Archive for September, 2008
Biggest Shana Tova
Four friends on rollerblades follow a carefully planned route around Tel Aviv and record their tracks with a GPS device. The result is a stunning greeting for Rosh Hashanah across the entire city - Shana Tova!!
tip to Jewish Donor Blog
The Birth of Jewlicious
From the very beginning of our planning almost two years ago, the Jewlicious blog was highlighted in our business plan as one of the prime innovative projects emerging from a new generation of communal entrepreneurs. It would be much later before I would meet the man behind the project, ex-Montrealer and Shuk resident, David Abitbol, who would become both a friend and connector to many of the innovative programs popping up here in Israel.
This morning (it’s already Monday here in Jerusalem) and just in time to welcome in 5769, David (aka ck) is featured in the Jerusalem Post. May the publicity go to his head!
Back in the early days of the new millennium, the “cool Jew” movement was just warming up, thanks to ironic, self-deferential, post-traditional brands like Heeb magazine, JDub Records’s flagship recording artist Matisyahu, a big-screen release called The Hebrew Hammer and the Jewcy line of cheeky apparel. The elder generation decried the movement’s rejection of dogma, but mainstream pop culture was amplifying the buzz, and Jews in their early 20s were finding new tongue-in-cheek ways to express their cultural identity.
Smack in the middle of the generational gap was Montreal-based web designer David Abitbol.
I think we need to make David an honorary member of Cool People!
The ‘New Situation’ aka the Global Economic Crisis
from the Jerusalem Post:
Three weeks ago, a special gathering of rabbis issued an urgent call to the principals of haredi educational institutions, asking them to do their best in light of the “new situation,” and to avoid at all costs a cut in the monthly allowance for married yeshiva students.
The rabbis begged the principals to do their utmost to dispense the stipends on time and to avoid a situation in which the students might be forced to leave the yeshivot to secure other income for their families.
The call was later published in various haredi newspapers, adding to an already tense situation confronting the haredi sector.
from the Chronicle of Philanthropy (issue dated Oct.2):
How Bad Is It? Economy’s downturn prompts new challenges for charities
The cataclysm in the nation’s financial industry poses an uncharted set of challenges for nonprofit organizations. The downturn could potentially affect not just private giving, but money charities get from government sources — and it is hitting at a time of year when many charities get the bulk of their donations. What’s more, for groups that serve the needy or others harmed by the economy, demand for aid is on the rise.
from the Nonprofit Quarterly:
What the Financial Sector Meltdown Really means for Nonprofits and Philanthropy
In the wake of the federal government’s intervention in the financial markets this past week—unprecedented since the Depression era banking legislation put through by Franklin Delano Roosevelt—nonprofits should not look to philanthropy from commercial banks and investment firms to soften the blow of the ailing economy and the inevitable impact on the nonprofit sector.
Trends in Giving
Fundraisers know that foundations vary widely in size, type and aims. Even with that, there are similarities that can provide useful knowledge for nonprofits.
With competition for funding intensifying, and lately with the economy taking a downturn that seems to be felt in many places and at many levels, knowing something about foundations can be quite helpful.
Speaking at the International Conference on Fundraising sponsored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Gloria M. Pugliese, director of corporate and foundation relations at LaSalle University, pointed out that there are certain trends that have been identified in connection with foundations recently.
They are:
- Program support ranks highest among the types of foundation giving, at close to 50 percent.
- General/operating support is second at around 20 percent.
- Capital support (including endowment) is third at approximately 16 percent.
- Research and student aid funding receive less than 10 percent each of all foundation dollars.
- At least half of all grants are for less than $50,000 or less in all categories except international affairs and social sciences. Small grants still account for the largest share of the overall number of grants for social sciences.
- Foundations generally do not like to be the only source of support for a particular project or organization.
tip to The NonProfit Times
Getting the First Online Gift Faster
As nonprofits escalate their focus on the Internet for fundraising and base-building, there is, increasingly, a recognition that the online channel can be a constituent-friendly, cost-effective means of building relationships and raising money from individuals.
New online fundraising programs, however, bring new challenges:
- How to acquire new constituents?
- How to cultivate this virtual constituent community?
- How to produce fundraising revenue (quickly)?
- How to reduce the payback period for the program investment?
For nonprofits with growing online fundraising programs, there is a similar set of challenges:
- How to continue to grow the base?
- How to keep program costs in check?
- How to increase revenue?
- How to increase net proceeds (revenue less costs)?
Read more from the Nonprofit Technology Network.
MediaWatch: The World Around Us
from U.S. News and World Reports:
Women’s growing financial power changes the world of philanthropy
Angelina Jolie isn’t the only woman wielding her philanthropic power. As a result of their growing earning power, wealth, and financial control, women have surpassed men as the biggest givers, leading to shifts in how the philanthropic world operates.
from the Wall Street Journal:
Social Entrepreneurship is Hot, but Finding Funding Still a Challenge
Social entrepreneurship programs are sprouting all over on college campuses right now, appealing to idealistic student entrepreneurs who want to build ventures that make both profit and a social difference.
But students seeking to start socially responsible ventures face a double whammy when they emerge from college and are seeking funding, according to a recent Business Week article.
updated; from the International Herald Tribune:
The new face of private philanthropy
Charitable giving has been a challenging proposition at least since the days of Andrew Carnegie, who was once quoted as saying, “It is more difficult to give money away intelligently than it is to earn it in the first place.”
Given the unprecedented number of charitable organizations in the world today, the learning curve associated with philanthropic giving has never been steeper. In the United States alone, there were about 904,000 public charities registered with the Internal Revenue Service as of 2006. In Britain, as of this year, there were an estimated 180,000.
Small wonder, then, that potential donors may feel ill-equipped to navigate this new landscape - especially when they are approached in a high-pressure manner, like at a fund-raising auction.
Jerusalem Innovation; Three for Three
Four incredible weeks of innovation, Jerusalem style. Two brand-new ventures, Amuta 2.0 and Tachlis 2 Point Oh!, premired to packed opening programs. Both in their own way focused on providing cutting edge resources to our communal world. Both with exciting programs taking shape over the coming year.
And then last night, to an overflowing audience and live-streamed to their international community, The PresenTense organization formally opened their first permanent, year-round Institute. It was a who’s who of the (mostly) young and forward thinking innovators shaping our world from Jerusalem. The energy was infectious and provided an excellent jumping off point as PresenTense moves from summer to year round programming here in Israel. BTW, this was all accomplished with none other than Paul Cartney as the evening’s competition (performing for the first time here in Israel) - outstanding!
Envisioned as the flagship hub of PresenTenses’ emerging global network of socially-minded entrepreneurs and located in the heart of Jerusalem, both physically and emotionally, the new space will serve as a locus of pioneering ideas and groundbreaking projects of communal importance.
According to co-founder Aharon Horwitz, this new space will serve as “a new creative center for innovation, entrepreneurship, and pioneering…a home for our creative community seeking to address key issues facing Jerusalem, Israel, the Jewish People, and beyond.”
I was especially pleased to see Becky Caspi, the UJC’s senior professional here in Israel, in attendance as well as several year-in-Israel HUC Rabbinic students, future leaders in their own right.
Kol Ha-Kavod to the entire PresenTense community for their exciting and ground-breaking work. We look for continued success in the future.
Stay tuned as we bring you the best from all three organizations as 5769 unfolds.
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem.
Creating an Online Buzz
The proper use of viral marketing can help your message spread rapidly. Take your message online and there’s no telling how many potential supporters you will reach. According to Steve MacLaughlin, Interactive practice manager at Blackbaud in Charleston, S.C., the success of any viral marketing strategy is in the “pass it on” rate.
“Response rates increase dramatically when users can see that a message is coming from a friend, family member, or co-worker,” he said. “People must be encouraged to pass a message along-don’t rely on them to think of this themselves.
MacLaughlin shares with us 10 tips for creating an online buzz:
- Provide for effortless transfer to others — keep the message simple and easy to share (more…)
Bookmark:
Market Meltdown
an excellent and extensive report from the New York Jewish Week:
‘Genuine Emergency’ For Charities, Agencies
As one former Jewish official called for a national emergency summit of Jewish leaders to deal with the fallout from the market meltdown, Jewish charities were grappling this week for an appropriate response to a fast-moving crisis few fully understand.
The problem could be especially acute in New York City, where a tax base heavily dependent on Wall Street and the financial sector is already starting to feel the effects of the crisis. On Tuesday Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered spending cuts of $1.5 billion over two years. Those cuts could prove just the tip of the iceberg as the crisis deepens.
A key indicator of the impact on high-end philanthropy could come on Thursday, when the UJA-Federation kicks off its annual campaign with a cocktail reception hosted by former Bear Stearns CEO Alan “Ace” Greenberg. Last year, the event, which brings together an elite group of mega-givers, resulted in more than $40 million in pledges.
Mark Talisman, a longtime Jewish activist who helped guide Jewish charities through the Wall Street meltdown in 1987, has proposed an emergency national summit of Jewish leaders to respond to a crisis he said is fast becoming “many times worse.” The former Washington director for the Council of Jewish Federations (which merged with the United Jewish Appeal to create the United Jewish Communities) told The Jewish Week “our organizations face a potential emergency with donors, who are heavily concentrated in real estate, banking and finance.”
“Kosher food pantries around the country have been out of food since July,” he said. “That’s the first time in memory that’s happened. That’s just one indication this is a genuine emergency.”
Click here to read the complete story.
Have a Rockin’ Rosh Hashana
