Applications for TIE - Summer 2012 are now available!

All rising high school juniors and seniors in the Memphis Jewish community are invited to apply for a Lemsky Endowment Fund Teen Israel Experience grant for recognized Israel programs for summer 2012. Please print out the application (below), read all the guidelines and participant obligations, and send your completed application to the Federation office. For questions and additional information, please contact bzuckerbrot-finkelstein@memjfed.org

Question:  Who is eligible to apply for a Lemsky Endowment Fund Teen Israel Experience Grant?
Answer:  All rising high school juniors and seniors from the Memphis Jewish community who will be attending a recognized, teen program in Israel.

Question:  How much is the Lemsky Fund grant?
Answer:  The grant is up to $2,500.00 (subject to fund availability) and payment is made directly to the Israel program.

Question:  How often can I apply for the Israel grant?
Answer:  Every qualifying Memphis teen is eligible to apply for one Lemsky Fund Israel subsidy while in high school.

Question:  What are my obligations for receiving this grant?
Answer:  Participants who receive Lemsky TIE grants must perform 15 community service hours in the Jewish community, attend an Israel Orientation Session led by Memphis Jewish Federation prior to departure, prepare and present an Israel program under the auspices of their youth group upon their return, and write, for publication, an essay describing their experiences.

Question:  When do I have to complete my obligations?
Answer:  The 15 hours of community service must be completed prior to departure and prior to the disbursement of funds. The essay for publication must be submitted by September 4, 2012, and the Israel program must be presented by December 31, 2012.

Question:  How do I apply for a Lemsky TIE grant?
Answer:  Print out the application (see instructions top left this page) and submit the completed forms to the Memphis Jewish Federation office.
Applications are processed on a rolling basis and must be received no later than March 29, 2012.

Question:  According to the new Lemsky guidelines, grant awards for renewed programs are reduced starting in Year 2 of the program. If we are applying for a renewed program, will our grant be reduced for the upcoming 2010 - 2011 year?
Answer:  No, your grant will not be reduced this year. Everyone starts with a clean slate - Year 1.

Question:  According to the new scoring rubric, one of the criteria is having an "evaluation plan integrated into the program." What exactly does this mean?
Answer:  The Lemsky Endowment Fund committee would like to see how your agency plans on self-evaluating your program(s). How do you know that your program will actually serve to "build bridges between the Memphis Jewish community and Israel?" Methods to integrate such evaluation include using online surveys such as Survey Monkey, distributing feedback cards at your event(s), keeping track of attendance at events with sign-up sheets, etc.

Question:  May one agency apply for funding for multiple local Israel programs?
Answer:  Yes, an agency may apply for funding for more than one program but each program requires a separate application.

Question:  May an agency apply for a Lemsky grant for a program that includes non-Israel components?
Answer:  Yes, you may apply for a grant but in your budget narrative, you need to pro-rate expenses based on the Israel component. For example, if you seek a Lemsky grant for an Israeli Shaliach who will run programs with a 50% Israel component, you will need to pro-rate the expenses accordingly. If the Shaliach's housing for the year costs $10,000, for example, you can only ask the Lemsky Fund for 50% of the housing cost, or $5,000.