OWNERSHIP WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES

A long time ago, we were in the Bahamas with friends. I was gambling, losing badly at the craps table, and getting fermischt. At one point, I lost my bet but in an hallucinatory moment picked my friends' winnings right off the table. Luckily, my friend merely pried his money from my sweaty palms. There was no question whose money it was. I apologized profusely.

A similar theft in a more complicated scenario is on-going in Jewish communal life. You see, once funds have been allocated by a community to, e.g., a local agency or to JAFI/JDC/WorldORT those dollars are owned by the agencies, by the communal partners, not by the federations which made the allocations and, in the instance of overseas allocations clearly not by JFNA. The federations from the moment of allocation collects and holds those allocated dollars in trust for the beneficiaries, pure and simple. 

Back in the day, when a community built up an account payable from its unpaid overseas allocations, the United Jewish Appeal would determine the amount unpaid and, in a true lay-professional effort, leadership would visit the community and, typically, with community leaders willing to act in good faith, work out a plan for repayment -- most often, a multi-year payment plan, a reduced total, in consideration of which the federation would agree to an allocations increase over time. Both the community and the UJA acknowledged that the allocated and unpaid dollars were the property of the intended beneficiaries.

In this process I had great lay partners -- dear friends, serious, passionate lay leaders like Alan Shulman and Norman Tilles, z'l, and others -- and superb and dedicated professionals: first, David Agronin right through the incredible Cheryl Lefland, all working with the UJA CFO, the brilliant Lee Twersky. We continued this effort into the JFNA era where CFO Sam Astrof shared the commitment of his predecessors to this sacred obligation-- an obligation JFNA honored at least for a time. 

That was then; and this is now.

The functioning "Financial Relations Committee" that UJA brought into the merger survived, its lay and professional leaders joined together in what we saw as sacred work until Kathy Manning succeeded Joe Kanfer as Chair. Manning decided that she would drive the financial effort herself (as in all things) and without regard for the impacts of write-offs of allocated funds on JAFI or JDC or WorldORT. Deals (on Dues as well as allocations) were cut with no further governance approval beyond Kathy's imprimatur on them. The deals were now done under the cloak of claimed "confidentiality" hidden from view, as was and is so much at 25 Broadway.

Eventually Cheryl Lefland left the organization, leaving allocations matters to the new CFO, long-serving Pam Zaltsman, who believed in a "make no waves" financial operation; a truly serious Financial Relations Committee effort disappeared and, with that disappearance, any sense of fiduciary responsibility -- of JFNA to JDC/JAFI/WorldORT -- disappeared as well. The Financial Relations Committee had acted as a fiduciary should (whether I Chaired it or Alan Shulman or, ultimately, whether Jacksonville's Steve Silverman did so), a trustee, if you will, for the overseas beneficiaries.

Now, there would be none.

And, so, where are we today? Is it true that senior JFNA professionals advised communities that they can just write off millions in allocations receivables -- dollars owed not to JFNA but to JAFI/JDC/WorldORT -- as they saw fit...with no consultation with JAFI/JDC/WorldORT, no governance process?  JFNA's interest is only in collecting its Dues, the overseas beneficiaries be damned. 

And what is the authority for JFNA senior professionals allegedly doing so? None!!! Were the overseas beneficiaries to demand an audit of allocations write-offs, the consequences would be, should be enormous.

No one should have needed to explain to the professionals who have delivered these write-off messages/directions to communities that those allocated dollars and the receivables created to pay them are held in trust by the federations for the beneficiaries. They are no longer the "property" of the allocating community; they are held in constructive trust pure and simple. Instead we have a further corrupt practice...unchecked....engineered by senior management without the authority to do so. 

This pathetic situation would not continue if the sun were allowed to play its Brandeisian role of disinfectant. But it is not.

Specifics to follow. 

Rwexler