February 2026

At a time when having conversations with others who see the world in a different way feels more fraught than ever, I am comforted by the work our Good People are doing to bridge differences and create connection. While so much of our public discourse pushes us further apart, many of the organizations we support are doing the harder, quieter work of bringing people together, not to paper over real differences, but to build relationships strong enough to hold them. This is the work that doesn’t grab headlines but transforms communities. This is work that matters.

This month, I had the privilege of sitting down with two of our inspiring Good People doing work that feels more essential than ever: Charmaine Rice and Matt Fieldman, co-founders of Rekindle. In a time of growing polarization, we at The Good People Fund, with your help, are rededicating ourselves to supporting bridge-builders.

If you haven’t heard of Rekindle, you’re in for something special. Charmaine and Matt bring Black and Jewish leaders together for honest, brave conversations about identity, belonging, and shared history. What started in Cleveland around a Shabbat table, has now expanded to 20 cities nationwide, with over 150 fellows working to rebuild the historic alliance between their communities, one friendship at a time.

In our Good People Talk! podcast, Charmaine and Matt share what it takes to create spaces where people can have difficult conversations with courage and compassion. They talk about rekindling partnerships built during the Civil Rights Movement, about hope in divided times, and about why this work matters right now more than ever.

I left our conversation inspired, and I think you will too. LISTEN HERE.

THANK YOU.

None of what we do each day is possible without you. You are the reason the bridge-building conversations happen and 64 current grassroots organizations and more than 260 alums, can keep doing their sacred work. It happens because of your generosity and belief in what’s possible.

Thank you for being part of the Good People Fund family.

We’d love to hear from you: Hit reply and tell us what you love about our grassroots tzedakah. Your stories and reflections inspire us and keep us connected to what matters most.

With Gratitude,

Julie

January 2026

Along a tree-lined street near Dupont Circle in our nation’s capital, sits a stately old brownstone much like every other home on the block. But this house is different. Within its four walls is an idyllic interfaith community where Muslims, Christians, Jews and Baha’i build bridges of understanding and tolerance. Abrahamic House is the dream of Good People Fund grantee Mohammed (Mo to most people) Al Samawi who grew up in Yemen and found his way to the United States in a stunning story that Mo recounts in his book, The Fox Hunt.

Abrahamic House is an antidote for the current dissension and hatred of the other permeating our world. Fellows share traditions, exchange ideas of tolerance and share their programs with the larger DC audience, building bridges along the way.

Please listen to Julie Fisher’s conversation with Mo on our Good People Talk! podcast linked here. His vision was made for this moment in time.

As 2025 comes to an end … a few personal words. It has been a challenging year. We have lost a beloved member of the Good People Fund team when Glenn Rosenkrantz died suddenly a few weeks ago. For eight years Glenn not only crafted our words but was deeply committed to all that GPF stands for.

For the past 18 years I have watched natural disasters, wars, and today, the most serious assault on our democracy and our shared humanity. Our grantees who serve on the frontlines of most of this chaos are paying the price and we are here to help them. In your name, we are able to meet these challenges.

Thank you for continuing to help us as the year closes. It is critically important.

Naomi

December 2025

Recently, I had lunch with a friend. Over sandwiches and conversation, she shared something that has been weighing on her heart: a worry that there are fewer good people in the world today. She wondered whether I too felt that concern.

I told her without a moment of hesitation that every day, in large ways and small, I have the privilege of seeing so many good people. People who care deeply. People who want to help, to heal, to offer dignity and compassion. People exploring how to put their goodness into action. People whose generosity puts more good into the world. All are good at heart, often waiting for an invitation or a way to add more good.

Her question stayed with me over the past two weeks as I met ten of our Good People Fund grantees in person, a rare treat. And in each visit, I saw the same truth: good people are everywhere.

Their work takes many forms.

Good people are feeding hungry families at the Food Project, making sure every meal is offered with dignity.

Good people are welcoming newcomers at Refugee Assistance Alliance, giving them safety, community, and a sense of belonging.

Good people are rebuilding lives at MyChild’sCancer, walking beside those at life’s most challenging time.   

Good people are building bridges of understanding through projects like Rekindle, where conversations once thought impossible are now shaping a more hopeful future.

Good people are restoring purpose and meaning for underserved youth at Kaima Farms, offering a new path of belonging. 

These moments, such as watching a warm meal handed to someone who has not eaten that day, hearing a young adult describe newfound confidence, or seeing people from different worlds listen to one another with respect, are reminders that goodness is not scarce. It is abundant. It is everywhere. And it grows when someone extends an invitation.

That is the thread that ties our work together: when we say yes to goodness, it ripples outward.

Our work is sustained because of the good people who choose to make it possible. Your partnership, your generosity, your belief in our mission, and your trust in The Good People Fund nurture the extraordinary social visionaries we support. You help restore dignity, build community, strengthen lives, and open doors for others to join this circle of good. 

The fact that I get to witness this goodness every day is a profound privilege.

This month on Good People Talk! — our popular monthly podcast — Naomi spotlights the bridge building work of Rabbi Elhanan Miller, Founder of People of the Book, our grantee whose courageous outreach to the Arab world deepens understanding between cultures. His work, and the work of every Good People Fund grantee, is made possible because people like you choose to partner with us in repairing the world.

As we approach Thanksgiving, our hearts are full. We are deeply grateful for your trust, your warmth, your generosity, and your belief that good people working together can change lives.

You are the answer to the question my friend asked. Good people are everywhere. Thank you for being part of a community that continues to say yes to goodness.

Julie

November 2025

I recently read of the death this month of Jane Goodall, the renowned scientist, primatologist and conservationist. I realized how much her life reflected our work as we and our grantees seek to meet increasing needs in a struggling world.

Goodall believed that every person is on this earth for a reason and that we have the power to act and make change.

When the planet is dark, there still is hope. Don’t lose hope. If you lose hope, you become apathetic and do nothing. And if you want to save what is still beautiful in this world… then think about the actions you take each day. Because, multiplied a million, a billion times, even small actions will make for great change.

Goodall articulates perfectly what GPF believes, and what we express in our tagline — “Small actions, huge impacts.” These are words of hope when it seems to be in such short supply.

Along these lines, this month’s episode of our podcast—Good People Talk—features my interview with Rutie Pilz-Burstein, who used her experience as head of Israel’s famed Wingate Sports Institute to create Sport – Bridge to Education, a GPF grantee. Rutie understands that sports can be a therapeutic tool to help youth not succeeding in traditional educational and social environments. Her stories are inspiring and remind us there are many ways to save a life. Please listen and share.

Finally and importantly… Ten years ago, GPF was desperately seeking an enthusiastic, detail-oriented person who loved what we do and would be happy to work crazy hours in a fast-paced environment. When a friend suggested she knew the perfect person and her last name is “Good,” I thought she must be kidding.

Andrea Good, our indomitable Director of Operations, is that person and we could not be happier to celebrate ten years of having her on our team. Congratulations, Andrea!

With Thanksgiving only four weeks away, we know that despite the chaos surrounding us, there is still much to be thankful for. With your help, we are offering hope and more to others.

Naomi

September, 2025

Last week, I ran across an essay, “On Not Surrendering in Advance (Or At Any Point Thereafter)” by writer and social activist Rebecca Solnit. It resonated deeply with me, and many others who commented.

The thrust of the piece is, quite simply, that words we use impact reality. “Our words shape reality when we tell someone they’re worthless or valuable, beautiful or ugly, beloved or unlovable, which is a bit like chanting ‘I believe that you will win. Or lose.’”

I was filled with the notion that despite the despair we may be feeling — the seeming hopelessness that assaults our senses daily — we have the power to frame the world with hope, with the knowledge that good things are happening and will prevail. All isn’t lost.

With that in mind, I point you to this month’s Good People Talk! podcast. I sat in conversation with three of our Good People … Kristen Bloom, founder of Refugee Assistance Alliance, Kari Miller, founder of International Neighbors and Shoshana Barzel, founder of New Neighbors Partnership — three women who are proving daily that good things are still happening and that they can effect change when our government’s immigration policies are creating an atmosphere of harassment and fear.

From Shoshana we hear about the pregnant woman who is afraid to show up for a prenatal medical appointment because she could be swept up in a raid. And, Kari’s stories about Afghanis who risked their lives as translators or special agents supporting US military personnel, only to find themselves here with their status arbitrarily changed.

Kristen, Kari and Shoshana are only three of our amazing GPF grantees working under difficult circumstances with people who have lost so much and have reason to despair. Yet, they do not let words change their focus or drive.

As summer winds down, I thank you all for helping us to elevate hope and good. Your support makes all of our impactful work possible.

Happy Labor Day!

Naomi

August, 2025

As the world shifts beneath our feet – politically, socially, emotionally – we at The Good People Fund remain grounded in our core beliefs: that small actions, rooted in compassion and justice, have the power to change lives. While headlines swirl and crises compound, our work – and the work of the social visionaries we support – remains steady, focused, and deeply human.

In both the United States and Israel, our grantees continue to show up every single day for those most vulnerable. They are doing the sacred work of tzedakah – not just giving, but repairing. And they are doing it in the midst of rising need, growing instability, and often at great personal cost.

Every day is a balancing act: meeting the immediate, urgent needs of people in crisis, while also committing to the slower, often invisible work of long-term change. That’s exactly what our community of changemakers is doing. From Matt and Charmaine of Rekindle setting new tables for bridge-building, to Mark of Medical Justice Alliance fighting for compassionate care for people incarcerated in 40 states, to Kerry at Emma’s Torch, Dana at I Support the Girls, and Fraidy at Unchained at Last – all GPF alumni now replicating and scaling their life-changing models – we are seeing the ripple effect of consistent, values-based investment in good people doing good work.

During the past year, we had the opportunity to reflect on our long-term impact, and we were humbled to discover that we’ve supported over 260 grantees since our founding. That number is more than a data point – it’s a growing community of social visionaries who are reshaping the future, one act of kindness, one system shift at a time.

This month, we’re proud to share the latest episode of our Good People Talk podcast featuring Yurani Sandoval, founder of Women Palante, a fierce advocate for women’s voices and empowerment. The episode, titled “Women Belong in Every Room,” is a powerful reminder that systemic change begins with the bravery of one person bold enough to step forward, even when the room was not built for them.

Through all the turbulence we remain anchored to our mission. Thank you for standing with us, and with the people who continue to make good happen, no matter the storm. They – and we – could not do it without your steadfast support.

Julie