Jewish Funders Network Day School Affinity Group Advances Conversation with Focus on Systems, Infrastructure, and Collaboration

STronger together team, From left: Aimee Close, director of Stronger Together; Marc Wolf, chief program and strategy officer at Prizmah; Sheri Gurock, executive director at Beker Foundation; Ari Sussman, CJP Day School lead (Photo: CJP)

As Jewish day schools look to expand access, strengthen quality, and plan for long-term sustainability, attention is increasingly turning to the systems that make that progress possible. The Jewish Funders Network’s (JFN) Jewish Day School Affinity Group will take up that focus in its second session, Building Stronger JDS Systems: Centralization, Innovation & Infrastructure. The Jewish Day School Affinity Group — spearheaded by Mayberg Foundation Senior Advisor for Education Grants and Programs Rachel Mohl Abrahams, UnitEd Director of English Speaking Countries Scot Berman, and The Beker Foundation Executive Director Sheri Gurock, in partnership with 13 funding organizations — is designed to connect funders with high-impact models, surface shared challenges, and support more coordinated, collaborative investment across the field.

The program will bring funders together to explore how shared services, networked growth, and community-wide coordination can support schools across different contexts. It will feature Holly Cohen (Tamim Academy), Marc Wolf (Prizmah’s Boston “Stronger Together” initiative), and Peg Sandel (NorCal Jewish Day School Collaborative), each offering a practical look at how their models are expanding access, supporting quality, and fostering collaboration. “If we want to see lasting impact in the day school field, we need to think beyond individual schools and focus on the systems that allow great ideas to grow and thrive,” said Rachel.