Jewish Federation of Tulsa

PROJECT PURPOSE

The Jewish Federation of Tulsa is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to is to preserve and enhance Jewish life and well-being in Eastern Oklahoma, Israel, and the entire world. As the operating agency for the Charles Schusterman Jewish Community Center, our programs serve the general population, primarily children residing in Tulsa, OK. Core programs include 1) Art and Holocaust education through the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art for schools with an enrollment of 50% or more economically disadvantaged students, 2) Camp Shalom?a summer day camp for K-6th grade students of all backgrounds, 3) and community recreation events and fitness activities. JFT faced a significant loss of revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic and is requesting ARPA funding to help recoup lost income for the general operations of these three core programs. We are requesting these funds to support general operations greatly impacted by the pandemic and the significant loss of revenue we experienced as an organization.

EVIDENCE

The Jewish Federation of Tulsa has been a deeply rooted member of the Tulsa community for over eighty years. Many of our board members have served for over 10 or 20 years, signaling their personal investment in our organization?s longstanding success. We are fortunate to have strong financial support from our local philanthropic partners and our dedicated donor base. The JFT has operated Camp Shalom since the 1970s and has enriched the lives of students of all backgrounds with one of the most programmatically engaging day camps in the region. Additionally, the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art has operated programs that engage underserved students in Holocaust and arts education programs.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

The primary demographics that our programs impact are school aged children and individuals over 55 years of age. Through our any given child program, student and educator holocaust education programs and school out programs over a thousand families are impacted annually. In 2020, these programs did not occur. Through safety and sanitary precautions, our reach was greatly reduced in 2021. Many childcare and education programs were closed during this time impacting young families. While our recreation and fitness center are open to the public, there is concentration of members over 55 years of age. Much of this population were high risk of contracting Covid-19 and did not feel safe to attend public gatherings or fitness centers.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

Project performance is based on the number of individuals served, including demographic breakdowns of Camp Shalom participants, Community Center members, and museum program participants. Established in 1938, the JFT has decades of experience managing private, state, and federal funds and has a full-time staff and accounting procedure to ensure the timely and compliant use and reporting of funds.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma