American Jewish University (AJU) in Los Angeles announced that it has been awarded a total of $185,000 in grant funds from the Covenant Foundation, CANVAS and the National Center to Encourage Judaism.
The funding will go towards building and strengthening educational, cultural and community programs at the university.
As part of $1.7 million in new grants that the Covenant Foundation is distributing in 2022, AJU has received a $150,000 grant to create a new initiative, “Mikvah L’Amcha: Mikvah for the People.” This program will connect new audiences in the Jewish community to AJU’s Community Mikvah—the only pluralistic mikvah in Southern California—through educational partnerships, replicable curricular materials for partner organizations and a space for healing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Mikvah is a sacred part of the Jewish tradition and has been a powerful experience for our community through milestones and difficult moments,” said Kyla Sokoll-Ward, AJU director of the Community Mikvah. “The support of the Covenant Foundation allows us to dramatically expand access to the mikvah and develop curricular materials that can be utilized by partners to create meaningful mikvah experiences across denominations.”
AJU has also received a grant from CANVAS, a program that elevates the ecosystem of Jewish arts and culture in North America through giving, education and cross-sector exposure. This $25,000 grant will be used to strengthen and build Jewish arts and culture networks, and to increase the quantity and quality of support for Jewish creatives and creatives working in the Jewish cultural space.
The university has also received a $10,000 grant from the National Center to Encourage Judaism to help market and distribute a new video series within its “Introduction to Judaism” curriculum. Titled On One Foot: A Taste of Judaism, the course is a series of 19 videos.
