The Davis Center awards annual social justice grants in honor of Rabbi Eugene J. Lipman who served as rabbi at Temple Sinai from 1961 until retiring in 1987. In awarding these social justice grants, we are focused on Jewish values for justice, equality, and a better world. Preference is given to small to mid-size local 501(c)(3) organizations.
In 2024, Lipman grants totaling $35,000 were awarded to 12 local organizations. See the full list here. Read on to learn more from several of our grantees about how these funds helped them make an impact on our community.
Community Farm Share
The mission of Community FarmShare (CFS) is to provide fresh produce directly from local farms to families experiencing food insecurity. Particularly, we provide a subsidy to make high quality, local fresh produce accessible in communities with the highest needs and least access.
With the help of our Lipman grant, our objective to reach new families through discounted produce at the market exceeded expectations. CFS ran 4 markets throughout the season: 2 at schools, one health care clinic and one recreation center in East County. We were able to reach communities with the highest need and least access to healthy food (food deserts and food swamps).
In addition to making a very real, long-term difference in the lives of low income families (and farmers), this grant demonstrated the significant positive direct impact that local farm produce subsidy can make in our community. The Lipman grant served as the seed money this year; we hope to increase subsidy capacity in the year ahead by partnering with additional funders.
DC Volunteer Lawyers Project
Funding from the Eugene Lipman Social Action Fund helped the DC Volunteer Lawyers Project (DCVLP) to empower low-income survivors of domestic violence in Montgomery County with resources and supports to control the course of their situations so that they could achieve safety, stability, and self sufficiency for themselves and their children. With these funds, we accomplished the following in 2024:
- On behalf of low-income survivors of domestic violence, handled 69 (annual goal 70) protective order and family law cases;
- Achieved a 100% (annual goal 90%) success rate in our cases, as measured by whether we are able to achieve the clients’ primary legal goals in the cases where a court order is issued;
- Provided 257 (annual goal 175) free legal consultations to low-income survivors of domestic violence;
- Provided a positive impact on 334 (annual goal 100) children by providing legal, advocacy, and/or case management services to their parents;
- Formed 3 (annual goal 4) new partnerships to ensure clients receive holistic care.
The work of our volunteer attorneys was invaluable for one client, Joanne, who shares a child with her abuser. Joanne’s abuser first physically assaulted her while she was pregnant, and later, in their child’s presence. Following a severe incident last spring, Joanne sought medical attention and took refuge in a domestic violence shelter. Joanne was referred to DCVLP, which accepted her case for representation. With the support of her DCVLP attorney, Joanne filed for – and received – a temporary protective order. Joanne now holds full custody of her daughter with no visitation granted to her abuser, providing her with a renewed sense of security.
Grace Reproductive Fund (now Meadow Reproductive Health and Wellness)
Grace Reproductive Fund received a Lipman grant of $5,000 to support the launch of Grace Reproductive Health and Wellness, a new, non-profit, reproductive & sexual health and abortion clinic in Tysons Corner, VA. The grant was provided before the clinic opened, when the team of providers and administrators was being assembled and our physical space was in the process of being converted from a traditional office to a functioning clinic.
We have covered tremendous ground in the 8 months since the grant was received:
- We re-named the clinic Meadow Reproductive Health and Wellness based on extensive feedback that the name “Grace” sounded suspiciously like a pregnancy crisis center or “fake clinic”.
- We opened the clinic for patient visits in July 2024. Our patient volume was kept intentionally low for the first months of operation so that we could ensure that all of our processes and procedures were of the highest quality.
- In September, we opened our doors fully for a comprehensive suite of gynecologic, sexual health, and abortion care services. Since then we have seen close to 300 patients, growing from 1-2 patients per week to up to 10-12 per day.
Funding from the Lipman grant was a critical resource for the build out and preparation of our clinic, and the vote of support was felt deeply. There are very few U.S. foundations that will fund direct provision of abortion services; most foundations limit their funding to “systemic change” and “policy overhauls”. We are profoundly appreciative that the desperate and immediate needs of our patient pool were recognized by your team.
NW Community Food
NW Community Food pantry (NWCF) offers two categories of necessities that are nearly impossible for many of our neighbors to afford: fresh produce and cleaning supplies. Over the more than three years of our continuous operation, we have expanded those offerings to include shelf-stable food, hygiene products, and a wide array of prepared food and baked goods. On average, we provide groceries for 300 households per week, including those who live in senior public housing.
NWCF pantry is tremendously grateful for the 2024 Lipman grant of $4,500 to further our work in the community. Due to increasing attendance and the sharply rising costs of food, we spent the entire grant on produce, allowing us to provide citrus fruits and kale/collards/other vegetables throughout the year and helping boost the nutritional well-being of our guests.
The TraRon Center
The Lipman grant awarded to The TraRon Center made an incredible difference in helping achieve our mission to provide safe and effective therapeutic space for children and youth impacted by gun violence.
The grant helped in some of the following ways:
- We awarded four $4,000 college scholarships to high school seniors who were impacted by gun violence.
- Our 2024 summer camp included taking 13 teens on a 5-day/4-night overnight camping trip.
- We continued to provide safe and therapeutic space for children and youth dealing with the effects of gun violence through our summer and afterschool programs.
With your support, we are making a real and lasting impact in children and young people’s lives.
The 2025 Lipman Grants recipients will be announced by the beginning of May – stay tuned!