"It seems that whatever the state of the organization may be, it has certainly proven to be a complete and gigantic failure in every aspect of assisting its partners in serving the overseas needs and goals of the Jewish People.
It also clearly continues to waste badly needed resources in order to pay for its own futile attempts to create an alternative to the very partners that it is supposed to be supporting and advocating for.
In short, with advocates and 'Envoys' like these, who needs enemies?
If lay leadership is not willing or capable of putting a stop to this, the time has come for the three historical partner organizations to begin to realize that they are being sold out and to take their fate into their own hands - hopefully in a new joint effort but if not then even if it is each on its own behalf. If there are any true lay leaders left out there, this is the time for them to rise to the occasion and lend a hand."This brought to mind another moment in time. In the late "oughts" or early 2010's, I was Chair of what was then the embryonic JAFI North America. I had watched as the allocations to JAFI and JDC were headed precipitously downward while the two organizations continued a decades-long, often nasty argument about percentages. (One that continues, sub rosa, even today. An argument over truly marginal dollars.) ) At that moment in time my friend, Steve Schwager, was the Joint's Executive Vice-Chair. Steve and I had periodic chats about the sorry lack of suppoert for both JAFI and the JDC from JFNA. We had visited federations together to advocate for overseas allocations for both organizations and we had an easy rapport.
I asked Steve if JDC would consider an "advocacy partnership;" much like that suggested in the Anonymous Comment above. Schwager put together a meeting at JDC's New York offices inviting Judge Ellen Heller and Alan Jaffe, respectively JDC's then Chair and one of its most thoughtful officers, to join us. I made my case and we had a vigorous discussion of the pluses and minuses. Ultimately, the Joint's leaders decided not to join in such an effort with JAFI; they decided to continue to rely on promises from JFNA that that organization would lead a major advocacy effort. Nothing happened.
Might the organizations join together today? Doubtful. JDC is (and has been) engaged in successful direct fund raising in multiple communities across the continent. In some, its "success" is reflected in gaining a greater percentage of the "split" with JAFI. JAFI, on the other hand, while its JAID (Jewish Agency International Development) effort has had former federation CEOs as its professional leaders, has made only the smallest of inroads on the allocations front with whatever "successes" they have achieved reflected in increased supplemental direct fund raising -- at least FRD successes under Misha Galperin's professional leadership. WorldORT's professional leaders -- all or almost all of whom were successful federation CEOs in their prior service -- have recognized for years that it had to rely on its own successful FRD efforts, through individual solicitation, not on federation allocations (especially when, at the end of 2017, WorldORT's share of those fell to $2.4 million).
Could a major allocations advocacy effort led by the three overseas "partners," and managed by JFNA (or, better, through a joint venture entity created by the three organizations themselves) be successful? While I think so, let me just point out that the three organizations under the current scheme (which is truly NOTHING: JFNA doing nothing, UIA proposing to once again engage in advocacy for JAFI, JDC out on its own, etc.) while federation allocations have fallen by over $200,000,000 since the merger.
In fact, we reported the final numbers that JFNA provided the overseas beneficiaries at the end of November -- cash distributions so low that they represented a new level of futility. Yet, on the last business day of the claendar year, the organizations were advised that JFNA could not even deliver on those pathetic numbers.
So what really might be lost through a combined advocacy effort?
Nothing.
Rwexler
Richard, JDC is moving forward as it should, never having lost sight of its goal to equalize a division of federation allocations that has been disproportionately slanted to the Jewish Agency for no rational reason. World ORT has followed a prescription for fund raising success, direct solicitation. The Jewish Agency itself or through this JAID, is nowhere to be seen in my community or any community, they are invisible. If JAFI has great "product" as its leaders believe, they clearly can't sell it, don't sell it, won't sell it.
ReplyDeleteDon't blame JFNA for the collapse of the allocations. Don't blame the federations. The Jewish Agency is its own worst enemy. How much of allocated dollars has it wasted on the futility of its sales force? And what's the return on that "investment?"
To paraphrase Israel's PM relative to JAFI: "There will be nothing, because there is nothing!"
ReplyDeleteWith thanks to Sharansky and Hoffman's abysmal leadership, JAFI continues to decline. With thanks to a Board who [mostly] doesn't take their governance responsibilities seriously, JAFI continues to decline. With thanks to JFNA's CEO and Sr VP Israel who continue to undermine JAFI's work, JAFI continues to decline. And, with thanks to a handful of LCE's whose refusal to press for any changes, anywhere, because it might mean THEY TOO would be held accountable, JAFI - and JFNA - continue to decline.
It is clear that not even a joint venture advocacy program among AFI/JDC will be able to combat the drastic swing away from support for large bureaucratic organizations of which JAFI is clearly the largest and most bureaucratic and politicized. Instead of any institutional introspection, these two organizations continue to present a sense of entitlement to the federations. Can they change? No more than JFNA which possesses all of the same characteristics -- a sense of entitlement, bloat and lack of a clear and articulate vision of why it should have communal support. Make that unquestioning communal support. For all of these organizations to continue to act as if they are still in the 90s and it's business as usual, they had better way up and understand the new normal.
ReplyDeleteAll interesting comments on our historical partners and their individual efforts.
ReplyDeleteRegarding JFNA getting involved with them to collaborate on their behalf, that horse left the collective barn years ago.
Under Silverman, JFNA has lost any sense of interest, knowledge, or professional staff that would help facilitate such an endeavor.
Just look at the status of the current Envoys program and the defunct Global Planning Table, just to name the most recent feeble attempts of JFNA to achieve legitimacy when it just isn't there.
When Silverman eventually leaves JFNA, it will be interesting to hear his, or someone else's, probably Caspi's, farewell speech that will no doubt list the many successes that JFNA has achieved under his tenure.
I have served on the Budget & Finance Committeess of both the Jewish Agency and JFNA> The difference between the two has illustrated just how corrupted JFNA has become if by no other measure than how these Committees operate.
ReplyDeleteAt JAFI, transparency has become a reality (probably not completely, but given where JAFI has come from over two decades, remarkably so). I attribure this fact to the incredible professionalism demanded by its CFOs from Yaron Neudorfer forward and to a succession of no b.s. Budget and Finance Chairs in a line from Richie Pearlstone and Jay Sarver to today.
Compare and contrast with JFNA where the trajectory has been steadily downward since Lee Twersky and Sam Astrof and their staffs headed the professional effort working with strong Chairs who would not tolerate hiding behind an opaque wall with Chairs like Steve Silverman and now Jodi Schwartz willing accomplices to non-disclosure as Budget Chairs.
Richard, JAFI is far from perfect but there is no deeper black hole than the one that Silverman, Board Chairs and Budger Chairs have dug at JFNA. You need to take a careful look and so should Uri Blau.
"JAFI is far from perfect ..." is the funniest thing I've read so far this year. It ranks up there with the delicious irony of "At JAFI, transparency has become a reality (probably not completely"--whoever wrote this is a comic genius. Well done!
ReplyDeleteRichard, you ask "what really might be lost through a combined advocacy effort?"
ReplyDeleteThe answer, sadly, is even more credibility. JAFI has become a travesty of governance and reporting. Find a single philanthropist, Federation or philanthropic foundation that was even consulted, let alone agreed with, on the latest ridiculous venture--a 1.5 billion shekel housing venture with Amigur, announced this week.
Announced in November: the Belz Foundation of Memphis has granted $500,000 to The Jewish Agency for this senior initiative.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon 7:44, I rejected your attempted Comment as it suggests that the Bell gift is somehow devalued by reason of the fact that the gift is sssociated with Andy Groveman, UIA Chair and JAFI Board member. It is too ridiculous to print.
ReplyDeleteI too have served on JAFI and JFNA’s budget committee.
ReplyDeleteThe experience was markedly different.
The JAFI budget document under Richie Pearlstone and dating back through Paul Berger and Norman Lipoff, was voluminous and had literally hundreds and hundreds of detailed lines. Frequently there were complaints that 100% budget disclosure was difficult to navigate. They complained that the absolute transparency may have caused a veritable “forest for the trees” scenario. A great deal of work was invested in creating more functional summaries before the detail was presented. The Process is based on many open meetings that build the budget. Arguments at the final meeting are sometimes raucous and changes are sometimes made. It has the sound of democracy in action.
My first meeting of the JFNA budget meeting went something like this: Sam Astrof gave a well refined presentation, as one might be given in 6th grade math class. Jerry got up and gave a motivational sort of locker room pep talk. He asked for the budget to be approved. The first person to ask a question was interrupted by a large city executive who stated “this is not the time or place to ask questions of the budget, this is the place (budget and finance committee) to approve the budget.” I never came back to another meeting. The choice was clear: remain silent - remain on the committee. Open your mouth and you just would not be invited back, or just walk away like i did.
The commentators about JAFI have obviously never participated at JAFI.
"Soon To Zero"? No. "Already at Zero"? Yes.
ReplyDelete