Financial Resource Development The Jewish Federations of North America provides fundraising expertise, consulting and support for the Annual Campaign, supplemental efforts and endowment funds for Federations and Network Communities. Our professional and lay leaders work with Federations and Network Communities to train, educate and motivate local leadership via events such as the General Assembly, I-LEAD professional training, missions, teleconferences or Webinars and community consultation.

The Annual Campaign

The Jewish Federation Annual Campaign is the most trusted fundraising vehicle in the world, raising nearly a billion dollars every year to provide the basic infrastructure that supports the global Jewish community. The Jewish Federation movement has earned a reputation as a reliable and effective charity that makes a real difference in local communities and around the world.

And whether here at home, overseas in over 70 countries around the world, or in Israel, we will always be there to help the needy, respond to crises and enrich Jewish life. The Jewish Federation movement has a unique and historic relationship with three overseas agencies that provide vital programs and services. Our partnerships with The Jewish Agency for Israel, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and World ORT, funded by Annual Campaign donations, enable us to be there for every Jew who needs our help.

Through un-restricted donations, the Annual Campaign meets urgent and ongoing Jewish needs, enhances Jewish education, and builds Jewish connections and community worldwide. In 2008, The Jewish Federations of North America raised over $1 billion for the Annual Campaign to support a global range of programs. Even amid the economic downturn, the Federation movement raised an impressive $820 million for the 2009 campaign, through the end of the calendar year.

Campaign Chairs and Directors Mission

More than 100 lay and professional leaders from 31 communities across North America participated in the 2009 Campaign Chairs and Directors Mission to Israel, where they saw critical, life-saving programs the Annual Campaign makes possible. The mission raised more than $1.3 million in pledges to help launch the 2010 Annual Campaign and $52,000 for special projects. This represented an 11 percent increase on a per-gift basis from the 2009 Annual Campaign. The 2010 mission will travel to Budapest and Israel in July.

As a fundraiser and a donor, there is no greater experience than to get out into the field, see our projects and meet our beneficiaries. To see our gifts at work, and truly understand that we can have a real impact in caring for our worldwide community, is empowering and motivating. We came home from a Campaign Chairs and Directors Mission with first-hand knowledge, new experiences to talk about, wonderful development training and commitment in our hearts, enabling us to better serve our communities. These trips are life changing, providing memories and feelings of responsibility that I believe will impact each participant in every aspect of life, every single day.

–Nelle S. Miller
The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee
2010 Campaign Co-Chair
2010 Incoming President
National Women’s Philanthropy Board Member

National Women’s Philanthropy

National Women’s Philanthropy is dedicated to building a thriving future for our North American communities, Israel and the Jewish people.

The NWP Board and Advisory Board, which includes women from more than 60 North American communities, is dedicated to helping women become successful leaders, in part through campaign solicitation training and leadership development. Women contribute more than 25 percent of all Jewish giving, 22 percent of the Annual Campaign, and remain critical advocates for global Jewish needs. Through the end of 2009, NWP raised more than $165 million for the 2009 Annual Campaign.

The number of Lions of Judah (women who contribute a minimum of $5,000 a year to the Annual Campaign) has grown to over 16,000 worldwide. More than 3,200 of those Lions are at the Ruby level ($10,000) or higher — up to over $300,000 in some instances. The number of Lion of Judah Endowments (LOJE), now entering the program’s 14th year, has increased to over 3,400 women representing close to $550 million in endowment funds.

National Women’s Philanthropy launched a new training initiative called T.E.C.H. Team. Thirty women from the NWP Board have been trained to serve on this Team and are prepared to respond to the numerous (50 so far) requests for NWP trainers to educate, solicit and train local leadership.

International Leadership Reunion (ILR)

In partnership with Keren Hayesod, the ILR convenes major donors of $250,000 or more to be educated, inspired and recognized. In November 2009, 150 donors from 25 communities gathered in Rome for the ILR, which featured such notable speakers as Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and JAFI Chair Natan Sharansky.

Prime Minister’s Council (PMC) / Star of David (SOD)

PMC events aim to engage and inspire donors of $100,000 or more while the Star of David Society recognizes donors who have made permanent endowment gifts of $200,000 or more for Perpetual Annual Campaign Endowments and Lion of Judah Endowments, or $500,000 or more for other permanent gifts. This elite group includes more than 2,300 members, with 220 from 35 communities convening at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington in November for an unprecedented event.

Communal Advancement/Supplemental Giving/Israel Education Fund (IEF)

United by a mission to raise designated funding to meet the urgent Jewish needs and aspirations in Israel and worldwide, these departments partner with Federations to help funders, foundations and communities meet their philanthropic goals. With an unmatched track record since the 1964 launch of the Israel Education Fund, Supplemental Giving is the most responsive, reliable and comprehensive resource in overseas and Israel-focused giving in the North American Jewish philanthropic marketplace, managing and raising over $63 million in donor-designated gifts last year.

Planned Giving and Endowments

The Jewish Federations of North America partner with Federations and Jewish community foundations to encourage planned giving and endowment development. We pursued a rigorous due diligence process through which Federations and foundations identify technologies that will make them more competitive in the philanthropic marketplace by better managing constituent relationships, offering donors cutting-edge online tools, and upgrading back office operations. Fifty-five Jewish Federations and community foundations have joined this effort, which will be offered to small and intermediate Federations and foundations in 2010.

The Jewish Federations of North America’s 2008 Endowment survey showed that amidst the economic downturn, endowment assets decreased to $13 billion, while contributions fell $1.4 billion (down 45 percent from 2007). Still, those same endowments and foundations distributed a record $1.7 billion in grants, with 56 percent going to Jewish organizations; nearly 15 percent of Annual Campaign receipts came from endowments and foundations.

The highly successful Create a Jewish Legacy project has now raised $82 million in approximately 13 pilot communities. Based on a model developed in San Diego, the project encourages the creation of bequests by individual donors to their local Federations, Jewish community foundations, agencies and synagogues. The first-ever Jewish Legacy Forum was held in Tucson from December 8-10, drawing 26 communities with Legacy initiatives.

The Jewish Federations of North America’s first Venture Fund (The Social Venture Fund for Jewish Arab Equality and Coexistence) raised and distributed approximately $900,000 in its first round of funding and has raised $750,000 in the second round. The recession has slowed the creation of new funds of this type, but plans are to resume them when the economy recovers.

The Large City Investment program, created by The Jewish Federations of North America in partnership with three Federations, has now reached over $1 billion, including assets of the offering Federations and new contributions from smaller and intermediate-sized Federations. The program allows Federations and Jewish community foundations, regardless of size, to invest their endowment assets with selected large city Federations and, in doing so, achieve world-class asset management.

Consulting

The Jewish Federations of North America partners with Federations to make lasting and substantive improvements in performance, so they can more effectively develop financial resources and strengthen Jewish communities. We provide specialized services primarily in the following areas:

The Jewish Federations of North America also runs the Federation Benchmarking Project, which allows Federations to set strategic goals by measuring themselves against similar, successful communities and through identification of actions statistically associated with stronger financial and non-financial outcomes. This project, which includes Federation-reported data and feedback from mid-level donors and local agency leadership, allows Federations to more effectively allocate resources for donor engagement and solicitation strategies and to enhance agency relationships. To date, 52 Federations of all city sizes – including 97 percent of all large and large-intermediate-sized communities – have participated in the project.

E-Philanthropy

FedWeb, the largest Jewish online platform with more than 150 Web sites, is The Jewish Federations of North America’s custom content management system on which more than 120 Federations maintain their Internet presence, raise awareness, promote Jewish values and generate online donations. With an active database of 500,000 e-mails, FebWeb member Federations in 2009 generated more than $7.1 million in online transactions — 10 percent higher than in 2008, despite the economic downturn. These sites took in 2,605 donations — which was also 20 percent higher than 2008.

The Jewish Federations of North America has also been working closely with Federations to be at the forefront of online fundraising. In 2009, we worked with Blue State Digital, the company that ran Obama’s $500 million online campaign, to provide key insights and strategies based on their groundbreaking approach to low-dollar donor management and micro-donations. As part of this project, The Jewish Federations of North America engaged 20 top small, medium and large Federations to create a community specific e-philanthropy guidebook, which was distributed at an e-philanthropy institute at the 2009 GA. The session was oversubscribed and was widely acclaimed.

Missions

The Jewish Federations of North America works with Federations to develop, market and launch campaign-centered missions; designs innovative programs for a wide range of existing and potential donors; introduces best practices that enable efficient and cost-effective missions; and helps integrate missions into Federation strategies by addressing concerns such as recruitment and growth.

During the past year, The Jewish Federations of North America and individual Federations planned over 100 missions and led 59 fundraising missions with 41 Federations. The diverse range of our missions is unmatched. From missions for major donors to young leadership to families, with destinations in Israel and many other countries, participants enjoy experiences that excite, inspire and motivate them to become involved with Federations. Missions focus on educating and inspiring donors by showcasing specific projects and programs the Federation movement supports. Meetings with beneficiaries and professionals in the field motivate mission participants and result in significant increases in giving.