The Power of Recognition
Agawam, MA (January 26, 2026)—“A community is too heavy to carry alone.” — Deuteronomy Rabbah 1:10
Years ago, as the Harold Grinspoon Foundation was developing the Jewish poster series “Voices & Visions,” we invited designer Ivan Chernmayeff to create an image to interpret this Midrashic teaching about community. Chernmayeff created a stunning collage of a large pair of hands holding up a multitude of buildings of all sizes and shapes. The hands are the visual center of the piece, strong, steady and outsized. They are supporting not only the buildings but also everything that happens within those buildings. Without the people behind those hands, there is no community.
As any development professional will tell you, nonprofit organizations expend significant efforts to cultivate, thank and recognize our donors. We also take the time and care to recognize, train and uplift our lay leaders, who give their time and expertise to help steer and support our communal organizations to advance their missions.
What about the Jewish professionals? Are we doing all we should to recognize and thank the people who are devoting their professional careers to the many organizations and projects that sustain and enhance our community?
My father-in-law, Harold Grinspoon, made the decision long ago to make the Jewish community his philanthropic focus. He is the visionary and major funder behind programs that are supporting a thriving Jewish community. He also is a person who never forgets that he is part of a collective, and that it is thanks to many thousands of professionals — both Jewish and non-Jewish — who make it possible for the community to thrive. Without our partners at federations, JCCs, camps, schools, community relations councils, synagogues and beyond, our organizations and programs would not be able to support Jewish life in all its vibrancy.
Harold decided to create an award to recognize and celebrate professionals who make extraordinary contributions to the Jewish communal world. It is his way of continuing to give back to the community for which he cares deeply.
The Grinspoon Amber Awards
At the 2024 Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly, I stood on stage at the closing plenary and announced the Grinspoon Amber Awards as our new way to recognize and acknowledge professionals who are making an outsized impact in service to the Jewish community.
I spoke about the biblical Hebrew word for amber, chashmal, which referred to a pulsing, shining, fiery color like polished bronze. It is also used in modern Hebrew to mean “electricity.” This energy, this passion, is exactly what Harold wanted to recognize and pay tribute to: professionals who have worked to create and sustain the transformative programs supporting, engaging and delighting Jews of all ages and persuasions around the world.
The following year, I stood on that very same stage and awarded five outstanding professionals each with a $10,000 prize and the opportunity to “pay it forward” to two more individuals doing great work with $2,500 peer recognition awards. Each winner also received a piece of amber, selected by Harold and dating back 20-30 million years, representing the timeless continuity of tradition and the spark of progress that propels the community forward.
But the Amber Awards are more than that moment on stage. The Amber Awards are important as a cultural shift: a reminder to recognize outstanding leadership at all levels, and honor it in a way that is both personal and public. This award, and everything it symbolizes, exists to remind us to affirm, celebrate and elevate the exceptional professionals whose contributions shape our collective future.
The awards also remind us to thank and recognize one another. Its pay-it-forward component is especially important to Harold, who has always championed his partners around him as they have helped him build and advance his work. The pay-it-forward grant enables award recipients to support and empower emerging leaders doing great work, thereby fostering a cycle of continuous growth, inspiration, and excellence within the Jewish community — exactly what Harold has been able to do through the work of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and our many partners.
An invitation to be outstanding
The Harold Grinspoon Foundation is proud to have once again opened nominations for the next round of Amber Awards. The 2026 nomination window will remain open through Feb. 28. Anyone is eligible to nominate a communal professional working for an accredited Jewish organization in the U.S. or Canada for the chance for that individual to apply to receive one of the five $10,000 awards and a chance to pay it forward to two others. An independent panel of judges will vet all applications.
Think about the professionals you know who are making an outsized contribution to the Jewish future, whether through remarkable achievements, deep dedication to Jewish values, effective bridge-building across diverse groups, or courage in overcoming challenges. Just as we pass down our traditions, our culture and our values — in our workplaces as well as our homes — let’s also pass down our thanks. It will help us elevate each other and, in doing so, strengthen the ecosystem that relies on all of us: our partners, people and supporters. It takes many hands to hold up a community, and we are deeply indebted to those who do so with passion, dedication, creativity and excellence.
Winnie Sandler Grinspoon is the president of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
