This past schoolyear, Pedagogy of Partnership brought its chavruta-centered approach to new communities in Miami and Los Angeles, launched a groundbreaking parent learning program, and piloted a fellowship for the next generation of Jewish educators — all made possible through a growing network of national and local funding partners.

Over the past three years, the Jewish Day School Standards and Benchmarks Project (JDSS&B), a Mayberg Foundation grantee based at JTS's William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education, worked with 23 day schools across North America, spanning denominations, sizes, and locations. Through 39 days of in-person coaching and nearly 500 professional development engagements, JDSS&B trained teachers to root Jewish text study in Big Ideas and Essential Questions, core concepts from the Understanding by Design framework (Wiggins & McTighe). This approach helps students uncover a text's lasting takeaways and explore them through engaging, debatable questions, strengthening students' connection to Judaism and the lessons they carry into their lives.

On August 13th, MyZuzah joined the housewarming for a new Lone Soldier Center home in Tel Aviv, part of its ongoing Israel Pilot bringing mezuzah installations to those rebuilding after trauma. The new residence gives 28 lone soldiers — from countries including France, the U.S., Australia, and South Africa — a place to call home while serving far from their families. Following speeches from Lone Soldier Center CEO Leora Rubinstein and others, the group affixed mezuzot throughout the home, with board member Efrayim Cohen given the honor of putting one up in memory of his grandson, a soldier killed in combat last year.

Colleagues from across the Jewish foundation world joined the Mayberg Foundation team for Navigating Grantmaking Through a Torah Lens, a three-part learning series led by Rabbi Yehuda Chanales of Lifnai Vlifnim. Using Torah texts and Lifnai Vlifnim's reflective learning framework, participants explored loneliness, boundaries, and hope in the work of grantmaking — walking away with fresh perspective and a shared sense of purpose.

Mayberg Foundation support helped Lomdei, a DEEP Consortium member providing High-Quality Professional Development (HQPD) coaching for Judaic studies teachers, more than double its reach this year — growing from 12 to 26 partner schools and 42 to 94 coached teachers. By subsidizing the cost that too often keeps schools from investing in sustained coaching, the Foundation helped open the door for teachers and administrators to build a lasting, growth-minded culture of professional development.

Mayberg Food & Friends, a grantee of the Mayberg Foundation, held a groundbreaking ceremony on July 13 for an 18- to 24-month expansion, which will double the organization's medically tailored meal production capacity and give "Food & Friends the space to welcome more neighbors into that community and to support the staff and volunteers who make it possible," as Mayberg Foundation Rising Trustee and Food & Friends volunteer David Mayberg noted following the ceremony.

Mayberg Foundation Managing Director Amanda Mizrahi has been invited to join the Steering Committee of Kerem, a professional development and learning initiative for grantmaking professionals in Jewish philanthropy run in partnership with Jewish Funders Network and Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies. The invitation recognizes Amanda's leadership in the field, including her work spearheading the Mayberg Foundation's pilot initiative supporting career growth for Jewish outreach professionals, and over her 12-month term she'll help shape Kerem's curriculum, identify participants, and guide the program as part of its "brain trust" of grantmaking experts from across the country.

On June 17th, Mayberg Foundation staff, partners, and their families came together for a day of service and Jewish text learning — putting the foundation's mission of proliferating Jewish wisdom and values into direct practice. The morning included a hands-on volunteer experience packing rice bags for Colel Chabad's Pantry Packers program, benefitting both vulnerable populations in Israel and in the Greater Washington area. The service project was followed by a community lunch and Rosh Chodesh learning session led by managing director Amanda Mizrahi, exploring a classic Jewish debate about the nature of giving.

Prizmah and the Jewish New Teacher Project (JNTP) have announced a strategic merger, uniting two leading organizations to strengthen teacher recruitment, retention, and instructional excellence across the Jewish day school field. By combining Prizmah’s field-wide reach with JNTP’s expertise in teacher induction and mentoring, the merged organization is positioned to deliver more comprehensive, data-informed support to schools and educators. The Mayberg Foundation provided support for the operational and administrative efforts needed to carry out the merger, recognizing its potential impact on the Jewish day school field.