The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) has announced a three-year, $9.5 million grant from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation to help develop top talent across the Jewish communal field.

The initiative, housed in JFNA’s Mandel Center for Leadership Excellence, will focus on strengthening the leadership pipeline across JFNA’s network of affiliated organizations and communities and provide high-level multi-functional training and tools to expand and support professional development at all levels, from early-career professionals to C-Suite roles. The federation system employs approximately 3,500 full-time employees and an additional 2,500 part-time, seasonal, and temporary staff. According to JFNA, post-pandemic changes in the labor force have made it increasingly challenging to recruit and retain top-level talent.

“The great needs of our Jewish communities demand great professionals who are equipped to lead…with vision, intent, and state-of-the-art professionalism,” said JFNA talent officer Liz Fisher. “This…grant will enable us to make an unprecedented investment to support the professionals across our federation system so that they can best serve the field and help our communities flourish.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/SrdjanPav)