The Jewish Federation of Ottawa’s Jewish Journeys grant helps organizations make their programs more accessible to boost participation in Jewish community life. It provides up to $30,000 over two years to successful applicants. In its most recent cycle, for 2024 to 2026, the Federation awarded Jewish Journeys grants to individual community members for the first time.

Michael Kent and Yulia Elgin each received Jewish Journeys grants as individuals, each representing active and dedicated communities whose members have deepened their connection to Jewish life through programming made possible by the grant.

Thanks to the grant, Elgin was able to enhance programming targeted to the Russian-speaking Jewish community. This, she said, helped her bring together a whole new group of previously unaffiliated Jews through shared language and culture.

 The grant “has allowed us to create clubs for different subsets of the Russian-speaking community,” she said. “We’ve started a senior’s club, a women’s club, and we’ve been able to host events for children and their families.”

Because of this, Elgin has also been able to connect Russian-speaking Jews to legacy Jewish institutions across Ottawa, including Federation, Jewish Family Services (JFS), the Soloway JCC (SJCC), and the congregations.

Kent’s focus is on young adults. With the grant, he was able to create what he calls the “Jew Crew,” which had the goal of bringing together young adults over foods and shared Jewish moments, as well as to reduce the feeling of isolation that many young adults experience in that period of their lives.

“As a result of the grant, Jew Crew successfully advanced its core goal: making Jewish young adults feel genuinely welcome as their true Jewish selves in a Jewish space,” he said. “The funding enabled us to offer consistent, low-barrier programming that fostered belonging, connection, and broader communal engagement.”

The Jew Crew was able to hold six different social gatherings that in total engaged over 180 participants, with many attending multiple events.

For both Elgin and Kent, their communities shared that the programming made them feel more connected to Jewish life in Ottawa. 

“The impact of the program was felt most clearly in participants’ sense of belonging and connection to Jewish life in Ottawa,” said Kent. “Multiple participants described Jew Crew as their entry point into the local Jewish community and a catalyst for forming lasting friendships.”

“Before beginning my programs, many people didn’t know all the things Jewish Ottawa had to offer,” added Elgin. “Once I was able to connect them in their native language, new doors were opened.”

By using the funds to build capacity and expand programming opportunities, both the Russian-speaking and young adult communities have been brought into the fold and have been able to get more entrenched in the fabric of Jewish life in Ottawa. 

Both Elgin and Kent have also applied for Federation’s Microgrants program, another funding initiative that they say has been very helpful in supporting their efforts. 

“After running successful programs with Microgrants, we proved that we needed more funding to meet the demand of the community,” said Elgin. “The Jewish Journeys grant is what not only helped us to create bigger events but also develop relationships through partnering with different synagogues and organizations.”

While this grant is no longer open for applications, there are still other ways Federation can help you build programs. You can explore your options by clicking here or by reaching out to Federation’s Community Relationship Coordinator Amos Bitzan at [email protected].