Ensuring the Future of Our Jewish Community Institutions

As we continue to reflect on over 102 years since we were founded, one question repeatedly arises: How strong will the Jewish community be a century from today? It is an issue because without flourishing synagogues, day schools, JCCs and community organizations, the Jewish community, as we know it, will not be. That’s why JCF has committed to providing capacity building services to help cultivate high-performing organizations. Our services include pro bono consulting, specialized trainings and communities of practice.

The Synagogue Federation Partnership launched in 2007, and was designed to strengthen the relationship between Synagogue and Federation leadership. By 2010, JCF allocated funds that enabled three capacity building projects to begin to help synagogues develop their fundraising and membership capacities:

The Community Legacy Project (CLP)

The CLP is a partnership between the JCF and a diverse group of synagogues and local community organizations. The goal is to equip institutions with the tools they need to market themselves, secure endowments and self-sustain over the long-term. Guidance is provided from Bay Area experts in fundraising and infrastructure building who have been hired to serve as coaches to selected local Jewish organizations. In the first 24 months, 350 commitments totaling $27.9 million were made to the participating institutions, and organizations reported an average of 57% increase in their annual campaign.

Fundraising Initiative

Seven synagogues are participating with a goal to strengthen their capacity to raise funds. The focus in year one was to develop and/or enhance each synagogue’s annual fund campaign. In year two, congregations further improved their annual fundraising and explored comprehensive revenue models for their synagogues. Just one example of recent success is Congregation Beth Israel Judea who had a 53% increase in their 5772 High Holy Day Appeal.

Membership Project

The Synagogue Federation Membership Initiative’s goal is to help synagogues learn more about themselves in order to develop smarter outreach to prospective members. The project partners the Federation with Bay Area synagogues by providing 5 coaches that will help 8 institutions through the project over a period of 18 months. Analyzing survey data and focus group responses, organizers will conduct training of clergy, staff and lay leadership to better equip synagogues to recruit and retain potential members over the long haul. From there, a team of synagogue staff and lay leaders will work with one of the project’s coaches to interpret the data, conduct further focus groups and use the collected information to design custom membership programs.

 

For more information on these or any other capacity building programs, contact Bab Freiberg at BabF@sfjcf.org

Philanthropy’s Role in Social Innovation: An Interview with Adin Miller

Nell Edginton

Nell Edgington, principal of Social Velocity, interviews our own Adin Miller, Senior Director of Community Impact and Innovations on the importance of connecting traditional philanthropy to the emerging world of impact investing.

Nell: You have always been on the funding side of social change. How do you think philanthropy must evolve in order to add to, instead of detract from, the new energy around social innovation?

Adin Miller

Adin: I actually believe the philanthropic sector is embracing social innovation, although at a slower rate than we expected. Our modern version of philanthropy, which traces its roots back to the formation of private foundations and federated systems over 100 years ago, has had many examples of supporting innovation and taking risk. However, I believe the growth and demand for metrics, data, and measures of success and impact may have unintentionally tamped down the sector’s willingness to take risk through innovation.

The Bay Area community is identified with entrepreneurship and innovation. That same ethos is also evident within the nonprofit sector (for example, see The Joshua Venture’s profile of it’s 2012 applicant pool (PDF)). The Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund has embraced this ethos by providing funding to support social innovation in new and established organizations. I have also advocated for a broader embracing of innovations in how we fund in order to further support new approaches.

By embracing the energy around social innovation, I can engage new donors in our efforts while also providing the means to support an evolving ecosystem of organizations that make up our local Jewish community. In some sense, I believe philanthropy’s resistance to the new energy around social innovation seems misplaced. Harnessing that energy can be an effective tool in a comprehensive strategic philanthropic approach.

Nell: You are fairly passionate about connecting traditional philanthropy to the emerging world of impact investing. Why is it critical to bring the two worlds together?

Adin: I believe our current societal challenges and the continued shift by government away from social, safety net, and education services requires that philanthropy look beyond the confines of simply applying a 5% spend rate on a private foundation’s net investment assets. The general principle of impact investing encourages philanthropy to make better use of the other 95% of assets it manages. Whether structured through Mission-Related Investments, Program-Related Investments, or emerging fields such as social impact bonds, philanthropy has the opportunity to put more of its resources into action to support social change efforts and grow them in scale.

Community foundations and federated systems (such as my employer, the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund), in my opinion, have the greater opportunity to embrace impact investing. They directly engage individuals through donor-advised vehicles, supporting foundations, or annual fundraising appeals, and have the unique opportunity to also encourage individual social impact investing that compliments and aligns with their individual charitable giving and philanthropic behavior. The market opportunity is big and when it’s finally realized, will have a much bigger disruptive impact on how philanthropy functions and supports social change.

Nell: In your current role at the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund part of your charge is “to define and develop metrics to document impact.” Determining social impact is such a holy grail in the social change sector. How do you go about defining and measuring impact in your work?

Adin: As an institution, the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund is looking to better understand and track its ability to affect social change. The need for and supply of data have been hallmarks of the current disruptive state of philanthropy. But, I’m also cognizant that we cannot overwhelm our grantees with outsized and overwhelming data requests. As such, we’re methodically working with our funded organizations and community donors to identify the key data points we should be collectively tracking to measure effectiveness and impact.

For our large-scale initiatives – such as our Reducing Barriers and Increasing Access to Participation in Jewish Life initiative – we have adopted a Collective Impact approach and the specific intention to work with partner organizations and community members to define shared goals and intended impact. We have also positioned our new grantees to set aside funding for smaller-scale efforts to assess and measure their effectiveness. I expect that my team and I will continue to work with grantees and partners to craft the right recipe to allow us to effectively measure impact while also emphasizing the impact may take years to become evident.

Nell: You have been involved with social change both as a staff member at funding institutions and as principal of your own consulting firm. What role do you think consultants play in the social change ecosystem?

Adin: Consultants have the opportunity to bring their wider field of vision, built through multiple and diverse interactions with clients, into play. In some respect, consultants serve as ambassadors of thought and action that can bridge institutions in the social change ecosystem. When I managed my own consulting firm I had the privilege of learning about crosscutting issues and approaches that I could then bring into my interactions with clients. There is a tremendous amount of quiet coaching and mentorship that happens as a consultant and that’s the entry point by which I could advise as well as gently push clients to consider additional paths to achieve their missions and goals.

Nell: Before moving from consulting to the JCFEF you were active with your Working In White Space blog, but you haven’t been as active on the blog recently. What role do you think social media plays in social change and how do you stay engaged with it from within an organization?

Adin: Oh, I very much miss my blog. Writing is undeniably a muscle that requires constant use and dedication, and my own ability to do so took a dramatic hit over the past 12 months. Nevertheless, I believe in the power of social media and blogging to share experiences, push ideas along, and test out theories. In my current work, I’ve encouraged my team to find their own voices and become engaged in social media and blogging. The opportunity to exchange ideas in public is a key element of how philanthropy professionals can further extend the effectiveness of their efforts while also raising the transparency quotient so needed in the sector.

On a personal level, I still try to maintain an active profile in social media (mostly Twitter – I’m @adincmiller – but Google+, LinkedIn and Facebook as well) where I push along interesting content. I follow about 80 different philanthropy, social media, and impact investing RSS feeds that give me a great window into current debates and trending issues. And I continue to coach and push for greater communication through social media platforms.

Adin is the Senior Director of Community Impact and Innovations at the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund (JCF) in San Francisco. In this role, Adin develops and implements new strategies, initiatives, programs, research, collaboration and processes to bring about change and impact in accordance with the organization’s mission, goals and priorities. His work focuses on maximizing the JCF’s efforts to generate measurable impact and progress on the community level, defining and developing metrics to document impact, and increasing the visibility of the organization.

SF Business Times Names Jennifer Gorovitz One of Bay Area’s Most Influential Leaders

Congratulations to our CEO, Jennifer Gorovitz!

We salute our CEO on being selected as one of the most influential leaders in the Bay Area by the SF Business Times.  As the first woman CEO among the largest Federations in North America, Jennifer’s dedication, visionary leadership and passionate commitment to our Jewish community is an inspiration to us all. Learn more about Jennifer.

You can connect with Jennifer Gorovitz on Facebook and Twitter.

BUSINESS TIMES SLIDESHOW: See all the incredible women recognized with this award.

To help support our work, please visit jewishfed.org/inspire

Thank You for a Successful Super Sunday!

On March 11, nearly 200 volunteers from the community and JCF staff (many of whom dressed in Purim costumes) came together in San Francisco at the Jewish Community High School and Palo Alto at the Oshman Family JCC for Super Sunday – our largest telethon fundraising event of the year. We reached nearly 600 donors, and their response to our work and the impact we are having in the community was positive, enthusiastic, and hugely supportive. In just 10 hours, we raised nearly $700,000 for the annual campaign! Now that’s the power of community! Our deep appreciation goes out to all the volunteers and our generous donors.

A few volunteers offered some thoughts on what Super Sunday means to them and you can see photos from the event on our Facebook page. Enjoy!

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A light bulb moment on Birthright-Israel

By Roxanne Cohen, Director of Fundraising Engagement

I recently met Sarah Glidden, a 26 year old from Newton, MA, who chronicled her 10-day journey to Israel through Birthright-Israel in a graphic novel, entitled “How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less.” Sarah shared her experience with a group of 50 gathered at the PJCC in Foster City, at a program co-sponsored by Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Community Federation.

Sarah’s “journey” began following 9/11, as her compass started spinning and her awareness of political issues elevated to new heights. For years, as a progressive young adult, she grappled with the question of whether there was room for her to feel a connection to Israel as well as empathy for Palestinian people. The two felt paradoxical to her.

When the opportunity arose to travel to Israel with Birthright, it was a “light bulb” moment for Sarah. She could actually go and see for herself. And though she expected propaganda aimed at influencing her to unconditionally support all aspects of Israel, she instead found Birthright tour guides and educators who helped her and the group tackle tough questions head on. Her expectations were challenged, and she learned quickly about a political situation more complicated than anyone could imagine.

Roxanne Cohen and artist Sarah Glidden at the PJCC's exhibition of "How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less."

As they traveled from Independence Hall, past the security fence and throughout the country, Sarah learned that “YES”—she could feel love for Israel and sympathize with Palestinian aspirations for statehood. “We are all members of the human condition,” lectured renowned scholar David Hartman at the Shalom Hartman Institute. These words spoke to Sarah in a deep and meaningful way.

The title of the book is a joke, said Sarah. The point is – you can’t understand Israel in 60 days. It is easy to think you understand, but the issues are so deep. Part of being Jewish is questioning, talking, debating. As a people, we will never all agree – but we need to simply try to understand. If we can all open ourselves up to that, how much more “Jewish” we will all be.

Birthright is an amazing tool. No two experiences are the same, but its ability to impact Jewish identity is consistent. I am proud that our Federation not only supports Birthright, but has made a commitment to raise the funds needed to reduce the waitlist and help more young adults confront their own issues of identity and what it means to be Jewish.

Sarah Glidden’s work is on display at the Peninsula Jewish Community Center (PJCC) in Foster City through December 28th. For more information visit www.pjcc.org.

Forming a partnership of peers with Israel’s first community foundation

By Jennifer Gorovitz, CEO of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund

It is such a pivotal time in Israel. A movement has formed. Citizens have taken to the streets to demand social justice and equality of opportunity. Amidst this backdrop, the first-ever community foundation in Israel has just been established, Takdim – The Ramat Hasharon Community Foundation, in an effort to bring US-style philanthropy to its borders. This is a new model of philanthropy for a country built on a socialist model of government, and more importantly, that has traditionally received the lion’s share of its support come from overseas.

Consul General of Israel, Akiva Tor, and the Mayor of Ramat Hasharon, Yitzhak Rochberger

According to Hebrew University data, in 2009 approximately 62% of philanthropic contributions to non-profits in Israel came from abroad. This figure represents a ten percent drop however from the previous year, as US donors continue to navigate a sluggish economy at home. Many believe maintaining a robust non-profit sector will require a change of thinking in Israel — a process that has already begun with the formation of this new foundation.

Takdim, which means precedent in Hebrew, is trying to change patterns of philanthropy through a Federation-based model, which they hope will address pressing social and educational issues with support from the community and local donors. Among their leadership are former Israeli Air Force Commanders, a former Ambassador to Washington, and several other prominent figures in Israel today.

The Executive Director of Takdim – The Ramat Hasharon Community Foundation, Arik Rosenblum

The JCF’s reputation in Israel as a leading innovator in strategic philanthropy is what led the leadership of Takdim to reach out to our Federation. They came to San Francisco last week (en-route to the Jewish Federations of North American General Assembly in Denver) to meet our staff, learn about our work, and discuss the possibility of forming a “partnership of peers” with JCF mentoring the Foundation as it develops. Since a core component of our work in Israel is capacity building and helping to develop Israeli philanthropy, we were both thrilled and honored at the prospect. Gila Noam, Director of our Israel Office, provided initial mentorship and guidance to Takdim and helped set up this historic visit.

Among the 12 member delegation was Arik Roseblum, Takdim’s Managing Director; the Mayor of Ramat Hasharon, Yitzhak Rochberger; and a group of lay leaders who are among Israel’s most prominent and accomplished business leaders. We soon discovered that three members of the delegation had their own connections to the JCF – they are all graduates of Gvanim, the JCF’s innovative leadership development program. I must confess I felt a bit like a proud mother on learning of this connection and seeing such compelling evidence of the success of our work.

Jennifer Gorovitz presenting to the Takdim delegation

After a celebratory “meet and greet” and champagne toast, we spent a couple of hours discussing the unique challenges and opportunities faced by each of our communities. I gave a brief presentation on the history of our Federation and the evolution of our new strategic approach to fundraising and grant making. Arik shared with us the story of how Takdim came to be. His description of the physical beauty of the town and the dedication of its citizens reminded me so much of our own community. In addition to being a dedicated to tikkum olam, we also learned from Mayor Rochberger that Ramat Hasharon has something else to admire – a balanced budget! It’s no wonder it was chosen as one of the leading cities of the Middle East.

The next day JCF staff provided the delegation with an overview of the key components of our work, including the changing donor landscape, best practices from the field of strategic philanthropy, our work in Israel, our teen philanthropy program, philanthropic services, how to engage, educate, and recognize donors, how to best develop leadership and ending with an overview of the unique political dynamics of the Bay Area.

Takdim launch celebration in Ramat HaSharon, Israel

It was a very full afternoon that left our Takdim friends informed, inspired, and exhausted (once the jet lag kicked in). We topped the day off with a lovely Shabbat dinner graciously hosted by Joelle Steefel at her home.

This visit was an exciting first step in exploring a partnership between our Federation and this ground-breaking Foundation.

YAD kicks off holiday season with service

By Alia Gorkin, Young Adult Division Manager

Last night, Thursday, September 15, I joined over 40 Jewish young adults for what has become an annual tradition in our community, the Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) Rosh Hashanah Bag Assembly.  After some time to mingle and grab a few snacks, we were put to work!

In just over an hour, our group assembled over 500 bags (!) filled with apples, honey, honey cake, chocolate, soup, peanut butter, crackers, and more for seniors, émigrés and people with disabilities to enjoy this Jewish New Year.  I had so much fun catching up with good friends and meeting young adults new to our community. Can’t wait to see everyone again soon!

This event was a partnership between the Young Adult Division (YAD) of the Jewish Community Federation and JFCS.  Luckily, YAD won’t be waiting until next year to team up again with JFCS.  The YAD Outreach Team has chosen JFCS’s “Chicken Soupers” program to be the beneficiary for our YAD Challah Baking Class coming up on November 2.

Visit us at www.jewishfed.org/yad or on Facebook to see more photos and upcoming YAD events.

JCF interns hit their stride

Our crew of interns are hard at work this summer, working up a sweat with a slew of projects that are key to Federation’s success. No pressure! Paula is helping the International Diller Teen Initiatives achieve lift-off with its summer events, while Gary is busy pitching ads in the Marketing department. Here’s more about their current work in their own words:

Paula Reves is ensuring success

Paula Reves

Paula here again! We are about half way through the program and well underway with work. I have been working on all different sorts of projects, both long and short term. I have been working with both of the programs that the Diller Teen Initiatives has to offer, Diller Teen Fellows and the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards.

Working on the alumni network has been fun since I was personally a Diller Teen Fellow in high school. I have been trying to maintain what was started last summer and in turn make the alumni network more sustainable than it was before. There are three main aspects to my work on this alumni network. The first one is direct contact with the alumni, I sent out an email to anyone who has completed the Diller Teen Fellows program asking a series of questions and whether or not they want to join the alumni task force which we are trying to create. This alumni task force is another large part of what I have been doing with the network. I created a handbook for its members to help them help us create a more self-sustaining alumni network. The handbook had all different tips to help them do all the cool stuff they do in a short 10 pages. Lastly, I have been updating the Facebook group on a regular basis. As far as the Diller Teen Fellows program goes, I am moving toward putting together content from the Israel Summer Seminar blogs from this year.

I have been doing more work with the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards, but all smaller projects. The awards luncheon is approaching quickly at the end of August! I have put together different materials for the award winners this year, and working with recipients of the award to send in their video footage. I have been helping to do some of the preparation for this year’s events in other ways as well. I am also going to be doing some work on the Facebook presence for the awards in the coming weeks.

I have been doing a little bit of everything and I am constantly doing new things and keeping busy! For the Diller Teen Fellows program, my work is a little more focused while the Tikkun Olam Awards my work is more fluid since there is a lot of person to person contact whether it is over the phone or email. There has been a ton of follow-up work making sure people are turning in all the things we need to make sure our programs are a success.

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Who’s the ad wizard? Gary Podvalny.

Gary Podvalny

I’m currently involved with a variety of interesting projects ranging from helping create marketing materials in the Jewish Teen Foundations (JTF) to researching how other Federations market their work in Israel. I’m learning a great deal from my supervisors. My thought process regarding communication efforts has really grown. I now see my tasks not just for a particular event or program but as an expression of the Federation’s brand. I also started catching myself looking at ads on the street and trying to put myself in the shoes of the person who created it as well as who the ad is really targeting.

I recently had my first meeting with the Jewish Teen Foundations and I think it went well! They liked two of my ideas and will hopefully decide to go ahead with them. It still needs some work but I believe we’ll be ready to present a final draft soon. Because it wasn’t so long ago that I was a teen, it was easier for me to put myself in the shoes of the target audience. Overall this was a fun and interesting project.

Dealing with various online tools happens frequently. Programs like wordpress, excel, and smugmug are utilized constantly by the marketing department. I am by no means an expert at using these tools but I believe by the end of the internship I will be very comfortable with all of them. I feel very fortunate to be able to experience these tools in a professional setting and see how they apply in the work place.

In Moscow, Federation’s work spans generations

Federation Campaign Chair Richard Fiedotin and Chief Development Officer Maxine Epstein recently returned from Russia, where they participated on the JFNA’s Campaign Chairs and Director’s Mission. Below is Maxine’s perspective on the group’s visit to a relief center for senior citizens in Moscow. 

By Maxine Epstein

In Moscow, I climbed 6 flights of stairs to reach 84 year old Mirra Shukhman’s apartment. When Mirra opened the door, I entered into my own Bubbee’s apartment – circa 1964, Modesto, California. Perhaps it was the jet-lag, but it was the memory smell that was distorting time. When I looked at Mirra dressed in a pink hand knit sweater and saw her kitchen table, I could see my Bubbee’s hands splattered with flour lovingly kneading that dough. She folded in generations of love to what would magically become our challah for Shabbos. She spoke Yiddish to my father when she did not want me to know what was being said. But unlike my Bubbee, Mira Shukhman lives alone in one room. The couch also serves as her bed.

Mirra never married had no children and she is living out her final days in dignity – because of the support of the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the funds we raise here through our Campaign efforts. “My childhood ended on June 22, 1941” Mirra said, referring to the day Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Born in 1927, Mirra does not know a lot about Judaism, but her parents used Yiddish as a “secret language” in front of her. And Mirra remembers Passover celebrations at her aunt’s house and how her father used to tell her stories from the Torah.

Mirra of Moscow, Russia (right) received guests from the Bay Area Jewish community in her home.

When the Second World War broke out, Mirra’s parents sent her to live with her cousin in Siberia. She endured the hard journey with a 72 year old woman who was a friend of her father. The trip took more than a month, during which they rode in cattle cars and slept outdoors during the bitter cold winter. Mirra’s cousin shared her small rations of food with Mirra, which was barely enough to survive.

Mirra receives a monthly income of $400 per month. She receives fresh food and visits from a homecare worker 8 hours per month. In addition, once a week a worker form the JDC brings her to a “warm house” or Hesed where she visits with other seniors – also isolated and alone.

There really are no degrees of separation. Had my grandparents turned right instead of left, I might have been born in Russia.

Our efforts in the Annual Campaign and supplemental gifts to the JDC help the JDC run a network of five Hesed relief centers which provide essential services – food, medicine, home care, and winter relief – to 28,730 destitute Jewish elderly. Whether they live in the city or on the rural outskirts, Hesed’s elderly clients are reliant on this support to survive. I was very moved by my visit to Mirra’s home and the Hesed center, and felt a deep sense of responsibility for the Jewish community both here in the Bay Area and around the world. I hope that this feeling will be shared by many in future generations as well.

The Hesed Chama center in Moscow provides warm food and other services to senior citizens.

SF Business Times features JCF on cover

The San Francisco Business Times cover story “Foundations: Who’s next? Strategies target young donors” highlights the innovative approaches Federation is taking to meet the interests of our donors, a new generation of Jewish philanthropists and a changing philanthropic environment. Read about how our new initiatives will impact the Jewish community for generations to come. Go to the article now.