mc , Generation

Future members? Ericka
Wolfe, Mindy Nigoff, Shirlee
Berman and Margo Berman
on ORT's young leadership
mission to Israel.
(no photo credit)

Robert Colbum: Younger
people don't have the money.

Local Jewish
organizations work
to attract younger
members.

Patti Aaron: Smaller amounts
of time.

JULIE WIENER

STAFF WRITER

ast month, three Women's
American ORT members
brought their teenage daugh-
ters with them on the orga-
nization's young leadership
mission to Israel.
"By the end, some of them were
saying they might think about
joining when they're older," said
Janet Berman, president of ORTs
Michigan Region.
Members of other Jewish orga-
nizations may want to start bring-
ing their children along as well. As
the Jewish community becomes
more assimilated, many organi-
zations find their membership
dominated by leaders who are
middle-aged and older, with few
newcomers to carry the torch.
Last week, The
Jewish News ex-
plored United Jewish
Appeal (UJA)'s
changing approach
toward younger
donors. But faced
with the same new
demographics that
affects UJA and Jew-
ish federations, a
number of local Jew-
ish organizations are
forming or revamping programs
for attracting younger members.
In the process, they are learning
that recruiting young people often
requires innovative strategies and
a de-emphasis on fund-raising.
At the age of 37, Ron Elkus is
about to become vice president of
the Jewish Association for Resi-
dential Care (JARC). And he is not
the only under-40 on the organi-
zation's board.
"JARC has been super-sup-
portive of getting young people in-
volved and listening to them," he
said. "There's a real openness to
new ideas."
JARC formed its Young Adult
Committee five years ago. Ac-

L

cording to committee chair
Stephanie Jacobson (herself age
30), 60 young adults —in their 20s
and 30s — serve on the commit-
tee and 400 regularly attend fund-
raisers and events.
Although the young adults
raised only 6 percent of JARC's
funds last year, they are a vital
part of the organization's volun-
teer corps.
And Ms. Jacobson estimates
that half of the young members
are not involved in other Jewish
organizations. She said many peo-
ple comment that JARC is their
favorite Jewish organization be-
cause "they see where the work is
going." In addition, Ms. Jacobson
and Mr. Elkus attribute JARC's
popularity to its em-
phasis on involve-
ment over
fund-raising.
"If you volunteer
at JARC, you don't
have to give money,"
said Mr. Elkus. "It's
a nice atmosphere,
not a high pressure
thing."
While JARC's
young supporters
can easily volunteer and see where
their money goes, Israel Bonds
purchasers are an 11-hour flight
from their investment: the infra-
structure of the state of Israel.
Another challenge Israel Bonds
faces in attracting young people is
that, unlike JARC, this organiza-
tion is about raising funds, not ser-
vices. And young people don't
always have a lot of funds.
"Younger people ... may have the
$18 to make a chai gift to [the Jew-
ish Federation of Metropolitan De-
troit], but they may not have the
$500 or more to invest [in a bond],"
said Robert Colbum, chair of Is-
rael Bonds' Detroit New Leader-
ship.

THE DETROIT J EWISH NEWS

New emphasis
on
involvement,
not fund-
raising.

lq

.

Reinvigorated in 1992, after a
period of dormancy, New Leader-
ship reaches out to people in their
young 20s to mid-40s, said Mr.
Colbum, who is 39. Currently, the
board of 20-25 members is in tran-
sition and being re-formed.
In addition to stepping up ef-
forts to "create an awareness for
people of a younger age as to what
Israel Bonds does," Mr. Colbum
said New Leadership is working
to enhance its social offerings.
'We're trying to appeal to people
on more than just a sales level," (to benefit technical and scientif-
he said, adding that New Leader- ic education in Israel and the Di-
ship has begun sponsoring social aspora) with a local social action
events, such as a recent lecture fol- agenda, focusing on support for
lowed by a gathering at the Vel- public education, separation of
and state and women's is-
churc h
vet Lounge.
Israel Bonds sponsors New
u
ORT chapters throughout the
Leadership groups throughout the
country, with programming in- country are actively reaching out
cluding trips to Israel and an an- to members between ages 25-45,
nual ski trip. However, it is said Ms. Aaron, who is 39. In ad-
difficult to gauge the success of dition to last month's young lead-
these programs because statistics ership mission to Israel (which 30
on the number of Israel Bonds people attended), ORT sponsors a
purchasers under age 45 were not number of outreach events for
available from the Detroit office or younger women, including an up-
coming "Motown" music event
the national office.
While all Jewish organizations during the organization's nation-
must contend with changing de- al convention in Detroit in July.
Because ORT has only recent-
mographics and competition from
other volunteer groups, women's ly begun tracking members ac-
organizations face an additional cording to age, statistics on the
challenge: With more and more number of young members were
women entering the workforce, unavailable.
The National Council of Jewish
young women tend to be busier
than their mothers and grand- Women (NCJW) formed its young
leadership group this January. "I
mothers were.
"At one time, active members was at a program meeting, and
gave ORT a tremendous amount when I drove home that day, I
of time. Now we have greater thought, We shouldn't be plan-
numbers giving smaller amounts ning as older women and grand-
of quality time," observed Patti mothers. We should get younger
Aaron, a Women's American ORT people,"' recalled longtime NCJW
national board member and asso- member Sandra Leshman.
With help from their daughters,
ciate chair of the group's national
young leadership outreach com- members of this fund-raising and
mittee (founded in 1995). ORT service organization put togeth-
combines fund-raising activities er a phone list of over 100 names

and got 75 responses. The result
was the Just For Kids Committee,
a group of young women focusing
on raising funds and providing ser-
vices to disadvantaged children in
the Detroit community.
Because most of the younger
members hold down careers, Just
For Kids does not meet in the day-
time with the older members, but
in the evenings. According to Joyce
Rubenstein, NCJW's vice presi-
dent of membership and pro-
gramming, 55 women are involved
in Just For Kids, with 25-30 of
them actively involved. NCJW's
total membership for metropoli-
tan Detroit is 2,300.
'e have to be more creative ...
more flexible in our program-
ming," said Ms. Rubenstein, who
added that NCJW's challenges are
no different from those of other
Jewish organizations. 'Tye heard
this from Hadassah ... temple sis-
terhoods, boards of temples and
synagogues," she said. "Volun-
tarism is ex-
pected of people
more and more,
but people's
time is
stretched."
Like ORT
and NCJW,
Hadassah, a
Zionist women's
organization, re-
cently launched
its own group
for young
women. Called
Ruach (Hebrew for spirit), the
group started out as a social and
networking organization. Initial-
ly, members were recruited
through mothers and mothers-in-
law.
According to founding president
Kari Provizer, who is 28, Ruach
now boasts 150 members and is
starting to broaden its mission to
include social action projects, such
as tutoring students and promot-
ing awareness about women's '
health. issues. As with other orga-
nizations reaching out to young
people, Ruach does not ask for sig-
nificant financial donations from
its members.
'We don't ask members for a lot
because they're not at that age yet
where they have a lot of finances
to give," said Ms. Provizer, adding
that this year's fund-raising goal
(which the group met) was only
$2,000. Hadassah's other chapters
in metropolitan Detroit raised a
combined total of $375,000. ❑

This is the second in a
three-part series on the
changing nature of Jewish
philanthropy. Next: How a
young philanthropic alterna- –/
tive is attracting a new gen-
eration of Jewish leaders.