PURPOSE

Commenting on the United Kingdom's recent response to Brexit, one Brit opined that there is "a conspicuous infirmity of purpose." Very British, yes, and equally applicable to far too many of our Continental and national institutions in North America. Institutions that wander aimlessly, without apparent purpose, are doomed at best to mediocrity and at worst to a well-earned collapse.

I find it impossible to believe that any Jewish orghanization believes that "business as usual" works when donors and donations have cratered in the face of the COVID plague. In just the last few days I've heard of multiple federations with 2020 operating deficits in excess of $10 million dollars. The Jewish Agency and the JDC will see federation allocations to their core activities at dollar levels that will not permit them to do the work that we ask of them. National and Local agencies around the Continent are operating on fumes. If you do not believe it...ask.

And yet, and yet...Much like the Trump Administration and COVID, months into this catastrophe, there is no plan. Do our organizational leaders somehow believe that God will provide? That the clouds will lift and all will be well? Look around...look around. In Community A, vital services to the elderly have been cut to the bone, programs for the most frail among us completely eliminated; the community being told "we can't afford it." In Community after Community, lay-offs are diminishing the ability of the "system" to serve. Jewish Community Centers are closing temporarily and with those closures, everything from pre-schools to social programs for Holocaust Survivors...on hiatus at best. In too many federations there will be less allocated overseas than Dues paid to JFNA; and, in many other communities, JFNA Dues will be unpaid or paid only in part. And, the list goes on and on.

Back in my youth -- in other words a long, long time ago -- our system confronted what we called back then "the new Jewish poor." Today is so much worse and, only now are our organizations taking baby steps toward confronting what will soon be a tsunami of poverty impacting the most vulnerable. And we are not prepared.

Of course I am well aware that JFNA is no longer in the fund raising/donor raising business. Even the offer of FRD consultation with communities, JFNA's last fund raising initiative has become just a shadow of its former self, if it exists at all. Here's what the national system (viz, UJA) used to do -- we focused our own initiatives and the communities' on focused fund raising, on getting into the trenches with our own and federation FRD leadership getting back to the basics in an intense and very personal way. And the federations were successful. But, "back to basics" -- to the blocking and tackling that built the incredible safety net for those of our People most in need is, apparently, so last Century. 

Instead of the basics, we read of the latest bright, shiny object -- in an "Announcement," ejewishphilanthropy highlighted The Jewish Federations of North America Warmly Welcome Amplifier. Sure they do. https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/the-jewish-federations-of-north-america-warmly-welcome-amplifier/?utm_source=Oct+14%2C+2020&utm_campaign=Wed+Oct+14&utm_medium=email

Amplifier we learned is a "philanthropic idea generator...incubated at the Natan Fund" and supported at JFNA with a grant from the wonderful Schusterman Foundation. The National Campaign Chair raved about it "reimagining and inspiring thoughtful collaborative giving inspired by Jewish values,." Uh huh. The examples cited in the ejp include "giving circles," a young leadership exercise in "Flash Philanthropy" and, more giving circles.

Don't get me wrong; I am all in favor of new models and experiments in building Jewish philanthropy. But...and this is a big but...if these new forms are not built upon the bedrock foundation of focused FRD, of in the trenches FRD, of incredibly hard work at the local and Continental levels, the financial collapse we are seeing all around us will accelerate and the very communities engaged in distractions from FRD fundamentals will wither and die.

Focus...Focus...Focus.

Rwexler