By Dr. Hal M. Lewis It is hard to recall a time when the interest in “conflicts of interest” has so dominated the American political landscape. During the campaign season we were inundated with allegations of improprieties from both the Clinton and Trump Foundations. And now on the eve of the inauguration, news feeds brim with talk of divestitures, dissolutions, blind trusts, and LLCs. In the weeks since the election, many learned for the … [Read more...] about In the Interest of Conflicts
ethics
Principles for Honorable Conduct in Jewish Philanthropy
Recent years have witnessed a degradation of public discourse in the Jewish world. Even with the best of intentions, funders can sometimes exacerbate fractures in the community. Seeing this problem, a diverse group of Jewish funders came together under the auspices of Jewish Funders Network to discuss how Jewish funders can align Jewish philanthropy to Jewish values in the service of a vibrant and respectful Jewish community. The principles in … [Read more...] about Principles for Honorable Conduct in Jewish Philanthropy
The Meaning of Jewish Community: Our Experiment With A Community Ethical Will
By Howard Sovronsky and Michael Johnston Community: A social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists. All of our work as Jewish communal leaders is about strengthening this thing we call Jewish community. Too often, we have come to equate success in building community with how much … [Read more...] about The Meaning of Jewish Community: Our Experiment With A Community Ethical Will
Why Jewish Organizations Should Take a Stronger Stand Against Commission-Based Fundraising
With commission-based fundraising: charitable mission can become secondary to self-gain; donor trust can be unalterably damaged; there is incentive for self-dealing to prevail over donors’ best interests. By Robert Evans The tone of the potential donor’s email was skeptical and a little accusatory. Why, the individual wrote, should he or she support the congregation’s multi-million dollar capital campaign when a certain percentage of the … [Read more...] about Why Jewish Organizations Should Take a Stronger Stand Against Commission-Based Fundraising
Ethics for Giving Circles
By Ingrid Steinberg On a recent Shabbos afternoon, my family gathered with several other families from our Jewish community, IKAR, to talk about money. Specifically, we were meeting for the last time to talk about what to do with the $3,600 that we had pooled together as part of our Giving Circle. Our meeting was a culmination of a series of monthly gatherings during which we discussed various aspects of Tzedakah and our relationship to … [Read more...] about Ethics for Giving Circles
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