DC Federation Revises Investment Rules
Some of the stories making news this morning:
from The Washington Post:
D.C. area Jewish federation revises investment rules
The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington’s endowment fund, which lost $4.35 million to financier Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, has changed its operating procedures to prevent such losses in the future, according to its leadership.
Policy changes for the federation’s United Jewish Endowment Fund include term limits for the volunteers who help manage the money; a requirement that at least one-third of investment committee members have professional financial expertise; and the assignment of a staff member to monitor compliance with the rules.
from Haaretz:
Zionist youth say they face financial ruin
World Zionist youth movements are facing a financial crisis which could lead to their imminent collapse, leaders of all major such movements told the Knesset this week in a plea for government intervention.
If this happens, “hundreds of thousands of Jewish youth will lose their only significant link to the State of Israel and to their Jewish identity,” a coalition of chairpersons from Habonim Dror, Hashomar Hatzair, World Bnei Akiva, Maccabi World Union and other movements wrote to the Knesset.
Since the Jewish Agency drastically cut funding a year ago, many youth movements tried to weather the recent financial crisis but are now running out of money.
from The Jerusalem Post:
More communication, cultural exchanges in 2010
The government will take a more active role in expanding the contacts between Israeli society and Diaspora communities, and will strive to create shared educational and cultural activities, according to a working plan presented to the Knesset on Wednesday by the Ministry for Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs.
The plan includes the expansion of state aid to existing programs, many of them run by non-profit Jewish groups around the world.
… a major focus of Israel’s Diaspora policy going forward will be “the worrying question of the next generation of Jewish leaders. Many major organizations don’t have clear replacements for their current leadership.”
from The Jewish Journal:
Each year, when we set out our criteria for our annual pantheon of L.A.’s top mensches, we try to find nominees whose good works are, for the most part, unsung.