World

National Low

The Chronicle 400 - 2008-09

Jewish charities suffer declines.

Jacob Berkman
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

T

he Chronicle of Philanthropy on Oct.
18 released the findings of its annual
Philanthropy 400 survey of the
country's largest nonprofits, and the news for
Jewish charities was not good. Giving was off
significantly between 2008 and 2009, even as
the economy started to thaw.
According to the survey, the Jewish
Federations of North America brought in
$320 million in 2009, a 19.6 percent drop
from the previous year. All of the top fed-
erations on the list - those in New York,
Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and
Detroit - were all down significantly. The
federation in Baltimore was the only one on
the list that showed a gain.
Granted, there are always issues with the
way that the federation system is counted,
as ifs never clear whether the survey is
counting the aggregate of the total dollars
raised by the system's campaigns, how much
money the Jewish Federations of North
America collects from its member organi-
zations for Israel and overseas needs, and
whether the country's largest federations are
counted separately or with the system.
The federations were not alone in Jewish
organizations that lost: the Birthright Israel
Foundation was down 44.5 percent to $66.3
million, Hadassah was down 7.9 percent
to $78 million. The American Jewish Joint
Distribution Committee was down 8.5 per-
cent to $224 million.
In total, the 22 Jewish organizations on the
list were down 18.5 percent.
Two Jewish organizations were new to this
year's list: American Friends of the Israel
Defense Forces and the Jewish National
Fund.

Rangers' Star
Jewish Baseball
News has docu-
mented Texas
Rangers' second
baseman Ian
Kinsler's contribu-
tions to the team
an Kinsler
as the Rangers began
the World Series this
week against the San Francisco Giants.
In the Oct. 22 American League
pennant clincher against the New
York Yankees, the lone Jew remain-
ing in the Major League Baseball
playoffs stroked a double, hit a sac-
rifice fly and drew a walk.

34 October 28 • 2010

This is the 20th time that the Chronicle
conducted the survey, which gave the pub-
lication a look at how top charities have
evolved since 1991 and how donor interested
might have changed.
In general, the largest charities have stayed
relatively stable. Some 228 charities made
the list in both 1991 and 2010, and they
increased their mean fundraising by 228
percent. When adjusted for inflation, they
raised 81 percent more in real dollars last
year than they did two decades ago.
And the largest of the large have fared
well, according to the Chronicle: "Boys & Girls
Clubs of America, Catholic Charities USA,
the Salvation Army, and the Y (formerly
YMCA) essentially maintained their posi-
tions in the list's top 20. Each group at least
tripled the amount it raised over the 20-year
period:' according to the publication.

Shifting Tides
Still the landscape has changed dramati-
cally, as nearly half of the list is new since
1991. And over the past two decades,
Jewish charities have not fared well. In
1991, there were two Jewish organizations
in the top 10, but this year the Jewish
federation system - the country's largest
Jewish charity fundraising network -
barely cracked the top 50.
According to the Chronicle, Jewish orga-
nizations generally dropped in the rankings
over the period; two Jewish groups were in
the top 10 in 1991, but in 2010, the high-
est ranking organization was the Jewish
Federations of North America, at No. 45.
Donations to both United Jewish Appeal-
Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New
York (No. 117 in the current rankings) and
the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
(No. 365) declined over 20 years.

The fifth-year pro is among the
Rangers' post-season leaders in
multiple categories: nine runs batted
in (1st), .342 batting average (2nd),
.409 on-base percentage (2nd), .658
slugging percentage (2nd), five walks -
(2nd), five extra-base hits (tie 2nd),
three home runs (3rd) and two dou-
bles (3rd). In fact, Kinsler's nine RBIs
are more than any player has had this•
post-season, and his .342 batting aver-
age ranks 3rd.
Rangers' starting pitcher Scott
Feldman was 7-11 in 2010 with a 5.48
earned run average and was left off the
post-season roster.
- Alan Hitsky, associate editor

Here are the rankings of the Jewish organizations on the
Chronicle 400, their fundraising totals from 2009 and the
percentage increase or decrease from 2008 to 2009:

45. Jewish Federations of North America $320,252,000 (-19.6)
74. American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee $223,971,020 (-8.5)
117. UJA-Federation of New York $159,684,000 (-10.1)
135. Jewish Communal Fund (New York) $142,872,382 (-52.3)
147. JUF-Jewish Federations of Chicago $133,494,791 (-15.1)
176. Yeshiva University $111,124,401 (-39.2)
227. Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston $84,954,290 (-21.1)
243.Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America $78,841,469 (-7.9)
244. Brandeis University (Waltham, Mass.) $78,172,000 (-12.6)
264. Birthright Israel Foundation $71,369,840 (-44.5)
269. American Friends of Technion-Israel Institute of Technology
$69,012,794 (+1.8)
271. Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles $68,575,000 (-23.0)
278. Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco $66,311,991 (-44.3)
289. Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit $63,889,600 (-19.4)
296. The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore $62,297,511 (+10.5)
314. Anti-Defamation League $58,963,791 (-13.6)
322. Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS $55,291,282 (-13.6)
355. Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland $49,873,859 (-14.7)
362. Jewish National Fund $48,343,847 (+8.8)
365.Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles $48,053,000 (-12.4)
366.P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds $47,995,288 (-35.1)
372. Friends of The Israel Defense Forces $46,721,080 (-21.3)

Two main factors led to the slide, accord-
ing to executives at the organizations. In the
early 1990s, giving to many Jewish organiza-
tions increased to help cover the costs of
resettling Jews from the former Soviet Union
in the United States or Israel.
Gifts have also stagnated in recent years
as a younger generation of Jews, without
firsthand memories of the Holocaust or the
creation of Israel, supports a broader range

Houdini, Once More
Los Angeles/JTA - The Jewish Museum
in New York is opening a new exhibition,
"Houdini: Art and Magic:' on Oct. 29, and
the entrance gallery will feature a replica
stage projecting a life-size image of the great
Jewish magician performing his water torture
act.
It's a new way to keep alive the memory
of Houdini, joining an annual seance that
seeks to contact the daring escape artist
and a graveside ceremony for the man who
was called "The World's Handcuff King
and Prison Breaker" and the "Justly World-
Famous Self-Liberator."
Born Ehrich Weiss in Budapest, Hungary,
in 1874, Houdini was the son of a rabbi who

of charities, including non-Jewish agencies.
Jay Sanderson, who became president of
the Los Angeles federation in the past year,
says his group is looking to spark giving
by allowing donors to have a greater say in
where their money goes and by narrowing
its focus to issues that donors care about
most, such as subsidies for Jewish camps and
other steps that make it more affordable to
participate in Jewish life.

❑

immigrated with his family to Wisconsin in
1878.
"I never was ashamed to acknowledge that
I was a Jew, and never will be:' Houdini wrote
a friend.
Generally considered among the most
famous magicians ever, Houdini died on Oct.
31, 1926, probably as a result of appendicitis
compounded by a blow to the stomach, which
happened in Detroit.
At the Harry Houdini Museum in Scranton,
Pa., on Sunday, the museum will sponsor a
seance at 1:26 p.m., the time that Houdini
died.
Many followers visit Houdini's grave in
Machpelah Cemetery in Queens, N.Y., on
Halloween, Oct. 31.

