Beware of Throwing Good Money After Bad

…financial due diligence can reduce risks of philanthropic giving by David Roth and Ardie Geldman Dollars are dear The ongoing economic crisis has made philanthropic dollars more precious. Demand for nonprofit programs and services and for the financial resources to carry them out far outstrips supply. Further, no one knows when the crisis will end. Nonprofits that manage to stay afloat this year on a shoestring budget may face even greater difficulties in 2010 and beyond. Simply put, there is less money available to warrant the same level of risk-taking and continuing to “do business as usual.” Throwing money away One of the greatest risks is donating money to an organization that is likely to fail in the near future. When this occurs, we can point to three losses: first, the organization... Continue Reading

Philanthropy and Public Policy Conference at Hebrew U.

On Tuesday, May 26th The Center for the Study of Philanthropy in Israel will hold a Conference at Mt. Scopus Campus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The conference will explore the connections between Philanthropy and Public Policy through four panels: Philanthropists as Policy Makers Social Responsibility in the Employment Domain Legislation Sustaining Private Philanthropy in Israel Public policy and philanthropy – New Research from the Field The  Keynote speakers will be: Prof. Joel L. Fleishman, director of the Sam and Ronnie Heyman Center for Ethics, Public Policy, and the Professions within the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University Prof. Peter Frumkin, Professor of Public Affairs and Director, RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service, The University... Continue Reading

Professional Leaders Project Accepting Applications for 2009 Programs

The Professional Leaders Project (PLP) has opened applications for two programs, LiveNetworks 2009 and ThinkTank4. A Los Angeles based initiative working nationally, PLP is an entrepreneurial non-profit working with a hand-selected and diverse group of Jewish Professionals and lay volunteers in their 20s – 30s – connecting them to forward-thinking seasoned leaders for networking, mentoring, coaching, skill-building and positive organizational change. Applications are now being accepted for: LiveNetworks 2009: a national network of Talent committed to leading and serving as change agents in both established organizations and start-ups in the Jewish community. ThinkTank4: where Talent unite to proactively shape and change the Jewish community in the 21st Century. Attracting the best minds,... Continue Reading

Is Your Website Well Directed?

by Alan Kravitz When I was in London recently, I noticed something odd whenever I crossed a busy street. I’d look down, and there, in humongous bold letters, would be painted signs warning me to LOOK LEFT or LOOK RIGHT. How strange, I thought. Don’t the good people of this city realize that most people know quite well how to cross the street? So I ignored these “silly” signs – and nearly got hit by a car. I discovered – almost the hard way – that there’s crossing the street; and then there’s crossing the street in London, where cars have an uncanny ability to come from out of nowhere, and drivers feel absolutely no need whatsoever to stop for some poor bloke who didn’t read the signs. Suddenly, these directions made sense to me. And I was grateful for them, because of... Continue Reading

Lists, Lists and More Lists: Take 2

The Jewish Week is out with their second list of three dozen young Jews retooling Jewish life in New York. Some of the names are ones you’d expect. Others, dark horses. from The Jewish Week Much has been written in these pages and elsewhere about the concern over younger Jews who are less affiliated with Jewish organizations, less connected to Israel and less interested in communal life than their elders. Statistics support this disturbing trend, and that is why it is especially important to highlight the exceptions to the rule. In truth, there are many accomplished, motivated and committed younger people who are not only filling vital roles in the community but are expanding the parameters of Jewish life through their creativity and imagination. In our second “36 Under 36″ section... Continue Reading

Israel Celebrates!

61 more things I love about Israel by Benji Lovitt 1. I love that even though I may not have spoken with someone since the Ben-Gurion Administration, he will call me to check that I have somewhere to go for Passover Seder. 2. I love how you can bring your dog into any cafe to walk around and no one bats an eyelash. 3. I love that the social norm that allows us to double-dip in peace without neurotic fear of contracting the West Nile virus. Take your Purel bottle and stick it somewhere. (Despite the events of this week.) 4. I love that you could take a homeless person with no marketable skills, put them behind the counter of Aroma, and they’d immediately be qualified to make a little foam heart in your cafe hafuch. image: 2009 Jewish Heritage Festival, Sacramento [Translate] Bookmark:  Read More →

Rabbinical Schools Continue to Grapple With the Recession

from The New York Jewish Week HUC Faculty Mounts Push To Save N.Y. Campus Faced with the possible closing of their seminary here, faculty and alumni of the Reform movement’s New York campus have mounted a campaign to highlight its strengths and explain why it would be a mistake to shut down the campus in the Jewish capital of the country. The effort comes on the eve of Sunday’s meeting here of the board of governors of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. The board is to begin considering options designed to close the school’s widening budget gap and to make a final decision June 23. To help them decide, The Jewish Week has learned, the faculty here drafted a series of suggestions that includes closing all three of HUC’s American campuses and relocating a combined school elsewhere... Continue Reading

Dear JTS Community

A letter from JTS Chancellor Arnold Eisen April 27, 2009 Dear JTS Community, As everyone knows, this past year has been an extremely difficult one for the economy of our country and indeed, for most of the world. Earlier this afternoon, I met with JTS faculty and staff to provide a progress report and update on our budget and I wanted to share this with you as well. For-profit and nonprofit organizations alike have been severely impacted. You and I have received a stream of messages – from institutions of higher education on the one hand and Jewish organizations on the other – detailing the difficulties and budget cuts caused by the economic downturn. The Jewish Theological Seminary has not been spared such difficulties. The financial situation of JTS is directly affected by the current... Continue Reading

The By-Laws: The Rules of the Game for the Work of the Non-Profit Organization

Over the past few months I have discussed various aspects of the workings of the board of directors and committees of non-profit organizations. There has been an exploration of specific functions and guidelines have been offered for the prescribed workings of the professional staff and the volunteer lay leaders who do the work of the organization. More often than not, questions are raised about how to structure the work of the non-profit organization. In other words, who does what and how do they know what they should be doing? Actually the answer is simpler than one would think. The non-profit organization’s structure is determined by the rules of the game, otherwise know as the “By-Laws”. The “By-Laws” of an organization should be as brief as possible and at the same time should encompass... Continue Reading

The Innovation Ecosystem: Emergence of a New Jewish Landscape

Based on the 2008 Survey of New Jewish Organizations An ecosystem is a complex set of relationships – the interactions of organisms that live in an interdependent environment. In an ecosystem, the web of connections between individuals and structures forms a self-organizing framework to support life. Over the past decade or so the Jewish world has witnessed the emergence of a new landscape of innovative startups. These enterprises have created new entry points to Jewish life, and new ways of building Jewish community. This diverse and vibrant collective of new Jewish initiatives is an organic communal infrastructure for the Jewish community in the twenty-first century. The Innovation Ecosystem: Emergence of a New Jewish Landscape is a snapshot of a habitat with over 400,000 participants and over... Continue Reading

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