This past year brought many challenges to the Jewish Federation movement. With the worst recession we’ve seen in decades, our needs at home and overseas grew exponentially.
Here in North America, Federations saw requests for emergency financial assistance skyrocket and more middle-class families turned to Federations for help. The economic crisis affected Jews worldwide as well. Federations also saw a growing need for assistance among elderly Jews in the former Soviet Union and among Israeli children, more than one third of whom live in poverty.
The Jewish Federations of North America worked together with Federations and our historic global partners, the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and World ORT, to address the economic downturn, by providing a range of marketing, communications and fundraising tools to raise the funds necessary to meet the increasing needs.
Despite the economic downturn, Federations across the country created innovative new ways to transform Jewish values into social action by feeding the hungry, helping the unemployed and providing financial assistance to those who needed it most.
The Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago created a special fund called JHelp to assist community members affected by the downturn. Chicago raised a remarkable $28 million at its major donors’ event, including $10 million in new funds for the JHelp program. The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit created a new association to educate and assist the Jewish community about affordable housing. The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona created an Emergency Assistance Fund to bridge the gap between new critical needs and the everyday issues the Annual Campaign addresses.
The Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston significantly expanded Jewish Vocational Services. The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland created a focused Employment-Related Support Program. Both programs help those who are out of work or at-risk of losing jobs. UJA-Federation of New York leveraged its existing network of agencies and social workers to develop the comprehensive Connect to Care program. The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles launched an innovative Fed Up with Hunger program.
These are just some of the ways Federations helped the community respond to the economic downturn. The role of the Federation as a safety net and local convener of services was never clearer than in 2009.
While working to address growing domestic needs, the Federations continued working with our valued overseas partners, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and World ORT, to help Jews in Israel and in 70 countries worldwide. While our partners have been severely impacted by the economic downturn and declining overseas allocations, they continue to achieve great work and drive their missions forward.
During the past year, our overseas dollars have funded trauma counseling and other services for residents of Southern Israel, who remain under the threat of rocket attacks. We have supported programs that brought life-saving food and medicine to elderly Jews in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and nurtured a resurgence of Jewish life in those regions.
We have also continued our partnership with the National Federation/Agency Alliance (the Alliance). Supported by 33 Federations, the Alliance allocated $7 million to the nine member agencies that provide communities across the country with important services and programs.
Our Federation movement continued to focus on growing our donor base and building our future, working with vital constituencies. Through 2009, National Women’s Philanthropy raised more than $165 million for the 2009 Annual Campaign. The National Young Leadership conference in New Orleans and the NYL Cabinet Retreat attracted many hundreds of young people, who care deeply and want to be even more engaged in Federation.
And this year, Birthright Israel celebrated its 10th anniversary. In the past decade, the program has provided over 250,000 young adults the opportunity to experience Israel for the first time with their peers. The Federation movement has been a partner of Birthright Israel since 1999 and, in that time, has contributed over $100 million to the program.
We saw great accomplishments in the fields of research and advocacy. Responding to a more mobile and shrinking donor base, The Jewish Federations of North America published a Jewish Population Mobility Study to help communities understand how mobility affects philanthropic decisions. We created a New Move Program to better track current and potential donors. Our Washington office advocated for the Federation movement to help ensure legislation that supports philanthropy while aiming to secure and protect the estimated $10 billion dollars in federal funding to help Federation agencies meet a variety of domestic needs.
While all these efforts are essential, our work cannot be done without talent. The Jewish Federations of North America’s Mandel Center for Leadership Excellence provided programs, tools and consulting support to help Federations identify, recruit, develop and retain talented professionals and lay leaders.
The year ended hopefully, with a highly successful General Assembly (GA) in Washington, D.C. that drew more than 3,000 participants. The GA generated great enthusiasm, with inspiring speakers, informative gatherings, and the opportunity to connect and learn together. The event featured the successful roll-out of our new name and brand, which builds on familiarity with local Jewish Federations and is part of an ongoing effort to create stronger, more consistent awareness of the Federation movement. We also announced the winner of the Jewish Community Hero Awards – the largest social networking initiative by a Jewish organization. Now we look forward to the GA this November 7-9 in New Orleans, where, with the International Lion of Judah Conference, we will gather together to be engaged and motivated by innovative programming, inspiring speakers and one another.
In 2010 we move forward with ever-greater focus, energized to continue partnering with Federations and Network Communities to build an even brighter future ahead.