We are delighted to welcome Jacob Rosenblum as Rose Community Foundation’s new director of Jewish community grants and partnerships. Jacob will bring his background in strategic grantmaking, philanthropic engagement, program evaluation, nonprofit operations and community-building to this role as he helps to lead the Foundation’s longstanding work to increase the strength and capacity of Jewish organizations and encourage a dynamic and inclusive Denver/Boulder regional Jewish ecosystem.
Jacob recently moved to Denver from Chicago where he served as associate director at nonprofit/philanthropic consulting firm Arabella Advisors, managing a portfolio of nonprofit projects and providing operational oversight to ensure they met their strategic and programmatic goals. He previously worked at Crown Family Philanthropies, spearheading a new philanthropic education curriculum through a Jewish lens and engaging next-generation family members in grantmaking. He also served on the Young Community Changemakers (YC2) faculty for the Community Memorial Foundation, teaching high school students about philanthropy and leading them through collaborative grantmaking processes, and he worked at the University of Chicago Urban Labs performing policy research and program evaluation of various housing models aimed at reducing homelessness.
Jacob was very involved in the Chicago Jewish community, participating in Temple Sholom’s Justice Pen Pal Program, community organizing with the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and Religious Action Center of Illinois, and serving as the advocacy co-chair of the Northwestern Hillel Social Justice Board. He also has a history of personal engagement with Moishe House, OneTable and Bend the Arc. Jacob holds a bachelor’s degree in social policy and statistics from Northwestern University, where he received the Hillel Social Justice Award and was a Public Interest Program Fellow; he is currently completing a master’s degree in urban planning and policy at the University of Illinois Chicago.
This summer, Jacob will work closely with his Rose Community Foundation predecessor Vanessa Bernier to review applications related to the recently closed Jewish Life funding opportunity. All applicants will be notified of funding decisions by October 27, 2023.
We are grateful for Vanessa’s strong leadership of the Jewish Life portfolio over the past 4 ½ years and thrilled that she – in addition to helping with this transition – will continue to serve as project manager for Leading Partners Colorado and the Strength-to-Strength Initiative, the Foundation’s ongoing professional development workshops for senior staff and board members of local Jewish organizations. More information about these programs can be found here.
Jacob is looking forward to meeting folks and learning more about the organizations in our community. To give Jacob time to get settled, on-boarded and focus on the current grant cycle, we will begin reaching out in August and September to schedule introductory meetings. Thanks in advance for your patience. You may very well cross paths with him at community events in the meantime.
Once again, please join us in welcoming Jacob to our community and to the Rose Community Foundation team. We look forward to our continued work together.