In Limbo
ifnai Irrith wrestles with finding youth group amid severe budget hurdles.
JULIE WIENER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
New York
0
ne of American Jewry's oldest — and most
financially beleaguered — institutions is
expected to slash funding for a program
repeatedly described as its "jewel in the
crown."
B'nai B'rith, which has seen its membership and
financial resources plummet in recent years, may
stop subsidizing regional programming of its youth
group, B'nai B'rith Youth Organization. No final
decisions will be made until a May 18 board meet-
ing of B'nai B'rith.
With an estimated 20,000 members, BBYO is one
of the largest Jewish youth groups in the United
States. Its regions currently receive approximately $2
million from B'nai B'rith.
The anticipated cuts come as B'nai B'rith is decen-
tralizing much of its operations and is expected to
significantly cut funding for Hillel: The Foundation
for Jewish Campus Life. Hillel, which until the early
1990s was funded almost entirely by B'nai B'rith,
expects to receive $50,000 from B'nai B'rith in the
2002 fiscal year, down from $300,000 this year.
Gary Saltzman, chairman of B'nai B'rith's national
youth commission, sent an e-mail to regional BBYO
leaders last month, warning them that they may lose
all B'nai B'rith funding by July 1. The memo "said
that we should anticipate no money coming to any
of the regions effective July 1 and should plan for
it," said Robert Groman, chair of BBYO's
Nassau/Suffolk region, in suburban New York.
While Saltzman's memo was not made available to
JTA, several sources said it urged regional leaders to
explore other sources of funding, such as Jewish fed-
erations, foundations and local B'nai B'rith chapters.
BBYO's 39 regions vary considerably in their
dependence on B'nai B'rith. Some, like the New
Jersey and Long Island ones, have received most of
their budgets from the national office. Others, like
the Michigan region, already supplement their B'nai
B'rith allocations with money from their local feder-
ations.
Some regions also have arrangements whereby
they receive office space, staff and in-kind services
from local Jewish community centers.
Federated Help?
It is possible that the national arm of the federation
system and JCCs will step in to help BBYO.
In an April 12 memo to federation leaders and
Jewish community centers, the executives of the fed-
eration umbrella organization — the United Jewish
Communities — and the Jewish Community
Centers Association of North America say they
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2001
20
anticipate "important consultations regarding the
future of BBYO," and are asking federations to
implement a moratorium until May 31 on funding
decisions concerning BBYO.
"We believe that acting in concert will ultimately
be in the best interest of all local communities and
the BBYO program," continues the UJC/JCCA
memo.
But an arrangement with the JCCs might not sit
well with BBYO's grass roots. Last year, for example,
top B'nai B'rith officials brokered an agreement for a
merger of sorts between BBYO and the JCCA.
However, regional B'nai B'rith and BBYO leaders
feared that BBYO's unique identity would be sub-
sumed by the JCCs and that BBYO regions in areas
without JCCs would vanish. They forced the pro-
posal off the table.
B'nai B'rith is expected to continue funding
BBYO's international office in Washington, includ-
ing its international director. However, BBYO has
had only an interim director since last summer,
when the director resigned. It also has been operat-
ing since this summer without a chief financial
officer.
Saltzman and several other B'nai B'rith officials
declined to comment on the funding situation,
emphasizing that the youth group's funding is still
under discussion and that nothing will be decided
until the organization's May 18 board meeting.
"The expectation is that undoubtedly regions are
going to be asked to assume greater responsibility in
raising funds, but in terms of the actual numbers
and formula, that's something yet to be decided,"
said Daniel Mariaschin, B'nai B'rith's executive vice
president.
Coming To Grips
Amid the uncertainty about the level of cuts, a feel-
ing of widespread confusion reigns inside B'nai
B'rith.
B'nai B'rith officials are complaining privately
Saltzman's memo was sent out without permission
or endorsement from the top. Meanwhile, several
high-level BBYO officials and regional chairs are
complaining that they feel out of the loop, both
about the anticipated cuts and about the consulta-
tions with the UJC and JCCA.
The expected cuts mean there will be "much mo
need for local fund raising," said a BBYO leader,
Polon, who chairs BBYO's New Jersey region.
"That's something we don't have enough experi-
ence with — and it's happened very quickly," Polo
added.
Polon, whose region has received hundreds of
thousands of dollars a year from the national offic
said his board members are frantically trying to
secure new funding by July 1.
"I'm not sure where it's going to shake out yet,"
said. "It's a little bit of a scary time."
Nassau/Suffolk's Groman said that his region
probably will be in the clear for the next few years
But, he said, "Most regions are having much mor
trouble."
"We're one of the few that have had successful
fund raising, so for at least the next year or two,
we'll survive," Groman said.
B'nai B'rith and BBYO's regional structures are
not always conducive to easy fund raising. B'nai
B'rith's 17 regions are not divided up the same wa,
as BBYO's are — so BBYO regions do not always
have a clear local partner in B'nai B'rith.
In addition, while some regions fall almost entir
in the domain of a large local federation, others, li
New Jersey's, must approach several small federatio
if they want money.
It is not clear whether all BBYO regions will be
able to cultivate new sources of support, or wheth
some will dissolve.
Arnie Weiner, the interim national director of
BBYO and the longtime director of BBYO's
Michigan region, said he would "like not to think'
that BBYO could become extinct as a result of the
anticipated cuts.
"I personally feel there's a lot of good feeling abo
BBYO," Weiner said. "The community is filled wi
alumni and parents who recognize what BBYO's
done for their kids. That will hopefully end up wit
financial support. But I can't speak for every place.
Some areas are going to be more challenged than
others."
❑
Local Sources May Up The BET° Ante
.
ALAN HITSKY
Associate Editor
f B'nai B'rith International (BBI) halves its sup-
port to the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization this
summer, BBYO regions around the country, includ-
ing Michigan, could lose all of their BBI funding.
For the Michigan Region, that would mean the
loss of $78,400 or 25 percent of the region's
annual budget of $313,400.
If BBI cuts its support in half, to $1 million,
the money would go to keep the national BBYO
office operating in Washington, D.C.
Arnie Weiner of Huntington Woods, who has
been Michigan region director for 30 years and is
interim national director, says Michigan B'nai B'rith
BBYO and Jewish community leaders have been
working for some time on local budgeting solutions
BBYO in Michigan includes 800 Jewish teen-
agers in 25 chapters, in the metropolitan Detroit
area, Ann Arbor and Windsor. An additional 200
youth in seventh and eighth grades belong to the
pre-BBYO Teen Connection program.
Michigan Region's 2000-2001 budget of