Dear Seattle Community,

As June comes to a close, so does the Federation’s fiscal year and Annual Campaign. Before we turn our attention to the year ahead, I want to take a moment to reflect on what we have accomplished together, thanks to our community’s support.

Connecting our community

Throughout the year, we brought you together – to connect, to learn, and to find meaning. We reflected on living with purpose with Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin at our Fall Fundraiser, stood together to honor the victims of the Bondi Beach attack at the Community Vigil, and explored a powerful story of Holocaust survival with author Georgia Hunter at Connections.

Confronting antisemitism

We partnered with the University of Washington to bring Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt to Seattle, inspiring us to continue the fight against antisemitism. We also organized our largest-ever Jewish Community Lobby Day, bringing more than 100 advocates to Olympia, including middle school students, to meet with lawmakers and share our collective voices. And, we have provided training for 1,000 people in the community about antisemitism and Jewish identity, including leadership of the Seattle Public Schools and the King County Prosecutor’s Office.

Nurturing our Jewish future

We invested in the next generation by sending free Jewish books to 3,000 local children through PJ Library® and creating opportunities for young families to connect through community events that hundreds of families have participated in. Over 200 children are attending overnight summer camp in the coming weeks thanks to needs-based scholarships from the Federation, and over 50 more are attending camp for the first time thanks to our funding of One Happy Camper grants. 

We also had an exceptional cohort this year in the Loeb Leadership Institute, helping develop our future community leaders, many of whom are already serving in positions of leadership across the community.

We recently shared data from the most comprehensive Seattle Jewish community survey since 2014 – exploring Jewish life, attitudes, and perspectives in the Seattle area. This research is already helping our community see who we are and what we can do to improve our community’s well-being.

Keeping our community safe

This year, we expanded our security program by adding a dedicated security professional to our team, partnering with the Secure Community Network (SCN), and awarding $200,000 in security grants to Jewish preschools and overnight camps. Through trainings, preparedness resources, security assessments, and strengthened relationships with law enforcement, we are ensuring the safety and resilience of our community.

Supporting Jewish communities around the world

Your support also reached far beyond Seattle. We supported vulnerable Holocaust survivors in Ukraine through the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and invested in efforts to restore agriculture in northern Israel, including a grant to ReGrow Israel that will help plant nearly 3,000 fruit trees in war-affected communities.

These accomplishments represent only a small part of what we achieved together this year. Every program, grant, training, and gathering was made possible by supporters like you.

As our Annual Campaign comes to a close on June 30, I invite you to help us finish the year strong with a gift today. Your support ensures that we can continue protecting, connecting, and strengthening Jewish life in Seattle and beyond.