Surely there is something symbolic about the fact that I am writing my final message as The Good People Fund’s Executive Director in the midst of our 18th year celebration! What a ride it has been. I feel deeply grateful to have had the zechut, the honor, to act as your Shlicha Mitzvah — your messenger of acts of kindness. And I am tremendously excited to pass the baton to Julie Fisher, who will assume the role of Executive Director on July 1st. I have every confidence that Julie will carry out our mission with love, clarity, and deep compassion. In the 2+ years that she has been by my side, she has already created many new programs to benefit our grantees as well as strengthen our internal structures. I know that in Julie’s hands, The Good People fund will continue to grow, thrive, and catalyze more good.

When I think  back to 2008, the year this adventure began, I remain grateful to The Good People Fund’s founding board for sharing my vision and bringing it to fruition by adding their talents and generosity. I am also indebted to our current board, whose foresight and commitment has made it possible for the work to continue. Together, we have all built something truly unique in the Jewish philanthropic world. We have invested in so many extraordinary people in exciting and impactful ways, almost too numerous to mention … helping feed those who are hungry, welcoming the stranger to a new country, empowering women too often left behind, or combating hatred and bigotry in Israel and in the US.

Thanks to your generosity, we have sparked hope and goodness in a world that is often consumed by despair. This work has given me the oxygen to breathe each day, and is an antidote to the depletion many of us are feeling at this moment.

No organization can succeed without a staff that is also deeply committed to its mission and while the The Good People Fund’s staff is small, it is also mighty — and more than a little fun! From Jordan Namerow and Randi Cairns (the first former grantee who fulfilled a lifelong dream to work for The Good People Fund), to Sandy Ungar, Sondra Kasdon and though no longer here, Glenn Rosenkrantz, z”l, our former Communications Consultant who died tragically last December — thank you for the many talents you have brought to our work. And, finally, to Andrea Good our Director of Operations whose title barely describes her many talents and her deep commitment — thank you for embracing the true meaning of this special work.

For me, the new titles of Executive Director Emerita and Master Mentor mean that I will continue to be part of the family that I helped create, and do one of the things that I most enjoy — mentoring our grantees as they build their programs.

The greatest joy of my life, aside from my beautiful family, has been the chance to meet both our inspiring grantees and the generous people who believe in a modest experiment and helped transform it into a meaningful force in Jewish philanthropy today.

I am deeply grateful to all of you for joining me on this remarkable journey. Together, we have touched and changed countless lives — and we have much more work to do together! I will always treasure the role each of you plays in The Good People fund, and look forward to championing the next chapter.

Naomi

April 2026

As Passover approaches, my mind fills with images of my three daughters gathered around the Seder table, legs wiggling, toy frogs flying, stories of heroism and freedom coming alive before their eyes. And then, as they grew older, those same stories cracked open something deeper: the Jewish and universal call to ask hard questions, wrestle with what it means to truly be free, and strengthen your obligations to others.

Freedom From. Freedom To.

This year, these questions feel anything but abstract. We are living in a time of heaviness and uncertainty. The weight of the world’s pain is both persistent and deeply personal.

What are we seeking freedom from? What does our freedom empower us to move toward?

During this season of freedom, I think of our Good People, our social visionaries who choose, again and again, to transform pain into purpose. Drawing often from their own lived experiences of hardship and injustice, they have made the courageous decision to not turn away from today’s challenges, but to turn toward building, healing, and repairing what is broken.

This is a different kind of freedom. Not the absence of burden, but the presence of possibility.

Recently, I had the privilege of speaking with Evie Litwok, founder of Witness to Mass Incarceration, on our Good People Talk! podcast. Evie’s story is rooted in her own painful experience with incarceration and her commitment to ensuring others in that system are met with greater dignity and hope. She spoke about refusing to let pain have the final word, instead using what is broken as a bridge to connection, advocacy, and repair.

Speaking with her, I was struck by how her work, and her incredible spirit (she’s got chutzpah!), echoes the deeper message of Passover.

Freedom is not just about what we leave behind. It is about what we carry forward, from silence to voice, from invisibility to dignity, from systems that dehumanize to communities that heal.

As we gather around our Seder tables this year, telling the story of our people’s journey from narrowness to possibility, I am holding our Good People especially close, thinking of the courage it takes to carry both grief and hope, and the many quiet, powerful ways our Good People help others.

Thank you for being a part of the Good People Fund family. Thank you for standing alongside those doing the work of healing and repair, and for recognizing that freedom is not only something we inherit, but something we help create for others.

On behalf of the Good People Fund staff and board, I wish you and your loved ones a Passover filled with meaning, reflection, and the possibility of new beginnings.

Julie

March 2026

I am writing at the midpoint of our annual trip to meet with current and prospective Israeli grantees. Of course, staying by the sea is the bonus for our long days of meetings.

This is our first visit to Israel since the return of the last hostage. I was struck by the absence of the “Bring Them Home” signs that once covered nearly every surface — and by the disappearance of the hostage posters that once lined the halls of Ben Gurion Airport. The visible reminders of the war that began on 10.7 have faded, yet the tension remains as Israel prepares for what may come from Iran. The presence of US military personnel in our hotel was a sobering reminder that the threat remains serious.

Amid a demanding schedule and a possible impending war, Thursday night brought joy as we celebrated GPF’s 18^th anniversary, surrounded by GPF’s past and present grantees. Looking out at the crowd, I felt a mix of pride and nostalgia. Many grantees began their journeys with us 18 years ago. Today, they lead thriving organizations that are strengthening Israeli society every day. That is the magic of The Good People Fund.

As I stood with Libby Reichman, founder of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Israel, I was moved by her comment that “it felt so good to be in a room of angels.” After so many gatherings marked by sadness over the past two years, the energy that evening was unmistakably hopeful.

I invite you to listen to this month’s podcast, the final episode in our series, Building Bridges: Art for Social Change. I speak with Jon Adam Ross, co-founder of Inheritance Theater Project, whose creative mind developed a program that uses performance art to build bridges between community members in cities across the United States. Rooted in a deep belief in civil society, his work now reaches institutions including Harvard Divinity School and the Obama Foundation.

The Good People Fund flourishes because of you. As we meet with our Israeli grantees, we see the beauty your generosity makes possible. Thank you!

B’shalom,

Naomi

Guest: Gavi Welbel, Co-Founder of Zumwalt Acres

About Zumwalt Acres: Zumwalt Acres is an ecological farm in Sheldon, Illinois, founded by twin sisters Gavi and Remi Welbel in 2020. As sixth-generation stewards of their family’s land, they’ve transformed a conventional farm into a regenerative agriculture hub rooted in Jewish values and climate-forward practices. The farm grows food regeneratively for farmers’ markets and local food pantries, hosts an annual apprenticeship program for young people aged 18-27, and conducts climate research on carbon sequestration methods. They also cultivate specialty mushrooms, bridge conventional and regenerative farming communities in rural Illinois, and honor Jewish agricultural traditions.

Explore The Good People Fund:

www.goodpeoplefund.org

Read The Good People Fund’s “2025 Journal of Good” for more stories of inspiration and impact:

https://www.goodpeoplefund.org/news-and-publications/journal-of-good/

Guest: Evie Litwok, Founder of Witness to Mass Incarceration

Evie Litwok walked out of federal prison in 2014 with $30 and a Greyhound ticket. The daughter of Holocaust survivors, Evie founded Witness to Mass Incarceration to help formerly incarcerated people rebuild their lives with dignity and support. Her work is deeply informed by her family’s experience of survival and her commitment to bearing witness to injustice. Witness to Mass Incarceration provides practical reentry support like laptops and phones for newly released individuals, offers vocational training, documents the stories of incarcerated people, connects formerly incarcerated business owners to build economic empowerment, and advocates to change conditions inside prisons, particularly around sexual violence and abuse. The Good People Fund gave Evie her very first grant, making this transformative work possible.

Witness to Mass Incarceration is supported by the Good People Fund, which invests in innovative grassroots organizations making a difference in their communities.

Explore The Good People Fund:

www.goodpeoplefund.org

Read The Good People Fund’s “2025 Journal of Good” for more stories of inspiration and impact:

https://www.goodpeoplefund.org/news-and-publications/journal-of-good/