The blog-o-sphere has been carrying reports for several weeks now about the impending budget revision and upcoming staff cuts at the UJC. Apparently it became 'sort of official' yesterday. We'll stay away from playing the "he said / she said" that will surely continue surrounding this financial crisis and staff upheaval. However, we find one new budget item of the UJC particularly interesting... according to UJC Chair Joe Kanfer, "the UJC will add a $750,000 e-philanthropy initiative to the budget." Maybe, in part, it has to do with this opening, Senior Manager, Ephilanthropy, that the UJC has been trying to fill since before the GA. Among other position responsibilities: to develop, launch and help federations implement strong e-philanthropy initiatives that include data ...

The AVI CHAI Foundation has announced that it is allocating up to $1.15 million over the course of the next three years to four individuals and one team of two whom it has selected as the first recipients of The AVI CHAI Fellowship. The program is unique and constitutes the largest cash award to emerging communal and educational leaders within the North American Jewish community. It has been approved for three award cycles with a financial commitment of approximately $3 million. More than 40 nominations were submitted by twenty nominators (18 from the U.S. and 2 from Israel). The AVI CHAI Fellowship was kept under wraps and the nominators and selections committee remained anonymous so the integrity of the nomination and selection ...

From the Jerusalem Post... "Here is something of a reality check about American Jewish finances. They are not what they used to be. True, we have it easier here than in most places. But across the US, the relentless news is about economic woes, the collapse of the mortgage market and home foreclosures. When traditional news broadcasts offer "consumer segments" about saving on your household grocery bill, something is sad and scary in the US. Shortly before the recent Wall Street and real estate woes sent jitters through philanthropic organizations in the New York area, some local Jewish federations quietly let it ...

Transparency in Israeli philanthropy continues to be a big deal in the press as a result of the recent JFN Conference. According to the Forward:

"The Israeli government does not demand the same level of financial reporting of nonprofits as does the United States, and it does not publicly release the financial reports that it does receive, as has become increasingly common in the United States and Great Britain with services like the Web site GuideStar. The result is that transparency and public oversight are often lacking."

A must read article: As Ranks of Israeli Wealthy Swell, Philanthropic Sector Plays Catch-Up image source: The Reut Institute...

Jewish Agency plans large-scale cutbacks Daphna Berman in Haaretz "The Jewish Agency will soon be initiating a large-scale cutback in a move that would significantly reduce staff size, chairman Zeev Bielski warned this week. Though he would not specify the number of intended job losses at the organization, he said the cutbacks in the coming weeks would "touch every department in the Jewish Agency." But he rejected claims the Jewish Agency is on the decline and insisted it remains as relevant as in the years after the establishment of the State, saying the "reduction in manpower" is simply the result of the dollar's decline." click here for the complete story Israel at 60 logo a no-go for some Shelly Paz in the ...

In an article in this morning's Jerusalem Post, McGill professor Gil Troy, writes about the Birthright 2.0 challenge: "The best way to say "thank you" for the Birthright gift is to "pay it forward," giving something of yourself to other Jews. Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt started this visionary festival of philanthropy which the latest gifts continue. Each of us, whether connected to Birthright or not, should imitate these guerrilla philanthropists. Rather than waiting for permission from the Jewish establishment to lead, they pushed the Jewish establishment to follow. They and their partners have invested their time, money, passion, and souls into this program. In the process, they not only transformed the ...

The Center for Leadership Initiatives announced that 35 young Jewish innovators would receive seed funding for their projects to support the realization of innovative Jewish ideas worldwide. The funds, alongside general support of the overall ROI program, were provided by philanthropist Lynn Shusterman. Selected projects range from web initiatives to music, art and film, and from community activism and education to environmental projects. Grant recipients are in their twenties or early thirties, and hail from Europe, South America, North America, the FSU, South Africa, and Israel. According to Yonaton Gordis, Executive Director of the Center for Leadership Initiatives, "The ROI Grants were created to serve as seed funds that will enable ROI ...

Yad Vashem, the Holocaust remembrance and education center in Jerusalem, has launched two YouTube channels in advance of today's Holocaust Remembrance Day. The channels, in English and Arabic, went live Tuesday. The English channel contains testimonies from Holocaust survivors, including archival footage, historians’ lectures on key issues related to the Holocaust, footage from visits to Yad Vashem, including those of President George W. Bush in January 2008, and Pope John Paul II in March 2000, as well as human interest stories, such as family reunions. The Arabic channel has testimonies and archival footage about the Holocaust, with Arabic subtitles. “We know that YouTube is one of the most popular websites today. This ...

We hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable Pesach. Judging from both our Web traffic counts, and "out-of-office" automated replies, we know many of you took some time off last week. Here, hopefully in easy to read form, is a summary of the various posts added during Chol HaMoed. As you will notice, not much happened in our Jewish world, but a couple of significant studies were released in the broader American philanthropic community you might want to check out. In Our Global Jewish World: A New Capacity Building Grant for Birthright Israel The Birthright Israel Foundation will be the recipient of the largest grant ever provided by the Jim Joseph Foundation. The $17.5 million gift, to be distributed over the next ...

A new study at an Irish university suggests that gossip influences generosity, reports Reuters. NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Worried about what people are saying about you? Concerns about gossip could influence behavior, including generosity, researchers said. "As it turns out, the act of gossip can indeed be quite powerful," said Jared Piazza of Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Read more here. Perhaps the Jewish Funders Network should pass the study details over to the Israeli philanthropists who participated in their recent Conference here in Jerusalem. See our previous post, Israeli Philanthropists: Afraid of Transparency.