Getting Involved
There are many ways to become involved with Kulanu's projects around the world. See below for what YOU can do, or contact us with any questions.
Donate
Kulanu, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, is able to achieve its goals thanks to generous support from individuals, foundations, congregations, schools, and other groups. Donations to Kulanu are tax deductible for US taxpayers.
Join the network of Kulanu supporters now and know that you are making a difference in the lives of Jews around the world.
Click here to donate online, or mail checks payable to Kulanu: Harriet Bograd, President
Kulanu, Inc
165 West End Ave, Apt 3R
New York, NY 10023 USA
Please include your email address and phone number when sending your check.
Contributions may be unrestricted gifts that support all of Kulanu's work, or earmarked for any of the following funds:
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Please include the name of the Fund you wish to support on the Memo line of your check, or in the Comments field of our online donation page. Thank you!
Any questions about your donation? Contact Kulanu office coordinator Katie Rosenthal: click here to send an email, or call 212-877-8082 during office hours Mon/Wed/Thur 1pm-6pm EST.
For our tax-exempt and 990 forms, click here.Volunteer
Kulanu relies on volunteers for its endeavors. Our volunteers are a source of ideas and energy; they teach in our communities; welcome visitors and speakers to their communities; develop educational and economic projects; make presentations to local, regional and national groups; raise funds and rouse their communities; share resources; and seek grants from family and national foundations. And so much more!
If you would like to volunteer for Kulanu, check out our volunteer positions, then complete our online application form. In addition to the online application, please email your resumé and cover letter to volunteers [at] kulanu [dot] org. Thank you for offering your time, skills, and energy to Kulanu, Inc!
If you would like to volunteer in an overseas community, please first review the list of Kulanu Overseas Volunteer Opportunities to see which communities interest you and might be an appropriate use of your skills and abilities. You can read more about each of these groups on their respective community page, at www.kulanu.org/communities. Then please download our Overseas Volunteer Application Form and email it to volunteers[at]kulanu[dot]org along with your resumé and cover letter. Thank you!
Share Your Mitzvah Project
Another important way volunteers participate is by sharing their bar or bat mitzvah or other special day with Kulanu. Click here to find out how you can create a meaningful mitzvah project with Kulanu to honor your bar/bat mitzvah, birthday or wedding, and other lifecycle occasions.
Stay Informed & In-Touch
Connect with Jews worldwide, and be inspired by what Kulanu volunteers and activists are doing in our communities!
The Kulanu Blog (www.kulanu.org/blog) will keep you in the loop about Kulanu's work across the globe. Check it out to read up on what we've been doing, and comment on these blog posts to let "all of us" - and the rest of the world - know what you think!
We also send occasional emails so you can have the latest Kulanu news delivered right to your inbox! You can subscribe to Kulanu Updates (sent approximately once every four to six weeks) by simply submitting a Contact Kulanu form on our web site: go to www.kulanu.org/contact and select "Mailing list manager" from the drop-down list to get signed up!
A more social way to get up-to-speed on Kulanu's work and meet diverse Jews is to "Like" the Kulanu, Inc page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/kulanu), an active place for Kulanu supporters to share our activities, photos, links, events, and experiences with each other. We're also on Twitter - follow us @Kulanu_Inc!
Do you want to talk with others in the Kulanu community and hear news from the diverse Jewish world? Join the conversation by subscribing to our email listserv, kulanu-list@yahoogroups.com, by sending an email to this address.
All donors to Kulanu receive KulanuNews, Kulanu, Inc's organizational newsletter, for one year; this publication is jam-packed with great stories and articles, vivid photos, and interesting book reviews. Check out the archives at www.kulanu.org/newsletters, and donate now to get your own copy of the next issue in the mail!
Invite a Kulanu Speaker to Your Community
Does your congregation, organization, class or campus want to learn about Jewish communities around the world, and the work Kulanu is doing to support and connect them? Help educate your community about "all of us" by hosting a Kulanu speaker in your town! See descriptions of the presentation topics below, then email us about your interest.
Please note: The fees listed below do NOT include other costs that hosts are expected to cover, such as travel expenses and local accommodations (home hospitality is great). These costs will vary; please contact us with any questions or concerns. Thank you!
Abayudaya of Uganda
Each year Kulanu plans a visit to North America by a leader of the Abayudaya Congregation of Uganda, to inform audiences about the Abayudaya community and to raise funds for their two interfaith schools. The tour begins in October and lasts about a month, with the speaker visiting synagogues, JCCs, universities, and other venues all over the country. Take a look at this year's announcement by clicking here. Check out our online calendar to find an event near you, or see if there's an open date for Aaron Kintu Moses to visit your community this fall!
Event Fees: $1250 with early-bird discount, $1450 after June 30, 2012.
About Kulanu
This presentation will highlight Kulanu's work with Jewish communities around the world. Located in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the Southwestern United States, these communities have been, for the most part, isolated from world Jewry. The one-hour presentation, accompanied by a slideshow of on-site photographs, documents Kulanu's inspiring efforts to help communities and individuals connect or re-connect with their Jewish roots.
Take a peek at our slideshow here.Judith Manelis and Barbara Vinick are our two Northeast presenters; their bios are available on our website.
Contribution: $500 honorarium
Anousim
The Anousim are the descendants of Jews who were expelled from Spain and Portugal during the Inquisition in the 15th century (as well as many who went into hiding). Today, many Anousim, also known as Crypto-Jews, are discovering their roots and choosing to return to Judaism. Sonya Loya, an Anousi, is a well-known glass artisan and founder-director of the Bat-Tzyion Hebrew Learning Center in New Mexico. Sonya travels the country to share her own fascinating story of return, as well as her beautiful Crypto art work. Invite her to visit your congregation or other group and learn not just Sonya's story, but also the trials and triumphs of the Anousim from the Inquisition to today.
Read Sonya Loya's biography by clicking here.Get a glimpse of Sonya's Jewish-themed glass art in this video on YouTube.
Contribution: $500 honorarium
Bene Ephraim of India
Rabbi Bonita Sussman's presentation will highlight her visit with her husband, Rabbi Gerald Sussman, to the Bene Ephraim community of Kotha Reddy Palem, India in the summer of 2007, as Kulanu volunteers. Located in south eastern India, this emerging Jewish community was isolated from the established Jewish communities of India and from world Jewry. The one-hour presentation, accompanied by a slideshow of on-site photographs and videos, documents the Jewish life of this community, sustainable economic development projects, and the Jewish teaching by Rabbis Gerald and Bonita Sussman. Be inspired by the video of the women of the community making matzah for the first time on their stovetop griddles!
Preview Rabbi Sussman's slideshow (please note this is still being edited) by clicking here.You can read a story about the Sussmans' trip by clicking here.
Contribution: $500 honorarium
Spring Speaking Tours (Rotating)
For the past few years, Kulanu has been hosting a speaking tour in late winter/early spring, each tour highlighting a new or different community. First was the historical Kaifeng Jewish community of China, and then the ground-breaking visit by Serge Etele from the Beth Yeshourun Congregation of Cameroon in 2012. In 2013, Kulanu is privileged to be bringing Modreck Maeresera of the Lemba Jewish community of Zimbabwe to the United States for the first time, and possibly to Canada as well. Click here or go to www.kulanu.org/lemba to find out more about the first Kulanu-Lemba Speaking Tour, which runs February-March, 2013. We hope you can get involved in this landmark series of events!
Event Fees: $1250 with early-bird discount, $1450 after August 31, 2012 for the 2013 Lemba Tour.
Trips
Travel with your friends and family on a mitzvah trip to meet Jewish communities in exciting destinations such as India or Uganda. Visit the Trips page at www.kulanu.org/trip to find out about past and future tours.
Tax Exemption Information and Form 990s
Kulanu, Inc is a a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Click here to read Kulanu's IRS tax exemption letter.
Form 990 is the annual report that US nonprofit organizations must submit to the Internal Revenue Service. View Kulanu's Form 990's (in pdf format):
2011 -- 2010 -- 2009 -- 2008 -- 2007 -- 2006 -- 2005 -- 2004 -- 2003 -- 2002 -- 2001
Thank You for your interest in getting involved with Kulanu's work supporting isolated and emerging Jewish communities around the world!