Application Deadline: April 13, 2012

GRANT GUIDELINES

History
BJH Foundation for Senior Services is a public foundation that was formed as a successor to the Blumenthal Jewish Home for the Aged (the "Home"), which was established in Clemmons, NC in 1962. The Home provided nursing care for Jewish residents of North and South Carolina.

By the late 1990's, the number of Jewish residents served at the Home had declined significantly; and the operating costs of a stand-alone skilled nursing facility generated substantial financial losses. As a result, the Board of Directors of the Home engaged in a transition plan to secure ongoing nursing home care for all existing residents of the Home and to continue its mission of service to Jewish seniors in North and South Carolina.

A for-profit operator of skilled and assisted living facilities - Universal Health Care - now owns and operates the Blumenthal Jewish Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (BJNRC) in Greensboro, NC. Although BJNRC retains the Blumenthal family name, the Home no longer owns or operates the nursing facility.

Proceeds from the sale of the Clemmons facility were combined with an existing endowment to form the BJH Foundation for Senior Services in 2006. Since 2006, the BJH Foundation based in Greensboro, NC has made grant awards to organizations providing services and programs for the Jewish elderly of North and South Carolina in accordance with Jewish values and beliefs. In addition, the Foundation assists Jewish residents at BJNRC by providing funds for religious and social programs and kosher food.

Mission
The mission of the BJH Foundation for Senior Services is to enhance the lives of Jewish seniors residing in North and South Carolina in accordance with Jewish values and beliefs.

The Foundation is strongly committed to increase the endowment and to demonstrate sound fiscal management for future generations. This can be accomplished by financial support of the Foundation from the broader community in support of this goal.

Vision
The BJH Foundation, working toward a vision of improving the lives of Jewish seniors, will strive to:

• Develop a model foundation to better serve Jewish seniors indefinitely in the Carolinas.
• Extend a nurturing and caring hand to Jewish seniors in the Carolinas based upon Jewish culture, beliefs, values and traditions, especially those with unmet needs.
• Encourage innovation and excellence in programs and activities that improve the quality of life and joy for Jewish elderly.
  

Values
The BJH Foundation values:

• The nurture and care of seniors in a way that enables them to maintain their dignity and a will to enjoy life.
• Relationships and connections that build trust.
• Integrity and accountability in the stewardship of funds.
• Partnership participation from the local Jewish communities.
  

Priorities For Grant Making and Areas of Focus
Grants are awarded to meet a variety of physical, mental and social needs of Jewish seniors.
The Foundation desires to support new innovative, community-based programs with an emphasis on special or unmet needs of seniors, particularly in areas where services do not exist or there are underserved seniors. The Foundation invites potential grantees to help develop methods to identify underserved Jewish seniors.

The Foundation has a strong interest in and will give preference to funding organizations and programs that:

• Identify and strive to reach new groups of Jewish elderly who may be underserved, i.e., the isolated, indigent and infirmed who may reside at home or in a facility.
• Extend grant funds to a broader geographical segment of Jewish elderly in both North and South Carolina (for example, less Jewish populated areas or programs in geographical areas not previously awarded grants.)
• Demonstrate impact on the quality of life of seniors.
• Seek matching grants from other groups or contribute their own funds to share the costs of the services or program for which they seek a grant.
• Serve a significant number of Jewish seniors to maximize the investment of the funds.

Awards will typically be made to organizations to subsidize existing programs only if the grant is used for expansion of new people enrolled, unmet needs or strengthening of impact.

Generally, priority is given to proposals in these four areas:

• Healthy aging (including education, screenings, immunizations, leisure/social outings, wellness/fitness, financial planning and other prevention or intervention programs and services)
• Preservation of Jewish culture, traditions, values and beliefs
• Meal/fellowship/social programs, new and/or existing, designed specifically for the Jewish elderly
• Access/choice programs that improve health and well-being (including but not limited to respite care for caregivers of Jewish seniors, day care for Jewish seniors, a congregational nurse or social worker program serving Jewish seniors, home and community services, guardianship care, care management)
  

Funding Eligibility
The BJH Foundation welcomes grant requests from nonprofit organizations that:

• Are classified as a 501(C)(3) charitable organization as determined by IRS regulations, unless you are affiliated with another tax-exempt organization such as local government, school or synagogue.
• Serve Jewish seniors in North and South Carolina.
  

General Grant Making Strategy

• No more than two proposals may be submitted by an organization in a particular grant cycle. Each proposal must be for different programs and one of the proposals must be designed to target the unmet needs of Jewish seniors currently being served or isolated Jewish seniors not previously served.
• Grants will vary in size and typically may not exceed $10,000 in the focus areas of Healthy Aging, Preservation of Jewish culture, and Meal and Fellowship programs. A change in guidelines will allow a grant of up to $25,000 in the Access/Choice focus area beginning with 2011 awards. This change is made to recognize the cost of providing service in the Access/Choice focus area.
• Generally, one-year grants will be awarded.
• Grant awards are based on the merit of the program, its potential impact, how well it meets the priorities and focus area of the Foundaiton, availablitiy of funds and quality of the application.
• Awards for ongoing operational support of an organization are very limited and discouraged. Preference is given to organizations that use grant funds for direct services to Jewish seniors rather than maintaining program operations.
• Preference is also given to organizations that use matching funds or partial funding from their organization, an outside organization or foundation, i.e., leverages its resources.
• Preference will be given to those organizations that comply with grant guidelines, reporting requirements and achieve positive outcomes.
• The grant cycle is July 1 to June 30 beginning July 1, 2011.

The Al Herman Annual Grant to Provide Food Relief for the Jewish Needy
The BJH Foundation for Senior Services designates one grant annually to be awarded in memory of Al Herman, Past President and long-time supporter of the Blumenthal Jewish Home and lifetime member of the Board of the BJH Foundation for Senior Services. In the event that none of the grant requests address food relief for the Jewish needy, the Board will, at its discretion, designate an alternate grant in memory of Al Herman.

The Jerome Madans Award
The BJHFoundation for Senior Services designates one grant from the Charlotte, NC area annually to be awarded from a special endowment fund created by the Madans family after the passing of long standing board member Jerome Madans.

Funding Restrictions
No grants are made to individuals for any purpose.

Foundation resources cannot be used for:

• The cost of nursing home care or other residential or medical care costs.
• Support of substantial construction, renovation, or capital campaigns.
• Partisan or "for-profit" organizations.
• Political purposes or contributions.
  

Application Deadline: April 13, 2012

Please complete the GRANT APPLICATION. Next deadline April 13, 2012.

BJH Foundation for Senior Services
PO Box 10383
Greensboro, NC 27404

Contact: Wendee Cutler for direction and technical assistance
Email: wcutler@bjhfoundation.org

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GRANT APPLICATION DEADLINE - April 12, 2012