World

SPECIAL REPORT

Personalized Philanthropy

Federations must adapt to the needs of changing donors.

Editor's note: Last week's cover story
explored how the world of Jewish philan-
thropy is changing as American Jews alter
how they determine where their money
goes and as experts predict the next gen-
eration could become even less connected
Jewishly. This week's story examines how
Jewish federations are adapting to the
needs of a changing Jewish world.

Tova Fruchtman
Jewish Renaissance Media

I

n today's world, the new challenge is
to re-imagine Jewish philanthropy in a
way that's personally relevant. Amid a
movement toward Jewish individualism, the
world of unified philanthropy must adapt.
It's a topic Jewish leaders around the
country and the world are talking about
over breakfast, in their homes, at syna-
gogues and in carpool lines.
Ask Jordan Glass.
Glass, 30, grew up knowing about the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit
because of the deep involvement of his par-
ents and grandparents.
"Part of the way we were raised was to
recognize things and consider tzedakah
and be a part of the community" he said.
After he graduated college and moved to
San Francisco, then Los Angeles, he became
involved in the young adult groups of the
local Jewish federations. Now back in West
Bloomfield, he's involved again.
Currently, he's associate campaign chair-
man of the Detroit Federation's Young
Adult Division (YAD), an officer on the YAD
board and a co-chairman of Super Sunday.
He also has participated in missions,
including one to Israel, the past three years.
Glass knows getting his peers involved is
difficult as they establish careers and fami-
lies, focusing on themselves."The question':
he said, "is how do we reach them, and how
do we bring in their Jewish soul?"
There is no single answer, he said.
"Everybody is different and is motivated by
different things" That's why he thinks fed-
erations should provide a variety of ways to
get involved.
One crucial experience that can connect
Jews to the Jewish people is a trip to Israel.
"You can educate people till the cows
come home; but if you don't take them
to Israel, they are going to be missing a
huge and very important piece of Jewish
of identity and motivation': said Robert
Aronson, CEO of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit (JFMD).

He still points to trips to Israel as a way
to get young people involved. But he said
the community faces a challenge in show-
ing the next generation how Federation is
relevant to their lives.
Helping people find their place in the
Jewish world is only the first step to engag-
ing them in Jewish philanthropy. Said
Aronson, "We have to become more cus-
tomer-oriented — because the customer
really is the Jewish donor — if we want to
stay on top of the changes that are facing
the Jewish community."

Donor•Centric
Susan Solo-Dubin, managing director of
development resources for United Jewish
Communities (UJC), the North American
Jewish federations' umbrella organization,
sees the issues facing Jewish philanthropy
on the national scope.
The idea, she said, is to make each fed-
eration more donor-centric. Rather than
get the once-a-year phone call for dona-
tions, people should see federation as a
place to turn for philanthropic development
throughout their lives.
Atlanta has been one of the leaders in
promoting federation as the "Center for
Jewish Philanthropy." And that's more than
jargon, Solo-Dubin said.
Although the annual campaign is still
the focus of federations' fundraising, the
donor-centric approach is the key to suc-
cess. "Federations should be able to respond
to donors' philanthropic interests across the
board': she said.
"You do that almost individual by indi-
vidual," she said. "In many cases, we're look-
ing at campaigns of one:'
While UJC provides support — staff
training, development research and resourc-
es, marketing materials and more — each
federation must adopt a new model.
Toronto has experienced enormous suc-
cess with a donor-centric approach.
Carol Kassel, a former lay leader and
campaign chair, was hired in 1998 as senior
vice president of integrated development
for the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.
Last year, with three campaigns, Toronto's
federation raised more than $81 million
(about $69 million U.S.) from a popula-
tion of about 180,000 Jews. By comparison,
Atlanta's federation raised $18 million in its
annual campaign from a Jewish population
of 120,000. Detroit, a city of only 70,000
Jews, consistently ranks among the top five
in per-capita giving nationwide. Last year,
the JFMD raised $37.1 million.

In Detroit, women have been
empowered and encouraged
as philanthropists through the
Jewish Women's Foundation
of Metropolitan Detroit, which
started in 1999 with 11 trustees.
Now the group has grown to 130
trustees and is the third oldest
and third largest among about 30
JWFs arcoss the nation.
Each woman pledges $10,000
over five years; women under 40
give $5,000 over five years. The
money is pooled in an endow-
ment and grants are made with
the income and other earnings.
The JWF not only encourages
philanthropy among women, but
also allows them hands-on con-
trol of where their money goes.
"They want to be the deci-
sion-makers': said Helen Katz,
director of the Detroit JWF, who explains
that trustees do everything from reviewing
grant applications to interviewing grant
applicants to deciding which get money
and how much.
In 2007, the Detroit JWF expects to give
$125,000 or more in grants to projects
designed to benefit Jewish women and girls.

Giving Resource
Many federations focus on being a resource
to help people think through own philan-
thropy and choose causes that match their
values in a way that maximizes their gifts.
In Atlanta, through an online service,
donors who house funds and foundations
at the Jewish federation (JFGA) can access a
variety of grant applications from nonprofit
organizations — Jewish and non-Jewish
— that meet specific requirements. Then
they can choose a project they want to fund.
Eileen Snow Price, director of funder ser-
vices, helps them learn how to give.
"You would think it's inherent, but philan-
thropy is not inherent. It's taught:' she said.
This month, for the second time, JFGA
and the Florence Melton Adult Mini-
School will offer the Abraham Curriculum,
a course taught by a rabbi from Emory
University that opens the discussion among
the generations about why to give tzedakah.
Price also works with the next generation
to help define itself as philanthropists.
In its young-adult endowment program,
JFGA invited 100 of its top donors — some
whose families have been major donors
and some who have done well on their own
in Atlanta — to be part of a giving circle.

The participants,
ages 21 to 40, operate
as sort of a mini-
foundation, giving
$1,000 per person or
$1,700 per couple to
be allocated by the
group within four
months.
They define a
Robert Aronson
mission statement,
decide what types of
programs they want
to support, visit inter-
esting programs and
make the allocations.
In Detroit, a group
of young donors
under age 40 formed
the Class of a Million
Carol Kassel
with the goal of
securing 100 family
or individual good-faith pledges of $10,000
or more by 2009.
Detroit Federation President Peter Alter
said, "There was and is a lot of discussion
about the fact that we are a community
with some senior leadership getting older
or dying. It's not that easy replacing a
million-dollar donor. I think it's a terrific
concept:'
Currently, the Class of a Million
has more than 70 members, who also
have increased their involvement with
Federation. In August, 74 from the group
spent a whirlwind day in Washington,

Philanthropy on page 22

January 18 * 2007

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