BREAKWEEK Grant

BREAKWEEK, powered by R&R: The Rest of Our Lives, is a grant opportunity designed to support U.S.-based nonprofit organizations serving the Jewish community in providing their teams with an organizational week of collective rest. This initiative is part of R&R’s broader mission to promote sustainable work practices, retention, productivity, and overall wellbeing within nonprofit workplaces. By offering both funding and structural support, BREAKWEEK enables organizations to implement a one-week closure in a structured and intentional way, giving all staff members equal access to paid time off while receiving guidance, evaluation tools, and peer-to-peer engagement. The purpose of the grant is to help organizations experiment with a talent intervention model proven to reduce burnout, attrition, and exhaustion. Organizational-wide closures are an evidence-based practice shown to strengthen workplace culture and align staff wellbeing with long-term sustainability goals. With this model, BREAKWEEK provides nonprofits not only financial support but also implementation guides, coaching, and evaluation tools to ensure organizations can adopt and learn from the process effectively. Up to 10 grantees will each receive a $3,000 grant award, paired with wrap-around support. This funding is intended to offset the costs associated with closing for a week and ensuring that all employees are paid during this time. The organizational break must consist of five consecutive workdays, taken by the entire team simultaneously, and must be implemented between March and October of 2026. Applicants must ensure that the designated week does not overlap with Jewish holidays. The grant prioritizes organizations ready to demonstrate commitment to integrating rest-based interventions within their workplace culture. Eligible applicants must be U.S.-based nonprofit organizations that are either 501(c)(3) entities or fiscally sponsored, with at least five full-time paid staff. Applicants must serve the Jewish community and demonstrate leadership guided by Jewish values. In addition, organizations must show readiness and commitment to carrying out the intervention within the grant’s implementation period and provide access to the break for all staff. Applications will be assessed based on organizational readiness, existing policies and practices reflecting cultural values, and the expressed need for support to implement a pilot intervention. The application window for BREAKWEEK opens on August 11, 2025, and closes on September 19, 2025. An informational session is scheduled for August 20, 2025, for interested applicants. Following the submission period, applications will be reviewed by a panel of external readers from September through November 2025, and applicants will be notified of their status by late November 2025. Selected grantees will participate in a cohort meeting on January 14, 2026, and must implement their BREAKWEEK intervention between March and October 2026. Evaluation of applications will be guided by R&R’s organizational values and centered on readiness, workplace culture, and level of need. The review panel includes professionals and leaders from Jewish and nonprofit organizations, such as Adam Pollack of 18Doors, Aliza Kline of OneTable and Mayyim Hayyim, Shaina Wasserman of SRE Network, and Meredith Lewis of UMass Hillel. These readers will assess applications in light of the grant’s objectives and priorities. Any questions regarding eligibility or the application process can be directed to Rachel Zieleniec, Chief Program Officer of R&R, at rachel@restofourlives.org. This contact serves as the main resource for clarifications, with the possibility that common questions may be added to the publicly available FAQ for wider applicant support.

R&R emphasizes demonstrating readiness, culture, and need as evaluation criteria