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Continued from Page 38
related to the economic prob-
lems."
If the economic nosedive
continues, Jewish agencies
expect new demands on their
limited resources — in-
cluding requests for cash as-
sistance to help clients,
many "newly poor," with
such basics as food and rent.
With unemployment assis-
tance for people laid off dur-
ing the recession's darkest
days, in late 1990, beginning
to run out, Jewish social ser-
vices are experiencing an in-
crease in requests for direct
assistance.
"We are seeing a signifi-
cant increase over last year's
levels," said Dr. Steinitz,
who expects a 25 percent in-
crease in direct financial aid
requests by next year.
"Our requests for kosher
foo'd have gone through the
roof. And our internal
analysis shows that a
majority of recipient
households are living on in-
comes of under $5,000."
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The expanding client load
for Jewish welfare organiza-
tions is being matched by
funding problems that
threaten the very existence
of many of these programs*.
Despite the successes of
Operation Exodus, many
Federation fund raising
campaigns — a key source of
funding for Jewish social
service agencies — have
been flat in recent years.
The situation could de-
teriorate as more resources
are diverted to Israel and to
the resettlement of Soviet
Jewry — and as many large
donors, traditionally the
bedrock of Jewish philan-
thropies, are hit hard by the
recession.
"In Washington, you have
major donors who are corn-
ing up with zeros this year,"
said Ellen Witman, the con-
sultant for non-profit organ-
izations. "Here, as in many
cities, the real estate
downturn is having a major
impact. You have some peo-
ple who usually make six-
figure donations who are not
making pledges this year; a
number of big real estate de-
velopers are in Chapter 11."
New York, Chicago,
Boston and Philadelphia,
with their dependence on
banking, finance and real
estate, have also been hard
hit.
Another factor are declines
in government funding.
In recent years, the federal
government has been pass-
ing off more and more pro-
grams to state and local
governments. But in 1991,
many of these smaller
government bodies are hov-
ering on the brink of
bankruptcy.
Even in communities that
have successfully limited
their dependence on
government funding, the
current mood of austerity is
having an effect.
As the recession deepens,
the crisis for Jewish social
service agencies is likely to
worsen. And one result will
almost certainly be a new
debate over the Jewish
community's economic
priorities.
"If this recession con-
tinues, the smaller, human
care agencies, some of which
have been around for a cen-
tury, are going to be the first
to suffer," said Jack
Moskowitz, vice-president
for government relations for
the United Way of America.
"These kinds of agencies
have a major problem:
they're very important for
"You can't shut the
door on helping
the Soviets
because you don't
know how long the
door will be open."
the community, but they're
not popular. They don't have
the image, or the big fund-
raising mechanisms.
They're more dependent on
the Federations, on the
United Way, on government
agencies. So the first to get
hit are the hard-working
Jewish social service agen-
cies."
The result, Mr. Moskowitz
said, is a growing competi-
tion for scarce funding.
The sense of urgency was
echoed by CJF's Mark
Talisman.
"Most people simply don't
understand that this is a ge-
nuine budget emergency
we're facing," he said. "And
they don't understand that
the Jewish community is not
invulnerable to the effects of
this kind of crisis."
Decisions about allocating
funds will grow increasingly
difficult, he said.
"You can't shut the door
on helping the Soviets," he
said, "because you don't
know how long the door will
be open. You know Israel
has these tremendous needs;
we can't turn our backs on
them. But we have these
tremendous needs here, as
well. It's a Hobson's choice;
you have to meet all these
needs at once. The only an-
swer is that we have to raise
more money. We don't have
any choice."