordable housing programs; protect the environment; and increase citizen involvement in civic affairs and social justice.” Its current program areas are Shared Society in Israel, Social Justice & Civic Affairs, Civic Engagement, Jewish Programs, Reproductive Health & Choice, and Environment.
Grants for Democracy and Civic Engagement
NNCF provides grants for democracy and civic engagement through several of its program areas. Grants for Shared Society in Israel work to preserve “the essence of the State of Israel as a democracy” by promoting civil rights and liberties of Israeli Arabs, especially through “integrated, bilingual public education for Jewish and Arab children in Israel.” The foundation’s Civic Engagement program area supports organizations throughout the United States working in the fields of “civic engagement, social justice and voter education.” Its main priority is “integrated voter mobilization with a particular focus on communities of color.”
Past grantees for democracy and civic engagement include the New Israel Fund, J Street Education Fund, Center for Popular Democracy, Fair Elections Center, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Voter Participation Center, Voto Latino, and Community Change. Note that the foundation prioritizes organizations working in Israel and Washington D.C.
Grants for Environmental and Marine Conservation
Environment program “makes a limited number of environmental grants in the areas of science-based ocean conservation, environmental health and recycling/reuse.” The foundation doesn’t offer a grantmaking strategy here, preferring to fund a handful of issues in this space. Past environmental grantees include Center for Environmental Health, Community Forklift, Environmental Law Institute, and Marine Conservation Institute.
Grants for Women and Girls
Reproductive Health & Choice grants focus “on providing teens and young women with the information and resources to make informed choices about when and whether to have children.” While the foundation makes grants throughout the United States, it prioritizes “programs that increase availability and affordability of long-acting reversible contraceptives for teens and young women in under-resourced communities in the District of Columbia and suburban Maryland.” The Cohen Foundation’s women and girls’-related grantmaking is laser-focused on their reproductive health, which empowers economic and education development. Past women and girls-related grantees include Community Clinic Inc., DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care, Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington DC, Inc., and Unity Health Care, Inc.
Grants for Public Health
NNCF makes grants for public health through multiple grantmaking programs. Its Reproductive Health & Choice program seeks to help young women and teens make informed decisions about pregnancy. It also works to increase access to safe and affordable contraceptives. The foundation also makes grants for public health through the Social Justice & Civic Affairs program, which funds organizations that provide access to public benefits and other services.
Previous health grantees include Community of Hope, Inc., DC Appleseed Center, Washington AIDS Partnership, DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care, and Friendship Place.
Grants for Housing, Homelessness, and Community Development
The foundation makes grants for housing and homelessness through its Social Justice & Civic Affairs program. Funds support “organizations that help individuals and families achieve self-sufficiency and attain safe, dignified and secure housing.” The types of programs and organizations that receive funding include those that “advocate for and provide supportive transitional and permanent housing, access to public benefits, case management, basic food and shelter, and legal representation.”
NNCF prioritizes Washington D.C. programs that provide a combination of advocacy and direct services that align with the District of Columbia’s Homeward DC strategic plan to end long-term homelessness. Past grantees include Bread for the City, Inc., DC Fair Budget Coalition, N Street Village, Inc., Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, DC Alliance of Youth Advocates, and Miriam’s Kitchen.
Grants for Jewish Causes
The foundation makes grants for Jewish causes in the United States through its Jewish Programs initiative, which seeks to support organizations promoting “core programs of the Jewish community, primarily in the Greater Washington area.” It also prioritizes “local and national Jewish social justice organizations that mobilize philanthropic investments and hands-on volunteer support to help alleviate poverty in the District of Columbia and the United States.” The Shared Society in Israel program works to build “a shared society that welcomes the full and equal participation of both Jewish and Arab citizens.” To accomplish this, the foundation “focuses on the development of integrated, bilingual public education for Jewish and Arab children in Israel.” The Foundation states that education efforts are the key to addressing the divisions between Israel’s diverse communities. NNCF considers its single most important grantee in this area to be Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish-Arab Education in Israel.
Previous grantees include Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, Berkshire Hills Eisenberg Camp, Jewish Federation of Greater Naples, Jews United for Justice, and American University Center for Israel Studies.
Important Grant Details:
NNCF does not accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding except from organizations that have previously received grants. Grants generally range from $10,000 to $150,000. Previous grantees may submit requests either through the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers Common Grant Application or by submitting a proposal narrative and financial information. Deadlines vary by program area.
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