CHICKENS ROOSTING

It was inevitable, of course, that JFNA's informal (that means "dictated by the Board Chair and acquiesced in by the always agreeable, soon to be the Treasurer, Chair of Financial Relations") "policy of ignoring federations which pay less than their allocated Dues" or which "negotiate" a great deal to reduce their Dues, would come back to haunt the federations which, year-in and year-out, pay their Dues in an unquestioning manner -- like the proverbial chickens coming home to roost.  JFNA would set up a "reserve" and then annually use at least part of it to make up the "Dues deficit." Thus, JFNA could say with a straight face when asked: "we never use overseas allocations to make up our Budgetary deficits." And, that would be true -- except for the fact that the Dues-paying federations were funding the Reserve which could otherwise have funded core overseas needs.

Isn't it time -- past time, actually -- for JFNA to disclose to all federations the Dues deals that have been made, the list of federations that are in arrears (some for multiple years) and those that are not paying Dues at all (some for multiple years)?  Do the Chair of Financial Relations and/or the Treasurer not have an absolute fiduciary duty to the institution -- to the Owners -- to make such disclosures? Instead of honesty and candor among and with the Owners, JFNA  first suggested that the largest federations make up the deficit that JFNA's refusal to acknowledge federation non- or delayed Dues payments caused. Just BRILLIANT!!

I now assume that in response to this non-starter (some federations dues would have increased by well into six figures!!) it was the largest federations which "suggested" that JFNA reduce its Dues Budget in like amount. Hence the Budget emerged with a JFNA commitment to raise $700,000 over and above Dues. Do I hear an abra-cadabra? No. What I hear is that JFNA considers "fund raising" to be (1) pleading with the federations (no doubt starting with those largest) to pay for JFNA's commitment to fund the Secure Community Network; (2) invading the JFNA endowment for operating funds (verboten in almost every community of which I am aware); and (3) grabbing more donors dollars paid to the Network to support Overseas needs for its own Budget. And this is JFNA -- demanding that we trust these leaders...leaders who behave like this.

Friends, these are not the acts of a responsible organization. But...you knew that.

Rwexler