In Response to the New York Times on Interfaith Marriage

By Jennifer Gorovitz, CEO

I was pleased to see the article in last week’s Times op-ed section Interfaith Unions: A Mixed Blessing.  In some religions, Interfaith marriages represent the majority of unions. Despite that dominance, it is a topic that still needs some unpacking.  It is so important to note that although the paradigm is shifting, many people in interfaith marriages are still unsure of how to preserve their cultural and religious heritage within a modern family.

As CEO of the JCF, I have watched this community go from shunning such relationships to celebrating them and yet, we are still at the very beginning of understanding how we can best embrace this new family dynamic, and how these families want to interact with our diverse community and its organizations. More than half of all married couples within the 2,400 square miles of our service area are interfaith, and in some communities that figure is as high as 75%.

In recognizing the pressing need to engage these families, the JCF is partnering with InterfaithFamily by providing them with a three-year grant to bring their innovative programs to the Bay Area. InterfaithFamily/Bay Area workshops range from Love and Religion for seriously-dating interfaith couples to Preparing for a Bar Mitzvah for families with 4th-7th grade children. These workshops are run by experts on the complexities of interfaith relationships, and help keep family discussions open and productive. In addition, the JCF has made grants to innovative organizations seeking to be more inclusive.

Our goal is to help our community reach out to these new families and celebrate their diversity, using new technologies to break down any barriers that might get in the way of happiness, togetherness and meaning.

While we agree that interfaith relationships are prone to their own unique challenges, we know that access to the right support can help interfaith couples successfully explore their respective religions, as they do with Judaism at InterfaithFamily. Diversity helps makes the Bay Area a great place to live, which is why we proudly support our Bay Area Jewish community with the programming tools they need to help maintain loving, supportive, and diverse families.

Announcing the Launch of Our New Advertising Campaign

By Lori Warren, Senior Director of Marketing

Back in 2011 our organization underwent a strategic planning process, which resulted in significant changes to the way we fundraise and make grants, and a refocusing of our work around three specific roles. This change spawned the need for a “brand refresh,” and provided us with the opportunity to tell the Federation’s story in a new way that would honor our 102 year history, and position us to succeed in a dynamic and highly competitive philanthropic environment. Last summer we delivered the brand framework which gives us the tools we need to convey a powerful and consistent brand image in a wide variety of mediums, and we’ve been applying it religiously ever since.

And now we have an ad campaign that brings that brand framework to life. For the first time in our Federation’s history, we partnered with an outside, award-winning advertising agency – Engine Company One – to develop our advertising campaign and a design a media plan that gets the ads in front of our target consumers effectively and efficiently (on a modest budget).

The Campaign

Ad #1

The campaign consists of a number of ads, each which build the brand while focusing on a key aspect of our grantmaking and fundraising strategy. The first ad – “4000-year-old-startup” – establishes the brand idea – that innovation and common purpose are part of the Jewish culture, part of the Federation’s history, and an effective means for building a thriving Jewish community. The tongue-in-cheek headline and use of the terms “startup” and “angel investors” further connects the Federation to the culture of innovation that is so closely identified with Silicon Valley and the Bay Area.

The art direction is fresh yet refined. The design conveys a graphic storytelling approach, which further reinforces the brand image (because after all, a culture rooted in a 4,000 year old history has a lot of stories to tell) and allows us to include a fair amount of body copy in digestible, inviting portions.

Ad #2

The second ad in the series, “Good Return” continues to build the association between innovation, the Jewish culture and the Federation by positioning Jewish “inventions” as providing a good return on investment. This ad introduces our Philanthropic Services as a means to increase impact, and align charitable goals with Jewish values.

The remaining ads in the campaign will focus on the Four Funds overall, the grants we make under our Israel & Global work, and the issues addressed under the Bay Area Initiatives Fund.

 

 

 

 

Media Plan: Getting the Ads in Front of the Right People in the Right Places

You can have the most distinctive and compelling ads around, but if the right people don’t see them, they won’t do much good. That’s why we developed a media plan – a document that describes the objectives, strategy, tactics, resource allocation, schedule, and media mix for reaching a particular audience. The objective of this campaign is to reinforce the loyalty of our existing donors, and reach out to a new, younger demographic. As such, the media plan is has a significant digital component along with print and a few key outdoor locations.

Our new billboards, located in downtown San Francisco and along Highway 101.

In addition to Facebook, our ads are running for a three month period on websites that reach Bay Area Jews including Forward.com, HeebMagazine.com, Kveller.com, HipsterJew.com, JoyofKosher.com and many others. When people click on the ads (which are basically headlines) they are taken to a landing page which includes body copy and options for getting more information about the Federation.

Ads on Jewlicious.com

The Power of Community

With the launch of this new campaign, our rebranding journey is almost complete. The brand represents the passion and commitment of an entire community to build a vibrant Jewish future and make the world a better place.  In that way, it’s a beautiful expression of the Power of Community.

 

Subsequent blog posts will take a walk down memory lane to revisit the development of our new brand.

Update on the Situation in Israel – Tuesday

Friends,

In the last week, more than 1,300 rockets have been fired into Israel, which represents one third of the rocket fire during the entire Lebanon War in 2006. On Tuesday alone, 140 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip toward southern Israel. While Iron Dome defenses intercepted approximately 389 rockets in the last week, at least 40 hit communities or settled areas in Israel, killing five Israelis and wounding many more.  Suffering has increased on all sides.

Update From Israel Solidarity Mission

“Time here now is no longer in weeks, days or hours. Think about it in seconds – 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds,” said Michael Siegal, chair of The Jewish Federations of North America’s Board of Trustees, on a teleconference earlier today from southern Israel. “Nobody should live like this, where a siren goes off, and 15 seconds later, you have to go and get into a shelter. It is unrealistic to expect anybody to live like this.”

Siegal’s reflections from JFNA’s Israel Solidarity Mission – a tour of 15 senior lay and professional leaders through Israel’s south – gave context to the escalating violence, despite reports of an impending cease-fire. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Jerusalem today, where she reiterated the U.S. commitment to supporting Israel and pushed for a diplomatic end to the increasingly lethal conflict. We can only hope that Clinton’s arrival serves as a catalyst for peace.

A Story of Hope From Our Israel Office: Hagar, a Jewish-Arab School

I would like to share with you a beautiful letter that comes from Hagit Damri, the Executive Director of Hagar, a bi-lingual Jewish-Arab school in Be’er Sheva that is one of our grantees. In the shadow of all the violence and suffering, it reminds us of our common humanity, and of the important work we are doing in Israel to help create a society that is as just and as good as its people.

Dear Friends of Hagar,

Over the last six days a new wave of violence had flooded our region and wounded our routine. The usual Hagar sounds of children’s laughter in our school kindergartens and daycare, the vivid conversations of our community members in Hebrew and Arabic have been replaced by the frightening sounds of sirens and explosions. All schools in Be’er Sheva, including ours, have been closed and Hagar’s children and parents along with all of the families of the Negev are spending their days and nights in bomb shelters and protected spaces.

I am so proud and touched to learn that this wave of violence has not weakened us, and on the contrary, during the last six days Jewish and Arab friends and families are encouraging each other between the explosions, offering to host one another away from the rockets at their family homes in the north of Israel. Jewish and Arab teachers are reaching out to Jewish and Arab children, Arab and Jewish children are making an effort to be in touch with one another through phone calls and e-mails. One of our Jewish parents called and told me that she and her family (including a two-month old baby) were invited to spend the weekend away from the rockets with an Arab family in the northern Arab village of Sachnin; and as she and her family drove back she thought about the fact that before her family joined Hagar she never would have sought haven in an Arab Village.

Now more than ever Hagar’s community is proving its commitment to create a different reality — one where people refuse to define themselves as enemies but as friends struggling to find common ground.

At this time I want to thank all our friends who have e-mailed, posted and called asking about the well-being of our community and offering to help. At this point we don’t know what kind of damages we are facing. We will update and consult with you when the picture will be clearer. And finally your ‘likes,’ posts, letters and donations mean so much. Your support is not just helping Hagar, rather it is Hagar.

Thank you.

L’Shalom, MaaSalame, With Peace,

Hagit Damri

JCF’s Israel Relief Fund at Work – Shula’s Story

With record numbers of rockets hitting residential areas in Israel today, our partner JDC is working non-stop to provide help to the most vulnerable. Here is just one example.

Meet 83-year-old Shula Carmiel from Moshav Arugot, outside of Kiryat Malakhi in south-central Israel.

When the siren wails signaling another rocket attack on her hometown, there isn’t enough time for Shula to find shelter. Her small, single-story house does not have a safe room and the shelter is too far to reach with her walker. “I sit and pray that everything will okay,” Shula says. “I just wait for it to be over.”

Today Shula is a member of JDC’s Supportive Community for the Elderly in Moshav Arugot, where she receives a spectrum of services that allow her to live independently. Especially during this crisis, Hezi, her Supportive Community “father,” is a lifeline to Shula and her neighbors, keeping in constant contact with them and providing invaluable emotional support.

When Shula’s neighbor recently refused to come out of a nearby bomb shelter even after the sirens stopped blaring, Hezi visited her in hopes of convincing her to return home. To reassure her, he called her daughter in Haifa who came in the middle of the night to take her mother out of rocket range.

“He’s my father now,” Shula explains, pointing to Hezi, belying her 83 years. “Anything I need, he helps me with.”

While our partners are working on the ground, we’re working with our communities to help raise the funds needed for immediate humanitarian relief. Please support our efforts to help people like Shula and our entire Israeli family. Donations made to our Israel Terror Relief Fund are dispatched immediately to provide humanitarian relief.

More information on Operation Pillar of Defense can be seen on the Times of Israel and on Jpost.

As the Federation keeps up with the situation, we are monitoring the following sites:

• Al Jazeera English on Twitter
• The IDF on Twitter
• The Israeli Embassy to the United States on Twitter and on Facebook
• The newspaper Haaretz on Twitter, online, and Facebook
• Ynetnews, the English-language site for Yedioth Media
• JTA
• Tablet Magazine
• The BBC News

Many posts on Twitter are also using hashtags, we are following two in particular:

#IsraelUnderFire and #PillarOfDefense

Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to our entire Israeli family, and we pray that peace will come quickly.

Sincerely yours,

Jennifer Gorovitz
Chief Executive Officer, Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund

Update on the Situation in Israel – Sunday

Friends,

This report comes from the JFNA and San Francisco Israel offices. On Sunday, the fifth day of Operation Pillar of Defense, the conflict with Gaza continues, including ongoing rocket fire against Israel.

Today rockets landed next to a kindergarten in Ashkelon, hit a car, and the front of a house in Beersheva. A fireman and two residents have suffered shrapnel injuries. School remains closed within a 40 kilometer radius of Gaza for security reasons as all children remain in shelters.

In addition to the three Israeli civilians killed on Thursday, three remain in critical condition including an 8-month old baby. Over 80 Israelis have been taken to hospitals with injuries in recent days. Many more have been treated for shock and emotional trauma and the true toll of this conflict will only be seen in the months and even years to come. Hospitals are currently working with significantly reduced staff as many doctors and nurses have been called up for army service. Some 4.5 million Israeli residents, over half of Israel’s population, live in rocket range and are now on alert for attacks. Over 1300 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza in 2012 alone and approximately 900 in recent days.

Update on the Situation in Israel – Saturday

Friends,

This report comes to you from Israel. As of Saturday night, the rocket fire has continued as Operation Pillar of Defense ends its fourth day.

Israel has now been hit by over 850 rockets since Saturday, November 10, 740 of which have been fired since Wednesday, the first day of Operation Pillar of Defense.

Nine rockets have landed in Ashdod so far on Saturday, injuring ten people. One hit a four story apartment block, one hit a front yard, one a vehicle, causing a fire, and another the front of a home. Three IDF soldiers were wounded, two lightly, one moderately, at 11:00 am Saturday after a Kassam rocket was fired at them from Gaza. The Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon reports treating 56 injured people.

As a sure sign that the violence has been ratcheted up significantly, two rockets were fired at Tel Aviv again today, with one landing in a non-populated area and one intercepted by the IDF’s Iron Dome Missile Defense System. Tel Aviv mayor Huldai publicly thanked the operators of the newest Iron Dome to be utilized in Israel’s protection. So far, during Operation Pillar of Defense, the Iron Dome units have successfully intercepted 90% of its targets.

Jay Sanderson, president and CEO of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles is currently in the country, leading a senior delegation from the film industry in Hollywood. On Friday evening, Sanderson and the group joined thousands of regulars as Shabbat services began at the Western Wall. Within moments, a “red alert” was declared in the capital and the sirens sounded – the first time this has happened in Jerusalem since the 1991 Gulf War. All services immediately halted and the entire Kotel plaza completely evacuated as worshipers, tourists and others ran for cover.

Shooting Hoops for a Good Cause

(from left) Phil Ginsburg, SF Recreation and Parks General Manager; Jennifer Gorovitz, JCF CEO and SF Mayor Ed Lee

On Thursday, October 10^th at the Betty Ong Chinese Recreation Center, approximately 70 kids, 5 basketball players and a coach split up in groups to practice a different basketball techniques.  This was all part of Haifa Hoops for Kids, an event that raised money for a nonprofit in Northern Israel serving disadvantaged and special needs children.  The special basketball clinic was attended by local urban youth basketball enthusiasts and kids from the Jewish Community High School and Jewish Community Center of San Francisco.

(from left) Consul General Dr. Andy David and son Ron, Maccabi Haifa assistant coach Rami Hadar, Maccabi players Anton Shoutvin (5), Bryan Cohen (8), SF Mayor Ed Lee, Lior Segev (10), JCF CEO Jennifer Gorovitz, Alex Chubrevitch (9), Maccabi Haifa owner Jeffrey Rosen, and team staff.

This was no ordinary gathering.  Jennifer Gorovitz, the Federation CEO, acted as the emcee with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, Consul General of Israel, Dr. Andy David,  Chair of San Francisco-Haifa Sister City Committee, Arthur Wachtel and General Manager of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department , Phil Ginsburg.

Maccabi Haifa vs. The Golden State Warriors 

The following day, Thursday, October 11th, Maccabi Haifa played a preseason game with the Golden State Warriors at the Oakland Arena. Maccabi Haifa Basketball team, one of the oldest basketball teams in Israel, and a recent re-joiner of Israel’s top league ligat ha’al, made a rare visit to the Bay Area.

Over 8,000 came to enjoy the international scrimmage and after a solid game with the leading score bouncing back and forth between the Golden State and Haifa, the game ended 108 to 100 in favor of the warriors.

Watch our video featured on the jumbotron mid-game:

Thursday’s game shed light on the similarities between San Francisco and our Israeli Sister City. With a metropolitan population of over 600,000, Haifa is northern Israel’s premiere seaport. Built on the slopes of Mount Carmel, Haifa enjoys a similar Mediterranean climate as San Francisco. “San Francisco has a lot in common with Haifa, more than you would think,” said Federation CEO, Jennifer Gorovitz. “Exposing our kids to Maccabi Haifa is a great way to get their minds thinking about Israel.”

In the end, all agreed that when the Bay Area plays Haifa, either team’s win would be celebrated.

Maccabi Haifa’s visit is sponsored by the SF-Based Jewish Community Federation, the Israel Center, and is co-sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel, The Jewish Community Relations Council, the San Francisco-Haifa Sister City Committee, The Jewish Community federation of the East bay and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department.

Ensuring Vital Programs and Services on the North Peninsula Jewish Campus Remain Available Now and for Future Generations

Located in the heart of San Mateo County, the North Peninsula Jewish Campus (NPJC) campus in Foster City serves tens of thousands local Foster City and greater Bay Area residents each year with wide-ranging programs, services and educational options that span the generations. The campus is anchored by the Peninsula Jewish Community Center (PJCC) and Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School (RC Wornick JDS), and includes offices and programs of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund (JCF) of San Francisco, Jewish Vocational Services (JVS), and other service providers.

North Peninsula Jewish Campus Wins Approval To Purchase Property in Foster City

To help ensure that vital programs and services on campus remain available now and for future generations,  NPJC announced today that it has finalized the purchase of the property where its campus currently resides.  The deal was cemented by approval from the Foster City Council in a 4-1 vote.

According to Scott Maltz, Immediate Past President of the PJCC and leader of the NPJC negotiating team, the negotiations with Foster City were part of a strong collaborative effort. He also lauded the campus negotiating team, which included professionals from the JCF’s Capital Planning Committee, as well as an inter-organizational staff team.

A team of real estate professionals from JCF’s Capital Planning Committee volunteered hundreds of hours of highly technical real estate expertise. This work culminated in an early $1 million grant from the JCF’s Endowment Fund.

“Helping to build the capacity of Jewish organizations by connecting them to the vast expertise of our community members, in the form of pro bono consulting, is a major focus for us and this is a great example of that work.” -Jennifer Gorovitz, JCF CEO

Maltz also praised the City of Foster City for its willingness to negotiate the purchase “We greatly appreciate the City’s commitment to an outcome that serves the needs of both City residents and the broader community, including PJCC members, Day School families, and thousands of others who regularly take advantage of the campus,” said Maltz.

The City will hold a 25-year mortgage on the property. The NPJC has launched a fundraising campaign to pay for the acquisition, bolstered by the JCF Endowment Fund grant and private contributions to help kick it off. A challenge grant from the Koret Foundation will contribute up to an additional $1 million if the NPJC successfully raises an additional $2 million from other sources.

 JCF Pro Bono Services connect highly-experienced professionals with nonprofits seeking business and technical skills and advice.

Professionals serve as Pro Bono Consultants on short-term, well-defined, results-oriented projects. Nonprofits gain access to free, high-quality advice and services that strengthen their operations and impact in the community. Read more about  JCF’s pro bono consultancy, or contact JCFProBono@sfjcf.org.

For more information on the land purchase and fundraising effort contact Deborah Pinsky, PJCC Executive Director at (650) 378-2712, or Dr. Barbara Gereboff, RC Wornick JDS Head of School 650.378.2606.

Federation Earns Top Spot Among U.S. Charities Two Years in a Row

Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent evaluator of charities, has once again given our Federation its highest 4 star rating. This indicates that the Federation executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way and outperforms most other charities in America.  In fact, only 17% of charities receive a 4 star rating in consecutive years. In this competitive philanthropic marketplace, this “exceptional” designation confirms what our donors already know – that we are an effective organization they can support with confidence.

• Learn more about Charity Navigator
• Donate to the Federation today

S.F. Based Jewish Community Federation Condemns Terror Attack in Bulgaria

July 18, 2012 - At least seven Israeli tourists were killed Wednesday and about 30 injured in the explosion of a bus at the Burgas Airport in Bulgaria. The explosion occurred shortly after a chartered flight of Israelis landed from Tel Aviv. The 42 passengers, all from a single tour group, had just boarded their tour bus after arriving at the Sarafovo airport.

Magen David Adom medical personnel and Israeli authorities are en route to Burgas. A large number of outbound flights from Israel have been grounded and Israeli security forces claim there are a number of significant warnings about potential attacks on Israelis abroad. In Jerusalem, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has opened its Emergency Situation Room to coordinate rescue and other efforts.

Today marks the 18th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires by Iranian agents that left 85 people dead.

Senior Israeli officials are already holding Iran and Hezbollah responsible for the attack. “All the signs lead to Iran. Only in the past few months we have seen Iranian attempts to attack Israelis in Thailand, India, Georgia, Kenya, Cyprus and other places,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “This is an Iranian terror campaign that is spreading throughout the world, Israel will react powerfully against Iranian terror.”

Defense Minister Ehud Barak added “The defense establishment will work with all its might to find the perpetrators of this terrorist attack and those who sent them.” “We have a long struggle with [terrorists] that has many successes and many difficult days. Today is such a difficult day.”

“We strongly condemn this unprovoked attack on innocent civilians in Bulgaria,” said Jennifer Gorovitz, CEO of the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation. “On behalf of the more than 200,000 Jews in the Bay Area regions we serve and the entire Federation system, we stand in solidarity with the people of Israel and Jews everywhere. We offer our sincere condolences and most heartfelt prayers to the victims’ families and all Israelis.”

Historic Vote Against Divestment from Israel

By Noga Zimerman, Director, Middle East Affairs, JCRC

Last week, the organized American Jewish community was part of a historic victory over proponents of the anti-Israel Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions (BDS) Movement when a resolution calling on the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) to divest its assets from three companies with sales to Israel was narrowly defeated at the church’s annual General Assembly. The Jewish Community Federation, through a grant to the Israel Action Network (IAN), and its support of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) which led the organizing effort in the Bay Area, played an important role in helping to ensure that resources were and are available to respond to these serious challenges.

The resolution had previously passed the church’s Middle East Committee and its General Assembly Mission Council, the highest authoritative body of the PCUSA, with an overwhelming majority. So odds were heavily stacked against the position of the mainstream organized Jewish Community that believes that divestment from Israel will hinder, not advance peace, and that divestment singles out Israel as solely to blame for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In preparation for the vote, the IAN (a joint initiative of the Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs) and the Bay Area JCRC along with other JCRCs throughout the country had launched a comprehensive joint advocacy campaign against the resolution to ensure that church members were fully aware of the negative ramifications of this resolution and of our community’s strong position against BDS ahead of what was sure to be a historic vote with deep impact on the scope and direction of the BDS Movement’s Israel divestment campaign in mainline Christian churches. The joint efforts included the wide distribution by the IAN of an anti-divestment, pro-peace “Letter in Hope” signed by over 1,500 rabbis and supported by over 22,000 members of the community, and the distribution by the JCRC as a direct letter to the voting members that described the one-sided, prejudicial nature of the BDS Movement and of the resolution, and expressed the community’s hope that the church would choose instead to impact the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a fair and productive way. All three organizations did extensive advocacy work behind the scenes, and in particular, mobilized allies within the PCUSA to reach out to their peers and openly discuss the resolution and its unjust, imbalanced nature. Following a hard-fought battle on both sides, the resolution was defeated 333-331, potentially marking a turning point in our battle against divestment in the mainline Christian churches.

See the Press Release