March Newsletter

We’re making this year’s Passover Experience extra special! Our VIPs will be treated to an interactive pre-event featuring an intimate cooking demo with Chef Lior Hillel from Bacari restaurants and a carefully curated hors d’oeuvres, dessert, and wine package that can be picked up ahead of the event to enjoy at home.
This year’s main event will feature Cynthia Levin as our Emcee of the evening with a special appearance from Mayim Bialik who will read excerpts from the program. We have taken elements from the traditional Seder and Haggadah and connected them to our social justice work in the community. ALL ARE WELCOME! Through our many outreach efforts over the past few years, our community has grown to include people from all backgrounds. We designed this event with them in mind, while honoring our Jewish customs. Join us for a Passover Experience Like No Other! Proceeds from this event will go towards our programs and services that help drive our mission to advance economic justice and equity for women.
Help plant the seed of success as a scholarship volunteer reader!
The NCJW|LA Scholarship Program provides financial support to students in local colleges and universities. With your time and dedication, every application will be read and scored thoroughly and thoughtfully. The evaluation process is quick and easy...
As a reader, you'll have staff and technical support available throughout to assist you along the way. To begin this rewarding opportunity, please fill out the form below to find out how you can get started today! View the application here. If you have any questions or would like more details before applying to join, please contact Selene Lopez here.
Interested in applying for one of our dynamic scholarships? Visit ncjwla.org/apply to view and apply now through April 9, 2021.


Instead of our regularly scheduled meeting, we are encouraging you to sign up for a FREE webinar 2021 Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California: Women and the Pandemic: Impact, Resilience and Moving Forward on March 31 from 10pm – 12pm (PDT). We will reconvene on April 16th at 2pm to reflect and share highlights from the webinar and much more! For more information or to RSVP, email Advocacy.
PS: Mark your Calendars; Lobby Day 2021 will take place on Wednesday, May 26. Stay tuned for more information, including registration!
On February 23, Governor Newsom signed into law a comprehensive package of laws providing urgent relief for California small businesses. The package provides an additional $2 billion - a four-fold increase over the $500 million currently being distributed - for grants up to $25,000 for small businesses impacted by the pandemic and allocates $50 million of this total for non-profit cultural institutions.
Please read below for additional information about each round.
Round 3 (waitlisted applicants from Rounds 1 and 2): Friday, March 5 through Thursday, March 11, 2021
- Eligible applicants: This is a closed round and only available to qualified applicants who were waitlisted in Rounds 1 and 2 - only existing applicants will be selected. If you were waitlisted, you do not need to re-apply. New applications will not be accepted in this round.
- Eligible grant awards: $5,000 to $25,000
- Details: This is closed funding round; no new applications will be accepted.
Round 4 (non-profit cultural institutions only): Tuesday, March 16 through Tuesday, March 23, 2021
- Eligible applicants: Only non-profit cultural institutions with any revenue size that meet eligibility criteria found at CAReliefGrant.com.
- Eligible grant awards: $5,000 - $25,000
- Details: Eligible non-profit cultural institutions must complete a new application even if they already applied in Rounds 1 and 2; grants will only be available to non-profits cultural institutions that did not receive funding in Rounds 1, 2, or 3; grants will be prioritized based on the documented percentage revenue declines based on a reporting period comparing Q2 and Q3 of 2020 versus Q2 and Q3 of 2019.
Round 5: Thursday, March 25 through Wednesday, March 31
- Eligible applicants: current waitlisted small businesses and non-profits not selected in Rounds 1, 2, or 3 and new applicants that meet eligibility criteria found at CAReliefGrant.com.
- Eligible grant awards: $5,000 - $25,000
- Details: Applicants not selected to receive a grant in Rounds 1, 2, & 3 do not need to re-apply as they will be automatically moved into Round 5. New applicants will need to apply at CAReliefGrant.com.

Round 6: Date to be announced soon
- Eligible applicants: current waitlisted small businesses and non-profits not selected in Rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 and new applicants that meet eligibility criteria found at CAReliefGrant.com.
- Eligible grant awards: $5,000 - $25,000
- Details: Applicants not selected to receive a grant in Rounds 1, 2, 3 & 5 do not need to re-apply and will be automatically moved into Round 6. New applicants will need to apply at CAReliefGrant.com.
Homeownership is the lowest it's been since the 1960s, due in part to the troubling practice of large corporate landlords buying up foreclosed or under-market value homes. We designed AB1199, Homes for Families, and Corporate Monopoly Transparency Excise Tax to address this issue.
Join California Reinvestment Coalition on Friday, March 12, from 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm to learn more about this bill and our campaign to get this bold legislation passed. The Anti-Eviction Mapping Project and SAJE will present their groundbreaking findings during the event as well.


- What drew you to NCJW|LA originally? I was drawn to NCJW|LA because of the amazing work that was being accomplished in the community. To tell you the truth, I had been donating to Council Thrift my whole adult life and did not equate the two. So, when I became a team member, I was thrilled that it was an agency I had been supporting for many, many years. I had been working in the non-profit world since graduate school and it was a logical next step for me. I was becoming more and more aware of my instinctual biases to support and be active in most if not all issues that NCJW is fighting for.
- Tell me about the work you do for NCJW|LA. My work has been varied through the years. From outreach to our donors, to partner agencies, and to the community, in addition to events and fundraising. Right now, I am working on our annual Passover Experience Event. This year due to Covid it is virtual so it is a completely different kind of an event but the essence of it is the same. Having the community come together to share the holiday with learning, good food, music, and purpose. On the evening of April 1st, we will meet from the safety of our own homes to share in the remembrance of the Jews leaving Egypt. But more importantly, reflecting on the current strengths and power of all humankind to proactively build a world united in peace, love, and human dignity, dedicated to equity and inclusion.
- What do you do when you aren’t working? Because of COVID, it is more difficult to get together and enjoy friends and family over meals and excursions. But I have been working on myself to get out on the weekends for a good hike on the local trails. I hope to complete my second ultra in September – it will be 50 miles over a 24-hour period. Two years ago, I completed my first 50K which is 32 miles. Time to go train!