Leonid Nevzlin, Chairman of the International Board of Governors of Beit Hatfutsot, has donated $6 million, through the NADAV Fund which he founded, towards establishing the ‘Museum of the Jewish People’ in Beit Hatfutsot - the first museum in the world to tell the story of the Jewish People. The gift follows several previous donations Nevzlin awarded Beit Hatfutsot, which helped saved the institution during a previous severe budgetary crisis, allowing it to endure and continue to develop. Nevzlin was the leading force behind the establishment of the Museum, which is estimated to cost $24 million and is planned to open in 2012. The new museum project comes at the culmination of a comprehensive renewal process undertaken by Beit Hatfutsot in recent years. The 16,000 square meter museum will … Continue Reading
Charitable Giving; Jewish Week Style
The New York Jewish Week is out with their annual supplement on Charitable Giving; some highlights: Q&A: ‘The Initial Shock Has Been Absorbed’ [Leonard Glickman, CEO of the Foundation of Philanthropic Funds responding to the question, How has the Jewish philanthropic world changed, post-Madoff?] I would set large gifts aside from overall giving. A lot of nonprofits rely heavily on major gifts. A true test is not the contribution of major donors, although that’s important and terrific, but how has general community reacted to giving. A surprisingly large amount of bequests have come from donors who gave relatively small gifts but were loyal to the organization. When organizations get the call from the trustee of the estate, they often go, “Who?” The Art Of Getting By - With … Continue Reading
Time for Straight-Talk About Assimilation
Jack Wertheimer writing in The Forward: From now on, Jewish groups will likely think twice before using any variation on the word “assimilation.” That’s one lesson learned from the recent brouhaha over a 34-second commercial on Israeli television promoting the Jewish Agency’s Masa program, which brings young Jews to Israel for sustained periods of work, study and volunteering. The advertisement, which paired photos of young Jews on missing-person posters with the statement that “over 50% of Jews abroad are assimilating,” drew a firestorm of criticism on blogs and in news reports. Facing mounting international controversy, the Jewish Agency quickly killed the ad. The issues raised by the ad, though, will not go away so easily. While the ad may have been clumsy in its execution, … Continue Reading
Engaging Alumni Reaps Benefits
Tamar Snyder writing in The Jewish Week: It wasn’t just about the money. That’s what Idit Klein says about the initial $1,000 grant she received from the Bronfman Youth Fellowships’ Alumni Venture Fund in 2004. Klein, the executive director of Keshet, a nonprofit that champions the inclusion of LGBTs within the Jewish community, used the small seed grant to mount an educational campaign centered on marriage equality. “It was a politically charged gesture,” Klein says of the initial grant. “What was most significant about it was the recognition that this was worthy of investment. It gave me validation for doing work that is not universally supported in the Jewish community.” Five years and $5,750 in grants later, Klein is set to join the Bronfman Youth Fellowships’ alumni … Continue Reading
The Israel Tikkun Olam Tzedakah Conference
Sometimes, things just fall through the cracks; this was one of them - a delayed post. Last month, Danny Siegel, hosted a conference here in Jerusalem, Alternative for Jewish Educators, a four day event focused on Tzedakah. To really understand what transpired, one has to understand something about “Mitzvah heroes” - a term coined by Danny Siegel over 30 years ago to describe the wonderful people who do wonderful things to fix the world and who do it efficiently and effectively. In general, when someone is asked "how many Tzaddikim (often translated as "righteous ones" or "holy ones") are there in the world", many people respond by saying "36", referring to the very popular legend that this is the special number of Tzaddikim required to be alive in the world or else the world would … Continue Reading
Breaking News: Hadassah Sells Youth Hostel Campus for $15 million
Hadassah continues to divest itself of properties in Jerusalem. The Young Judaea Youth Hostel campus located in the Givat Masua neighborhood has now been sold for $15 million. The property was sold to a Canadian investor, a Jewish businesswoman and long-time Hadassah member, who intends to continue to manage the guesthouse as a hostel/hotel open to both Israeli and international tourists. The guesthouse includes 5 floors and 129 guest rooms. According to Hadassah, the decision to sell the youth hostel was made in the fall of 2008, only two years following the completion and dedication of the campus, and prior to the breaking of the Madoff fiasco. The decision is part of Hadassah's ongoing effort to consolidate Young Judaea properties, programs and services in the Baka neighborhood. Last … Continue Reading
A Strategy for the Jewish Future
The start of a new year is an apt time to think about the implications of David Bryfman’s recent study of non-Orthodox Jewish teenagers. He summarized his glimpse of the Jewish future in America here on eJewish Philanthropy a couple of weeks ago in a thoughtful and important essay. His conclusions have the ring of truth. “For many Jewish teenagers,” he writes, “being Jewish is only as important as the context allows it to be and very rarely will be at the expense of other identities.” Indeed, “inter-marriage [is] accepted as a fact of life - even a source of pride for some because “halvsies” are seen as lucky to get to know about more than just one culture. […] This also means that one can be positively Jewish in a non-Jewish framework and with non-Jewish … Continue Reading
Madoff Prosecutors: Net Losses $13 Billion
Separately California's Attorney General Sues Stanley Chais from The New York Times: Review Says No Net Loss for Some in Scheme Federal prosecutors said on Tuesday that a review of most accounts held by Bernard L. Madoff’s customers when he was arrested shows that about half of the customers had not lost money because they withdrew more money than they originally invested. from Los Angeles Times: Financial advisor Stanley Chais sued in Bernard Madoff scheme Beverly Hills financial advisor Stanley Chais, accused of steering hundreds of millions in investor dollars to Bernard L. Madoff's Ponzi scheme, was sued Tuesday by California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, seeks restitution for victims and at least $25 million in civil … Continue Reading
Supervising Staff is Strengthening and Building the Organization for Tomorrow
Our concern for the productivity and contribution the staff make to the non-profit often motivates senior staff to quickly access and evaluate the way the staff members work and their on the job performance. At the same time the senior staff may neglect the role supervision and in-service training can play in strengthening both the staff and the organization. Supervision and training can add a great deal to the agency’s responding to community needs and delivering services. When a person is engaged to perform professional and/or administrative functions for an agency we assume a basic level of competence. We expect the person to adapt their knowledge and experience to the specific role the person is playing in the organization. When a staff person receives a job description they have a … Continue Reading
Spotlight: Dr. Ernest Kahn: An Icon in America’s Jewish Community Speaks Out
by Robert I. Evans & Avrum D. Lapin “Be aware of trends in your fields, but don’t think that one size fits all. Going against the trend doesn’t mean everyone else is wrong.” —Dr. Ernest M. Kahn Another in our continuing series of interviews with prominent Americans familiar with the Jewish non-profit world brought us to Dr. Ernest Kahn. For more than 40 years, Dr. Kahn has played visible roles in various Jewish organizations across North America and today he is considered a go-to resource for social service, educational, and community organizations looking to their futures. He has spent decades in numerous executive and leadership positions in academia, at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, as acting president of Gratz College and providing critical leadership input … Continue Reading
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