George Washington University Hillel says a new $4 million gift — by far, the largest gift in its history — will fund a novel Jewish education and literacy initiative.
This landmark gift — one of the larger campus-specific gifts in the history of the Hillel movement — came from an unnamed GW alumnus. GW Hillel says the gift will enable the launch of “impactful, research-driven Jewish educational programming” that will debut at the Washington, D.C., school with plans to expand it to Hillel centers nationwide.
“I’ll add to my excitement and so much gratitude to all involved, specifically the anonymous donor … for putting this into place to put Jewish education and literacy at the forefront of everything that we do,” Rabbi Daniel Novick, GW Hillel’s incoming executive director, told Washington Jewish Week.
In partnership with Hillel International’s Center for Jewish Education and Experience, the grant will fund “intensive learning fellowships,” personalized study with Jewish educators and increased professional development for staff, according to the Oct. 28 press release announcing the gift.
“I’ve been in the Hillel movement for many years at this point, and [our] partnership with our colleagues at Hillel International is truly a credible two-way conversation, resource sharing, brain and thought partnership model that we are so excited to continue and build upon in the years to come at GW Hillel,” Novick said.
“This philanthropic partnership is unlike any other,” said Adena Kirstein, GW Hillel’s immediate past executive director. “This gift empowers GW Hillel to put Jewish learning and literacy at the heart of our students’ Jewish lives.”
The three pillars of GW Hillel’s work, Novick said, include “articulating the self” in a Jewish way, belonging and community, and curating and creating Jewish experiences.
“It’s not just talking and learning about Judaism — it’s actually helping students identify for themselves, ‘How do they own their Jewish self?’ and [for GW Hillel] to provide the ideas, the resources, the ability for our students to truly grasp their own Jewish identity,” Novick added.
Novick is GW Hillel’s former assistant director and will step in as the organization’s executive director on Dec. 1. He says he plans to spend the first six months in his role observing, building relationships and learning from GW Hillel’s stakeholders and partners, including staff, board members and the donor of the $4 million gift.
“From a board perspective, we are beyond excited to welcome Daniel back to GW Hillel and support the leadership and be active participants in that conversation,” said Robert Snyder, the chair of GW Hillel’s board of directors. “We’re excited not just about the donation itself, but the opportunity to develop these ideas in partnership with Hillel International and in partnership with the donor, given their deep expertise in the Jewish space.”
The teams are still working out the specifics of upcoming programs, and will do so through continued conversations, Snyder said.
“Now that we have the gift and we have the framework — those three pillars — what are the actual ideas that go into that?” he added.
The gift, which came about from the donor’s desire to “do something bigger in the Jewish education and literacy front,” will allow GW Hillel to expand its programming.
“We may be doing something on a smaller scale that, because of the generosity of this gift, we can bring to more students, engage more students, at the same time, working with our partners at Hillel International, with our partners, with the donor, to say, ‘What are the new things that are up and coming that we haven’t maybe even imagined the possibility of yet?’” Snyder said.
GW’s more than 3,000 Jewish undergraduates and 1,500 graduate students can currently participate in weekly learning sessions on everything from Jewish mysticism to advanced Talmud, mentorship and leadership programs, scholar-in-residence series featuring Israel educators, and Birthright opportunities.
“If you look on the GW Hillel calendar now, you can see incredible opportunities for students to explore themselves, explore community and explore how to curate those Jewish experiences for themselves, and we hope to build off of those, honing them and making them really deep, great Jewish educational opportunities and using them as the jumping-off point to build new opportunities and models on campus,” Novick said.
The gift comes at a time of transition for GW Hillel, as the organization is currently between executive directors. But Novick looks forward to the change.
“We have the unique ability right now, due to this incredible gift, to dream of the future of Jewish education and test out different models and methods in achieving those goals,” Novick said.
