The recent study of the “Jewish Web” by 4WallMedia sees that Israeli online news sources are much more popular than American-based Jewish sites, and concludes that the “takeaway point is that the American Jewish media needs (sic) to coordinate and combine their assets online.” That’s a nonsequitur, given the data reported in the study. The most popular Jewish-oriented site, the Jerusalem Post’s, draws over 1.4 million total unique visitors per month; all U.S. news sites combined attract only 800,000. Significantly, JPost.com is not an integrated consortium of information sources; it’s a standalone company with compelling editorial content. Haaretz.com, with nearly 700,000 unique monthly visitors - almost as many as all the American sites - is also a single-source site. In other … Continue Reading
Sharansky Slams Shas Minister Over Funding Comments
Late yesterday afternoon, the Jewish Agency made public a letter to Religious Affairs Minister Ya'acov Margi from JAFI's Chair Natan Sharansky concerning a pre-Shabbat interview with the Jerusalem Post. According to the paper, Margi is quoted as saying: "I recommend to those organizations that do not want to accept [Orthodox] halacha to build their own mikvaot and their own synagogues according to their own halacha. According to the law for Jewish Religious Services, the Chief Rabbinate is the sole body responsible for providing religious services. And they do this in accordance with halacha. Since the Conservative and the Reform do not conform to halacha they are not eligible for state funds. Nor do they have the right to use existing mikvaot and synagogues." Here's the complete text of … Continue Reading
New Guide Sheds Light On Exciting Advances in European Jewish Life
Compass, the first-ever guide to more than thirty of Europe's most innovative and effective Jewish organizations and programs, has just been released by the Westbury Group, an informal network of international Jewish philanthropic organizations and individual funders. The handbook highlights a revival of activity and engagement in the Jewish communities of Europe and the former Soviet Union. Copies of Compass are now available online in a downloadable PDF on the Compass Website. According to Sanford R. Cardin, president of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and chair of the Westbury Group, “Reading Compass will help everyone deepen their understanding of what is happening today in Jewish communities throughout Europe and, we hope, lead to new sources of support from those who … Continue Reading
NewsBits: Birthright Israel in the News, Again
from The Forward: Largest Outreach Effort for Alums of Birthright Raises Concerns Taglit-Birthright Israel... has carefully tended its image as pluralistic and inclusive. But the religious slant and political orientation of the largest, most well-funded organizer of follow-up programs for Birthright alumni is raising concerns, even among top Birthright officials. The Jewish Enrichment Center, which some people characterize as a kiruv, or Orthodox outreach organization, has been given a virtual monopoly on reaching out to the tens of thousands of Birthright alumni who return to the New York Tri-State area. This large pool of young adults represents one third of all those who have gone on Birthright trips, a majority of whom are non-Orthodox Jews. The center is the official New York … Continue Reading
Dos and Don’ts for Nonprofit Credit Card Compliance
a guest post by Douglas Schoenberg Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliance refers to a set of security standards for protecting cardholder data. Here are some basic Dos & Don'ts for any organization that is accepting (or considering accepting) credit card payments. Don'ts Don't think PCI doesn't apply to you - Most non-profits process fewer than 20,000 transactions per year and are thus considered Level 4 Merchants. Currently this means that certifying PCI-compliance is not mandatory, however they are still responsible for the security of cardholder data and still subject to fines if the data is breached. Don't ever keep account verification data - This includes the 3 or 4 digit CVV security code on the card, PIN #s or data stored on the magnetic stripe of the card. Don't collect or … Continue Reading
New Online Fundraising Site from Virgin Money Promises More for Charities
As we first wrote late last Fall, the Virgin Group has launched ‘Virgin Money Giving’, an independent not-for-profit organization designed to facilitate widespread UK fundraising and help charities receive more of their charitable donations. From today charities will be able to publish their own pages by visiting the site and registering. Once registered, charities will be able to customise their pages in their own brand colours, promote them to supporters, send out email alerts and manage their fundraising events. As a not-for-profit business, Virgin Money Giving will only look to cover its costs, through a 2% transaction fee on donations and a one-off £100 set-up fee for charities. No charge will be made on administering Gift Aid. As a result Virgin Money Giving will cut the cost to … Continue Reading
Circle Power
Tamar Snyder writing in The Jewish Week: Rochelle Kleter never pictured herself as a philanthropist. The first-generation American, born to parents who grew up in the Ukraine, had a hard time finding her place in the Jewish community. “I was one of the only Jewish kids in the public school system” in East Hanover, N.J., she said. “I didn’t know what it meant to keep kosher for Passover. And when I took Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur off as personal days, I was made fun of.” ...Kleter is one of a growing number of Jews - men and women, both young and old, the über rich and those who do not consider themselves wealthy - who are joining giving circles, where like-minded individuals pool their money and other resources and decide together where these resources should be distributed. In … Continue Reading
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