Insight

Remember
When • • •

Charitable Clout

UJC is seventh largest
U.S. charity; other Jewish
groups fill behind.

JULIE WIENER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

New York

T

he umbrella organization for
North American Jewish fed-
erations is now the seventh-
largest charitable organiza-
tion in the United States, according to
the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
This marks the first time in recent
years that a Jewish organization has
ranked in the top 20 of the Chronicle's
annual listing of the 400 not-for-profit
organizations with the largest rev-
enues from individual contributors.
Had the tabulation included all
dollars raised by federations, instead
of only those allocated to overseas
needs, the ranking would have been
considerably higher, say officials of
the New York-based umbrella group,
known as the United Jewish
Communities.
According to the Chronicle, the
UJC raised $524.3 million in 1999,
but UJC officials say the federation
system actually raised close to $2 bil-
lion.
The United Jewish Appeal, the
largest of the three organizations that
merged to form the UJC last year,
regularly appeared on the Chronicle's
top-10 list until 1996, when it
ranked No. 6. However, it was later
removed from the list when the pub-
lication adopted a now-abandoned
policy of excluding umbrella organi-
zations, such as the UJA and United
Way, which receive their money
from other organizations on the list.
UJC's high ranking comes as the
overall number of Jewish organiza-
tions on the top-400 list has
dropped from 27 to 25. In addition,
most Jewish groups, particularly fed-
erations, slipped in rank since last
year, even if their overall revenues
increased.
This indicates that other philan-
thropies which, according to the
article, are enjoying average increases
of 13 percent this year — are grow-

ing more rapidly than Jewish ones.
Among the few Jewish groups to
increase in rank this year are some
undergoing major endowment cam-
paigns, like the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit; the Conservative
movement's Jewish Theological
Seminary of America, which is in the
middle of a capital campaign; and PEF
Israel Endowment Funds, a group that
funnels donor-designated gifts to a vari-
ety of Israeli organizations.
Observers of Jewish philanthropic
trends say the overall drop is not surpris-
ing. As American Jews assimilate, they
are contributing more money to secular
causes and less to Jewish organizations.
"I suspect the greatest growth is in
non-Jewish giving by Jews," said Bruce
Arbit, co-managing director of A.B.

TEE TOP TEN
F

ollowing are the top 10 Jewish philan-
thropies on the Chronicle of
Philanthropy's listing of 400 larbest charities,
where they ranked. on the list this year and
last year, and how much money they raise:
• United Jewish Communities — 7 / not
listed last year because it was founded in
1999 $524.3 million
• UJA-Federation of Greater New York —
53143/$156.9 million
• Jewish Communal Fund (related to
UJA-Federation of Greater New York) —
61/54/$145.7 million
• Jewish Federation/Jewish United Fund
of Metropolitan Chicago — 110/91/$97.3
million
• United Jewish Foundation and Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit —
151/155/$77.1 million
• Hadassah, the Women's Zionist
Organization of America —
1701132/$66.9 million
• Jewish Community Federation of
San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and
Sonoma Counties — 175/138/$65.3 million
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
— 188/242/$62.3 million
• The Associated: Jewish Community
Federation of Baltimore — 223/218/$52.2
million
• Jewish Federation Council of Greater
Los Angeles — 231/236/$50.1 million ❑

Data, a firm that assists many Jewish
organizations in direct-marketing cam-
paigns.
American Jews, said Arbit, "feel less
connectedness to the Jewish people"
than they used to. In addition, intermar-
ried households — which are growing in
number — tend to give less to Jewish
organizations than other Jewish families,
said Arbit.
David Mersky, a senior lecturer in
Jewish philanthropy at Brandeis
University's Hornstein Program in
Jewish Communal Service, said the gen-
eral decline in ranking for Jewish groups
results from the relatively weak cam-
paigns of Jewish federations.
Federation campaigns, in which
donors contribute to a general pool,
"have not kept pace with the rate of
increase of other philanthropies,"
said Mersky.
Federation annual campaigns
increased 4 percent on average in
1999. But more than half of total
federation giving was not to the
annual campaign, but to endow-
ments.
Mersky said endowments and
other campaigns that allow designat-
ed giving, in which donors can
choose exactly where their money
goes, do better — which may
explain the success of PEF.
The rankings are also consistent
with trends away from federation
giving and toward more specialized
causes, like specific institutions and
"friends of" Israeli organizations.
Ironically, one of the Jewish groups
enjoying the most dramatic increase
in ranking is one that does not do
any fund-raising at all.
"We never asked anybody for a
dime. We have no fund-raising din-
ners. It's just word of mouth," said B.
Harrison Frankel, president of PEF
Israel Endowment Funds. It ranked
279 this year, up from 351 last year.
The organization channels funds
to more than 1,000 non-political
organizations in Israel — ranging
from the Magen David Adom emer-
gency medical agency to the Israel
Women's Network — and raised
$38.5 million in 1999, up from $12
million in 1991. Run almost entirely
by volunteers, PEF allows donors to
earmark their contributions. ❑

From the pages of the Jewish News for
this week 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50
years ago.

1990

The Technion-Israel Institute of
Technology and the Space Research
Institute of the USSR Academy of
Science signed an agreement calling
for joint studies in space research.
Showing an interest in Little
League baseball in Israel, the city of
Chicago has raised $9,000 to devel-
op a playing site in Israel.

1980

Arab sources said that the merger of
Libya and Syria into a single state
fell through.
Yosef Yitzchok Polter, son of
Rabbi and Mrs. Moshe Polter of
Oak Park, was selected to be part of
a founding group for a senior
yeshivah and rabbinics program in
Casablanca, Morocco.

1970

Gordon Suber was elected to the
Flint City Council.
State Senator-elect Daniel S.
Cooper was named Democratic
whip of the Democratic caucus.

1960

Two ships for the Israeli merchant
marine were launched from ship-
yards in Paris: a 20,000 ton passen-
ger ship and a 700-ton cargo vessel.
Former SS guard Albert Mayer
was sentenced in Hanover,
Germany, to seven years in prison
for complicity in murdering con-
centration camp prisoners.
Detroit's Paul Borman was elect-
ed vice president of Borman Food
Stores.

-

1950

Berlin, Germany, unanimously
approved a compensation law that
would reimburse Jews and other
victims of Nazi persecution for time
spent in prison and loss of rights.
Bernard Isaacs, superintendent of
United Hebrew Schools in Detroit,
urged girls to study Hebrew and
acquire a Jewish education on par
with boys.
— Compiled by Sy Manello,
editorial assistant

11/
2001

31

