I
,7..,-- ,- - 7 -----,....-.,,,,,,,,,
,
-.:- rte...-...:
,PtiolfatIvtinlk
Opinion
Editorials are posted and archived on JNonline.us.
Editorial
Giving Till It Hurts
T
kink your job is tough? Imagine
you're a fundraiser for the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit or one of the many other Jewish
organizations that raise money for chari-
table work in Israel — Hadassah, ORT
America, Jewish National Fund, American
Friends of Magen David Adom and so
many others.
Israel's 60th birthday brought extra
attention to the Jewish state and, for the
most part, made people feel good about
the Jewish homeland. But it's June, which
means fiscal years and annual campaigns
are nearing their end. You need to get
pledge renewals and even bring in new
donors in the next three weeks to meet
annual goals, and for all the good feelings
engendered by Israel at 60, there's a fund-
raising downside: Donors naturally won-
der a bit about the need for American con-
tributions to a budding economic power.
As we've been reminded over and again,
from cell phones to generic prescription
drugs, we can't help but buy Israeli.
If you as a fundraiser can overcome
those concerns by pointing out the real
needs for social services and diaspora
dollars in Israel, your next obstacle is the
struggling American economy. People are
hurting. Even if they're lucky enough to
have jobs, their homes and other invest-
ments are likely worth less than they were
a year ago, while their expenses, start-
ing with gasoline and food, are shooting
through the roof.
Money is tight, so agencies are lucky if
they can raise as much this year as they
did last year.
Now here's the harshest reality of all: If a
Jewish organization succeeds at maintain-
ing donations for Israel at last year's levels,
a remarkable accomplishment in this
economy, the agency actually is failing.
That's because the dollar's value has
fallen so far against the Israeli shekel.
Each shekel is now worth more than 30
cents, which means a dollar buys less than
3.3 shekels.
As recently as the end of July, a month
into this fiscal year, the dollar was worth
about 4.3 shekels, 30 percent more than
today, and there's no reason to thing we're
at the bottom of the slide. In other words,
every dollar a nonprofit organization in
the United States was planning to raise
when this fiscal year began 11 months ago
now will purchase only three-quarters as
many shekels in Israel. (The story is the
same in the former Soviet Union, where
the dollar was the preferred currency until
a couple of years ago, but now is avoided
like the plague.)
If your favorite chari-
table agency raised $1
million to send to Israel
last year, it needs to raise
at least $1.25 million
this year just to do the
same amount of good. A
$10 million campaign in
2007 must be $12.5 mil-
lion campaign in 2008.
And those numbers
don't take into account
the increasing need for
American tzedakah as
Israel's population grows
and as our troubles
ripple through Israel's
export-focused economy.
The bottom line for all
of us who give money
to Jewish organizations
operating in Israel is that
we have to dig deeper. It's
easy to give when times
are good, but we're needed most when
times are bad. For agencies facing cuts
in services and personnel just because of
currency fluctuations, these are the worst
of times.
So when you get that call, etter or e-
mail from Federation or any other agency
in a final fundraising push for this fiscal
year, do the math. Think of your donation
in shekels, not dollars, and don't let our
fellow Jews down. No matter how much
we're hurting, we have to give more. ❑
Reality Check
Preparing For The Games
S
ixty years ago this summer, the
first Olympic Games after World
War II were held in London. They
were a rather barebones affair. Athletes
were expected to supply their own food
and were housed at a former army base.
Europe was still recovering from the
war, but it was regarded as important to
hold these Games, the first since the fiasco
at Berlin 12 years before. They may have
been the last conducted in the true spirit
of amateur sportsmanship.
At least they stand as a stark contrast
to the obscenely overblown spectacle we
will see in Beijing, when a nation that
shares few of the values that are supposed
to define this competition will have the
chance to glorify itself before the world.
Very much like Berlin 1936.
The contrast is even greater with the
Games that we will be hosting in Detroit
this August. The JCC Maccabi Games
probably come closer to the essence of
the Olympic ideal that existed
60 years ago than anything that
parades under that symbol today.
These Games are as much
about celebrating the values
that unify us as Jews as it is
about who wins and who loses.
More, as a matter of fact. All
the athletes must also complete
mitzvah projects that emphasize
the importance of giving back to
their communities.
These young athletes will come to us
from around the globe — including a
delegation from Hungary for the first time
ever — and they won't be housed at any
military base. They must be placed in your
homes, which is where they belong.
The Games are a bit more than two
months away now, but there is still an
acute shortage of volunteers to house
the athletes and lend a hand at the
various sports venues. Please contact
www.2008Detroit.org . Your
help is needed to make this
event work.
I am peripherally involved
in that I will be directing
a group of young report-
ers who will write stories
about the Games for a daily
publication to be passed out
among the participants. But I
must share with you another
story about a competition;
more like a quest, actually.
Sylvia Bershad recently won her life
master ranking in bridge after a pursuit
of several years. Needing 1.08 gold points,
she accumulated more than 11 in a sanc-
tioned competition in Detroit.
When she returned to her usual venue,
The Bridge Connection, in Southfield, she
was greeted with a cake and balloons. Now
there's the Olympic spirit for you.
In the interest of full disclosure, I will
tell you why I am including this item.
Two reasons, actually. Sylvia will be 91 in
August. She is also my mother-in-law, and
I am not stuck on stupid.
Please, no mother-in-law jokes here.
Sylvia has never been anything, but loving
and supportive in the 32 years I have been
married to her daughter and we are all
proud of her accomplishment.
Because her travel possibilities are
restricted it was a tough haul playing
in enough recognized competitions to
accumulate those tantalizing few gold
points.
But rather ironically, the players with
whom she paired to achieve the decisive
points happened to be two gentlemen
she met at a bridge club in Petoskey last
summer on a family vacation. Talk about
beshert. ❑
George Cantor's e-mail address is
gcantor614@aoLcom.
June 5 • 2008
A27