In The Black

historic way JCCs operate.
“The JCC is moving toward a vision of
itself that is not bounded by a building or
memberships,” he said. “The new vision of
the JCC is more agile; it’s more customer-
centric and it’s moving toward where the
customers are. The JCC has to deliver pro-
grams outside the building.”
JCC membership is around 3,000, with
60 percent Jewish, Siegel said. “Now, mem-
bership matters a lot because it’s one of
our core functions, but it’s a fitness-related
membership and fitness-related revenue.
It’s not a JCC membership,” he said. “We
don’t want to communicate to people that
you have to be a member. We’re not a place
you have to join to gain value. We’re serv-
ing thousands of people who aren’t mem-
bers and they are just as important.
“It’s an outreaching, intaking concept.
Our vision is to provide world-class edu-

JOHN HARDWICK

JOHN HARDWICK

“We’ve been in the black for two years and we expect to remain in the
black for the foreseeable future,” Jewish Community Center CEO Brian Siegel
said.
The operational gap was closed at first when the JCC in Oak Park was
shuttered in 2015. The controversial and “heartbreaking
decision” saved $800,000 annually toward a $1 million
annual loss that was adding to a balance sheet deficit
that had been on the books for many years. Siegel asserts
that if the community had not made this decision, the JCC
would have been forced to shut down all of its operations.
“When JPM closed, the JCC got much closer to break-
ing even on its operations, but still had work to do,” Siegel
said, adding that the remaining $200,000 gap was closed
Brian Siegel
through cost-saving measures including staff consolida-
tion and benefit reductions.
“Additionally, the JCC has been making headway in its
fundraising with large donors who are investing in a turnaround plan that
is showing meaningful momentum,” Siegel said. “As a result, the operating
statement has shown significant operational profit in each of the past two
years.” He declined to say how much profit.
Since February 2014, under the auspices of an Oversight Committee
appointed to oversee management of the JCC during its reorganization, the
JCC’s $6.5 million balance sheet deficit has been reduced to about $2.5 mil-
lion through fundraising, restructuring of endowments related to the initial
construction of the building and limited operational gains.
Siegel says he expects this number to be reduced to under $2 million by
the end of this fiscal year. The JCC has a strategy, he says, to generate these
unrestricted dollars over the next three years.
“By May 31, we will have eliminated our line of credit, which was fully
drawn in the amount of $500,000, and we will have no real debt left once
this is eliminated,” Siegel said, adding that the JCC still owes itself some
money from an endowment that was borrowed against many years ago.
“The major progress on both the operating statement and the balance
sheet have put the JCC in a better financial condition than it has been in in
more than 20 years,” Siegel said.
“We expect this to continue to improve.” •

cation and engagement programming
— sometimes providing it, sometimes
facilitating it, sometimes promoting it,
sometimes sponsoring it.”
Already the JCC has amassed program
offerings in various places around town
and has collaborated, co-sponsored or
publicized other organi-
zations’ programs as an
active partner.
“Our new vision for
the JCC is to create an
organization that views
collaboration as cen-
tral to its core mission,”
explained Jeff Lasday, for-
Jeff Lasday
mer head of Federation’s
Education Department,
most recently Federation’s
senior director of community development
and now JCC chief operating officer.

continued on page 14

jn

April 26 • 2018

13