PRIORITIES

 A few nights ago I attended the Annual Meeting of a local care for the aging organization. It was not unlike countless annual meetings of local Jewish agencies around the Continent -- putting the best case forward that "all is well" when, in fact, nothing really is. In too many places at this worst of times we find our agencies running on fumes as never before -- that "best case" is too often nothing more than "putting lipstick on a pig."

Friends, to paraphrase a great American leader: 

"The moral test for our communities is how we treat those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the disabled, wherever they may live."

In one sentence, those are our priorities -- or they damn well should/must be. But, what if the resources, during this time of COVID-19, just aren't there? What is a community to do, individually and collectively? For those agencies and federations with endowments, this is the "rainy day" for which those assets have been built and held -- use them, apply them. 

It's great that the leaders of some mega-foundations working together allocated $91 million, plus or minus, to address the greatest of needs -- but, as we have explored on these pages, that is $91 million of $21.7 billion of communal assets under management -- .004%. Yes, it can be argued that I am comparing apples and oranges inasmuch as the communal assets are mainly in Donor Advised Funds and Supporting Foundations, and, almost always the communities have been singularly focused on amassing assets rather than in their distribution. Now...now...is it possible to "retrain" the fund raisers to become advocates for distributing them to meet the communities' highest priorities? Because, my friends, everywhere...everywhere...the rain is falling, and those of our People most in need, are suffering.

At that care of the aging agency annual meeting I observed, I listened to the federation CEO express passionately the communal dedication to the agency even as that same federation has cut its allocation to the agency because its annual campaign cannot meet the needs it sees everywhere. I was reminded of the conversation I had with the then CEO of our largest federation way back when we found ourselves in a deep, deep recession: "Richard," he told me, "we are having a horrible time keeping our Board members when all we can ask them for is to cut, cut, cut allocations while we ask them for greater contributions." 

And, here we are again. Only...worse. The social safety net we have created with such pride, is on the verge of collapse.

It's time, friends, for JFNA to show real leadership --as it did in raising and finding significant dollars for Holocaust Survivors. Convene a blue ribbon committee, and create a national loan program, as was done during the Exodus, whereby the mega-foundations and the largest federations would be asked to allocate tens of millions to fund priority prograns in those communities in greatest need, with established criteria for (a) those priority programs; and (b) repayment. 

That may not be the only alternative; I would welcome yours. 

What I know is that treating today with a "business as usual" approach will not work.

It is so hard to utter Mo'Adim L'Simcha this Sukkot this year unless we recommit ourselves to our priorities and ignore the shiny objects which are our distraction.

Rwexler