InterfaithCincy, in partnership with A Blessing to One Another, is offering Interfaith Community Engagement Grants. Any Faith community or any faith-based youth group that partners with a faith community or youth group from another faith tradition to work on a community engagement project can apply. To view the grant application, please click here. For Information and application form contact Dr. James Buchanan at A Blessing to One Another at [email protected].
Faith Communities Go Green is seeking an Independent Contractor as a Program Manager
Faith Communities Go Green (FCGG) has an opportunity for an Independent Contractor to serve as Program Manager to assist FCGG with an Energy Efficiency upgrade programs for faith community facilities in the Greater Cincinnati area. The focus will be on faith facilities in the underserved and minority neighborhoods plus other faith communities interested in upgrading their facility with energy efficiency. Relationship building and understand what the congregations care about will be a key aspect of the role. Work will also include other FCGG programming. (FCGG.org)
FCGG began as a Green Umbrella Impact Team and is now a collaboration of Green Umbrella, an environmental sustainability organization, and EquaSion, an interfaith organization. FCGG mission is to create a more sustainable and equitable future for all by mobilizing their moral voice to reduce the risk of catastrophic climate change and its impact on Greater Cincinnati.
We are dedicated to building diverse, inclusive, and authentic faith-based projects. If you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply. Lived experience is equally important as educational experience. We are committed to making sure our applicant pool is diverse and reserve the right to extend the application period or seek additional candidates if it is not. Application review will begin September 27, 2023, but the position will remain open until it is filled. No phone calls please.
For application details, see the job posting here: https://fcgg.org/job-position/
Department of Energy Grant for Regional Faith Communities
In June the Department of Energy announced a new pilot grant program for nonprofits entitled “Renew America’s Nonprofits.” The Renew America's Nonprofits program—referred to in President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as the Energy Efficiency Materials Pilot Program—will reduce carbon emissions, improve health and safety, and lower utilities costs at buildings owned and operated by 501(c)(3) nonprofits, allowing critical funds to be redirected to mission-focused work. This grant was announced in our last newsletter.
Faith Communities Go Green, a collaborative project between Green Umbrella, the premiere regional environmental collective action nonprofit and EquaSion, the premiere Interfaith nonprofit, assembled a team to attempt to collect all of the information and resources to apply for the grant. The plan was to distribute up to $200,000 each to diverse faith communities that own their own buildings to increase energy efficiency. The larger vision was that this would not only benefit the faith communities by saving money but also impact the communities which they serve.
The Biden administration has initiated a new dimension for many of their federal grant programs called Justice 40 Initiative. Quoting from that initiative: “For the first time in our nation’s history, the Federal Government has made it a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution.” Our plan was that 80% would be from the designated Justice 40 areas and that 100% of the grant money would have community benefits for the disadvantaged and marginalized communities in our region.
Once the DOE issued the full Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) in late June there was less than two months to assemble all the information and to submit the grant which was due on August 3rd . Teams within Green Umbrella and Faith Communities Go Green worked diligently during this period attempting to compile the necessary information as well as working to secure the matching funds necessary (called “cost share” in the FOA). Significant progress was made on a great many fronts. We compiled a list of over 400 faith communities that might be potential candidates to receive the funds. We communicated with a broad range of potential partners who could do the work funded with particular focus on minority and women owned businesses. We contacted numerous organizations who might help with the cost share. And, perhaps most importantly, we began the formulating an overall vision of how a grant such as this might act as a catalyst to use faith communities as conduits that would help educate communities, particularly underserved, disadvantaged communities, about sustainability and to help bring them into the green economy through work force development, energy savings and improved health.
In the end the timeframe given us by the DOE was too short and the informational, administrative and financial requirements were too great. With a little more than a week until the submission deadline for the application, the decision was made by the group that we were not able to submit a grant this year. Ryan Mooney-Bullock, the Executive Director of Green Umbrella has issued a letter to the community, explaining our reasons for not submitting a grant this year but also making it clear that the very productive process we commenced in response to the FOA, will continue with the hope of applying for this next year or for other grants to support this type of work. Here is Mooney-Bullock’s letter to the community:
“Green Umbrella has decided it is not able to reasonably complete a competitive application for the Renew America’s Nonprofits funding opportunity from the Department of Energy. Even with the project team’s extensive efforts, we were not able to pull together all of the details required for the proposal. A huge missing link was commitments for the $750,000 to $1,000,000 in cost share dollars we needed to assure the DOE we could bring to the table. We also recognized the administrative burden the program would place on our organization, and all of the sub-recipients and partners, and did not feel like we could commit the extensive resources needed to comply with all of the requirements laid out in the funding description.
But, this is not the end of this important and growing body of work! We are thrilled with the level of connections, new relationships and opportunities for shared work that have come out of the conversations we have had through this project. We want to keep the momentum going and are in the process of mapping out next steps.
Faith Communities Go Green will be reaching out in the coming weeks with more details on how we can keep this collaborative work moving forward. Some of the specific ideas we have heard that we would love to explore with you are:
Hosting an open forum for congregations interested in this work to talk and explore other options for funding, and how they can collaborate with each other to advance shared goals.
Finding ways to connect so FCGG can understand your priorities and needs, and better support you in this work moving forward
Sharing resources being collected with partners, including women and minority owned businesses that may be good leads for your projects
Connecting community members with workforce development and apprenticeship programs in the green economy that lead to family-sustaining jobs
Connecting you with other grant funding and financing options to help get your projects completed to improve the performance and usability of your buildings."
For all of those reading this who would like to join us as we continue this work please contact us at [email protected].
The Cincinnati Jewish PARENT Mental Health Survey — Request for your assistance
* This is an excerpt, reprinted from Jewish Family Services.*
Dear friends and colleagues,
Jewish Family Service requests your help to encourage Jewish individuals or those living in Jewish households between the ages of 12 and 26 to complete a Youth Metal Health Survey, the results of which will help assess our community’s mental health gaps and needs for this age demographic.
That survey is accessible at the QR code and link below.
The Ask—please share this link and/or QR code in any upcoming external or internal communications such as emails, printed newsletters, or via your social media channels.
The survey was developed by the Jewish Federation of North America’s BeWell initiative, in consultation with Rosov Consulting. The Miami Jewish community has already fielded this survey.
The Backstory.
The Federation funded a one-year mental health pilot initiative at Jewish Family Service (JFS) in 2021. Last year, the Foundation committed three (3) years of support for JFS to expand that effort. Recently, the Foundation, in partnership with the Federation and JFS, launched a local Mental Health Resiliency Roundtable, comprised of professionals, practitioners, and community volunteers to work collectively to identify gap areas and generate creative solutions on how to address them.
Why is this Important?
In an uncertain world, young people face increasing levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns of an accelerating mental health crisis, with more than 4 in 10 teens reporting that they feel “persistently sad or hopeless,” and 1 in 5 saying they have contemplated suicide. Now that we’ve heard from them, we want to hear from their parents to determine where there is alignment and where additional work might need to be done.
Mobilizing for Change.
As part of Cincinnati 2030, the Jewish community is mobilizing to create the support young people need as they face challenging moments. As a community, we are working to counteract:
Social stigma which prevents people from seeking help.
Lack of practical knowledge about the stressors young people face.
Professionals, educators and parents don’t know where to turn for information, guidance, or a supportive community.
A critical shortage of accessible or affordable mental health professionals.
Please help us get the word out starting today! JFS will share key take-aways with the community once results are final. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Sincerely and Shabbat Shalom,
Brian Jaffee, Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati,
Danielle V. Minson, Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
Liz Vogel, Jewish Family Service
Interfaith Vigil for Peace in Ukraine
Please join us for an interfaith vigil for peace in Ukraine this Sunday, March 27, at 7pm. Co-sponsored by Christ Church Cathedral and EquaSion, this event will be held in-person at Christ Church Cathedral, 318 East Fourth Street or can be viewed at cincinnaticathedral.com/join-online.This event is free and open to the public.
Donations are encouraged to Matthew 25: Ministries, which is currently shipping aid to Ukraine and to the surrounding areas to help people impacted by the conflict.
Donations benefit Matthew 25: Ministries and their work with the Ukraine Crisis. Enter the word “Ukraine” in the Special Purpose field of the online form and 100% of your donation will go to their Ukraine relief work.The following religious communities and faith-based organizations are united in prayer for peace in Ukraine and in urging donations to humanitarian relief efforts.
American Jewish Committee (AJC), Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Baha'i Community of Cincinnati, Beulah Missionary Baptist Church, Buddhist Community of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Friends Meeting, CME Church-Second Episcopal District, Diocese of Southern Ohio, Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati, Hindu Society of Greater Cincinnati, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Intercommunity Justice & Peace Center (IJPC), Interfaith Center at Miami University, Interfaith Cincy, Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati, Jewish Community Relations Council-Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, K.K. Bene Israel/Rockdale Temple, Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church, Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, New Thought Unity Center, Philippus United Church of Christ, St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, Sikh Community of Greater Cincinnati, The Grail, Women's Interfaith Network of Cincinnati (WINC), Zoroastrian Association of Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana/FEZANA
Interfaith Vigil for Peace in Ukraine
Please join us for an interfaith vigil for peace in Ukraine this Sunday, March 27, at 7pm. Co-sponsored by Christ Church Cathedral and EquaSion, this event will be held in-person at Christ Church Cathedral, 318 East Fourth Street or can be viewed at cincinnaticathedral.com/join-online.This event is free and open to the public.
Donations are encouraged to Matthew 25: Ministries, which is currently shipping aid to Ukraine and to the surrounding areas to help people impacted by the conflict.
Donations benefit Matthew 25: Ministries and their work with the Ukraine Crisis. Enter the word “Ukraine” in the Special Purpose field of the online form and 100% of your donation will go to their Ukraine relief work.The following religious communities and faith-based organizations are united in prayer for peace in Ukraine and in urging donations to humanitarian relief efforts.
American Jewish Committee (AJC), Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Baha'i Community of Cincinnati, Beulah Missionary Baptist Church, Buddhist Community of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Friends Meeting, CME Church-Second Episcopal District, Diocese of Southern Ohio, Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati, Hindu Society of Greater Cincinnati, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Intercommunity Justice & Peace Center (IJPC), Interfaith Center at Miami University, Interfaith Cincy, Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati, Jewish Community Relations Council-Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, K.K. Bene Israel/Rockdale Temple, Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church, Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, New Thought Unity Center, Philippus United Church of Christ, St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, Sikh Community of Greater Cincinnati, The Grail, Women's Interfaith Network of Cincinnati (WINC), Zoroastrian Association of Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana/FEZANA
SUBSCRIBEReceive news and updates! We respect your privacy.
Interfaith Cincy
