Rachel Wasserman’s 2022 Passover Message

Ten years ago, three visionary leaders – Carol Cooper, Ilene Engel and Sara Franco – knew it was time for women in Atlanta to come together, pool their resources, and stand up together on behalf of women and girls in our community, so they founded Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta along with 30 other Founding Trustees.

In 2012, they never could have imagined that we would be where we are now. Ten years later, we have allocated over $1.6 million in grants to nearly 60 organizations and have engaged almost 170 women as Trustees in our hands-on, collective grantmaking model.

In the early years, we would often talk about how we were in our infancy. As we expanded our team and organizational structure, we said we were in kindergarten. And now, as we approach our 10th anniversary celebration on April 27, we have truly reached the “other side.”

While we continue to grow and stretch, we are no longer a startup, but rather a robust organization effecting social change for women and girls throughout Atlanta, nationally, and in Israel. In addition to our grantmaking, we have engaged thousands of people through our educational programming, and we have created new outlets for Jewish women to learn and connect through our Agents of Change Training program, ACT.

As we come together to celebrate 10 years, we invite the community to celebrate with us. Please visit jwfatlanta.org/ten and join us as we hear from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC Director, who will be in conversation with CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen.

You can attend virtually or in-person, and either way you will be showing your support for women and girls in the Jewish community.

Rachel Wasserman is executive director of the Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta, celebrating 10 years this month.