The Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville just closed the books on its 2025 campaign and kicked off the 2026 campaign year. In 2025, the Federation and its Foundation distributed just over $4 million in grants to partners, organizations, and agencies locally and overseas. These grants included both Jewish and non-Jewish organizations.
Many in the Nashville Jewish community have asked how those funds are raised and what the process is for distribution. The Observer took a deeper dive into those questions, starting with the Federation’s financial resource development department (FRD).
Jason Sparks is chief development officer and is responsible for creating an annual campaign strategic plan and leading the campaign committee’s efforts. He says a successful campaign begins with in depth analysis of current donor capacity. “We use a variety of tools to look at a donor’s giving level and determine if they have greater ability to give more.”
In some cases, Sparks says, people have stopped giving and it is important to learn why. “That goes back to stewardship. They may be having personal challenges. We had some people like that this year and we thank them for their previous support and ask what we can do to help.” Sparks says these conversations provide opportunities for deeper connections with community members that go beyond fundraising and straight to the heart of the Federation’s mission. “We had someone who at one time could only give a very small amount and then didn’t give for many years. They came to one event this year and became a major donor simply because they felt they had reconnected with the community and that was so powerful.”
Of course, the nuts and bolts of FRD is raising money to fund grants and Sparks says early in the year, his team develops a strategy based on what they can historically expect and tries to plan for the unexpected, as well. “We expected a large donation to come in recently, and it didn’t. I know that directly impacts our grant allocations.”
Another strategic goal for the coming year, says Sparks, is focusing on end-of-life planning, also known as legacy giving. “When someone opens an annual campaign endowment fund, that gift sustains us into the future. So, it’s not only a gift for this year, but for years to come.”
The next step in the Federation’s fundraising process is grant making, headed by chief impact officer Michal Eskenazi Becker. For her the first step is working with the Federation’s chief financial officer to determine available funds. “The way those numbers work is the total campaign dollars raised, minus our operational budget, plus five percent revenue on our Foundation.”
A key to understanding the grant timeline is that the current year’s allocation is based on the campaign results from two years prior. Becker says that is because the complete grant making process is approximately seven months. “We start this coming May on the grants for 2027. We can’t use the funds from 2026, because we are only halfway through this year’s campaign, and we can’t grant money we’re not sure we will have.” In other words, 2026 grants were made using funds donated in 2024.
Starting in May, Becker assembles the grants committee, which is typically comprised of 10 to 12 members, each agreeing to serve for two years. At this point deadlines for the grants are set, and meetings are scheduled. There are usually about 14 meetings set over the course of the year.
In July, there is an orientation and training, and the committee reviews the financials, reviews its priorities and lessons learned from the previous year. In late July, the applications are open for non-local partners, Israel and overseas, and block grants, which are grants funded for more than ten years.
The grants committee begins meeting in August, when applicants make their presentations and answer questions. By October, the committee is finished with these grants. In November, the committee begins working on the first round of emerging needs grant applications, which represent new programs and initiatives. There is a second round of these grants in February, and a third one in May.
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Becker says an important component of the grants process over the last several years, is a closer look at the effectiveness of a grant. “We changed our state of mind. We don’t need an explanation of what the program is, we need an explanation of whether it works or doesn’t work.” These metrics are tracked in the application itself, asking for budget and impact.
The idea, says Becker, is to ensure uniform accountability for all grants, even those that have been funded for many years. “There are always changes to programs, new committee members, and sometimes even external legislative and policy changes.” She says this analytical process also helps grantees fine tune their programming budgets.
An important step is that all grantees, emerging needs and block, must meet with Becker to evaluate their impact. The goal, says Becker, is to determine the success of a program, and identify changes that can be made for the following year. “The idea is not test them to see if they did well. The truth is that all our partners understand they need to evaluate their program for their donors, as well.”
The entire grant program goes to the core mission of Federation: to support and help sustain the local Jewish community, and to ensure the continuity of the Jewish people locally and around the world. Becker says the grants committee takes their responsibility very seriously. “It’s important for people to know their money is being taken care of.” And it is this dedication that Sparks says fuels the annual campaign. “There are so many things about being philanthropic that fill your cup spiritually and mentally. And after we get the business out of the way, we get to focus on how we engage you as a donor and weave you into our community and inspire you to feel good about what you just gave.”
