Home Archives for Jewish Federations of NA/formerly UJC

Are Interfaith Families Included in Inclusive Philanthropy?

Posted on May 1, 2013 Written by
inclusivity

No matter how good a job we do with immersive Jewish experiences developing strong Jewish identities, Jews will continue to intermarry. by Edmund Case There’s a lot of energy these days among Jewish philanthropists around inclusivity. On April 17, 2013 in eJewishPhilanthropy, Jay Ruderman wrote about a major upcoming conference for funders on inclusivity for Jews with disabilities. Referring to Jews with disabilities, Ruderman says “all Jews should be fully included in Jewish communal life” and “full inclusion needs to have a prominent place on the Jewish agenda” and “It is crucial that philanthropic leaders are made aware of the issue of inclusion and its centrality to vibrant Jewish life.” … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Opinion / Letters Tagged: ,

Inclusive Philanthropy

Posted on April 17, 2013 Written by
inclusion

by Jay Ruderman “The day is short, the task is great and the master is urgent” (Chapters of the Fathers, 2:20) Thousands of people and hundreds of Jewish organizations are dedicated to working towards the full inclusion of people with disabilities in our communities. US government statistics show that 20% of the US population has some form of disability. This is a population we are all connected to. Our foundation and many others believe that all Jews should be fully included in Jewish communal life, whether at school, synagogue or in the workforce. No one should be excluded from participating and no barriers constructed to keep people out. As this issue probably affects someone in your family, a neighbor or a friend, full inclusion needs to have a prominent place on the Jewish … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Opinion / Letters Tagged: , ,

The Importance of Endowments: Building a Stronger Organization with Smarter Asset Management

Posted on February 8, 2013 Written by

by Robert I. Evans and Avrum D. Lapin While every vibrant Jewish nonprofit today should pay attention to building a strong endowment, some organizations have approached the process through two concurrent (and compatible) philosophies: seeking more philanthropic support as the primary objective and, at the same time, developing ways to reduce costs and enhance investment strategies. Both are important, we believe! Endowments are a critical venue for institutional funding, and can provide the type of permanence that creates the space for and fuels innovation. At organizations where a robust endowment provides financial stability, leadership are unleashed to “think outside of the box” and consider opportunities, as opposed to always scrambling just to “make ends meet.” … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Opinion / Letters Tagged:

Returning to Its Roots, OTZMA to be Transferred to Israel Experience

Posted on January 6, 2013 Written by

At the conclusion of this year's program, OTZMA is slated to become a program of the Israel Experience Educational Tourism Services Ltd., a subsidiary of The Jewish Agency for Israel, in a way returning the program to its early roots. Project OTZMA, founded 27 years ago, was originally a joint program of the Israel Forum and the UJA (North America) in cooperation with the Jewish Agency's Department for Jewish Zionist Education. Over the decades the OTZMA program itself has gone through changes; UJA became a part of Jewish Federations of North America, and roughly three years ago - in a cost-cutting move - The Jewish Agency moved away from direct program support. On November 1, 2011, Jerry Silverman - JFNA's CEO - announced the conclusion of OTZMA. Neither at that time, nor at any time since, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Heard Around Jerusalem Tagged: , , ,

The Best of The Year

Posted on December 23, 2012 Written by
Top 10 articles

In case you missed any, here - based on site analytics, and in alphabetical order - are our Top Ten posts from 2012: Do our Compensation Patterns Reflect our Values? by Avi Herring, Justin Rosen Smolen, Tamar Snyder, Mordecai Walfish, Ruthie Warshenbrot, and Naomi Korb Weiss An initial analysis of the 2012 Jewish Communal Professional Compensation Survey … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Most Read Content Tagged: ,

A Big Todah: The Power of Collective Giving

Posted on November 30, 2012 Written by
thank you

by Misha Galperin If you are like me, you are anxious about the situation in Israel. You realize how vulnerable we are right now. A cease-fire may be no more than a chance to re-fuel, re-load and re-energize the forces at work against us. We are unsure what the days and weeks ahead will bring or what it will require of the global Jewish community in support. But anxiety has a cost; it can get in the way of gratitude. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Opinion / Letters Tagged: , , ,