$20,000 fund to advance Jewish innovation in Australia

A $20,000 fund to advance Jewish innovation in Australia was launched by the ROI Community, a global network of young Jewish innovators, and Australian Jewish Funders.

The Dave Grants—named for Dave Burnett, a young Australian Jewish leader and ROI Community member who died in an accident in 2008—were announced last week at the Australian Gathering For Young Jewish Leaders in Melbourne. More than 50 of Australia’s future Jewish leaders convened to discuss ways to engage more Jews in Jewish activity.

The grants will support collaborative projects born out of connections made at the gathering that have a fresh and dynamic approach to Jewish community-building.

Burnett, an alumnus of Birthright Israel, led the Australasian Union of Jewish Students and was an elected leader in student politics at Sydney University.

“Dave personified all that a community might look for in a young leader and everything a person might look for in a friend,” Sandy Cardin, president of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Philanthropic Network, which includes the ROI Community, said in a statement. “Dave’s passion for Jewish life inspired this fund, which will support collaborations between young Jewish social entrepreneurs in Australia.”

Cardin added, “In order to engage more young Jews in the community, we need to embrace new and innovative approaches, and we believe that the grants will empower these young activists to create change for themselves and for the broader Jewish community.”