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What's new? You!
The Bay Area set records in its generosity this year. As we turn toward next year’s community-building projects, we’d like to highlight another milestone: Fall 2007 marks the formal launch of the Federation’s Strategic Funding Initiative (SFI), a new, more-robust and comprehensive approach to addressing complex community needs by strategically directing our collective and individual assets, measuring results and creating sustainable solutions with the dollars you so generously give. This new initiative brings together a vibrant group of lay leader volunteers, professional staff, community agencies, specialized researchers and other resources for a process that makes crystal-clear how—and why—your Jewish Community Federation contributions are invested.
The landscape of Jewish philanthropy has shifted dramatically over the past decade.
Our society as a whole, and our donors in particular, expect accountability and effective management. Philanthropic effectiveness is all about creating value for society by systematically evaluating community priorities and developing strategic, high-impact solutions for the most pressing needs.
Effective philanthropy
- is informed by good data, best practices, and communal priorities,
- is grounded in partnerships with community agencies and grantees,
- and involves the measurement of outcomes achieved with allocated funds.
21st century philanthropy at the JCF
Through our new Strategic Funding Initiative, we have been working to harness the intellect, energy, and resources of our local community to create the Federation’s model for effective, 21st-century philanthropy. This fall, we’re bringing this new model of philanthropy to the Bay Area with a goal of sustaining our diverse network of critical and valued Jewish organizations today, while simultaneously pursuing long-term strategic initiatives to address complex community-wide concerns.
Central to the new model are three commissions and five regional councils. Each commission is focused on a key community priority:
- Caring for the Vulnerable
- Educating and Engaging
- Promoting Israel and Jewish Peoplehood around the World
Each commission collaborates with a set of regional councils, being established in each of the JCF’s five regions: South Peninsula, North Peninsula, San Francisco, Marin and Sonoma. These councils assess local needs, identify regional priorities, fundraise and allocate small local grants in addition to providing a critical, on-the-ground, regional perspective to inform the work of the commissions.
The councils and commissions are made up of a broad spectrum of JCF donors with specific and relevant professional and volunteer expertise—hundreds of people in the first year alone. The commissions’ work is informed by advisory groups composed of agency and congregation leadership, as well as JCF staff and other resources such as academic researchers and professional planners.
What we will achieve together
Our new model for community planning and program development expands the Federation's ability to convene our community and facilitate a professional process that leads to an objective set of desired outcomes and strengthens our collaborative process and our collective impact.
- Listening to the voices of our community: We have an even greater opportunity to engage members of the community in a communal decision-making model that seeks to bring a variety of voices into the fold, including voices of specific regions and social-issues experts.
- Partnering with Jewish community organizations: The new model makes the JCF a stronger advocate for community organizations by working with them to develop creative, far-reaching solutions to the needs and priorities identified through the commissions' assessment process, and then raising the dollars to fund these solutions.
- Measurement of results: A central component of each commission’s work is to develop and implement metrics for measuring the effectiveness of our joint charitable investments. Commissions are specifically designed to have continuity in membership in order to create an infrastructure of long-term engagement with the programs and agencies we support.
This initiative takes tremendous commitment from our community and we are continually inspired by the volunteers, Jewish community professionals, JCF staff and donors who are coming together to make your Jewish Community Federation a model for strategic, high-impact philanthropy and sustainable community development. We look forward to briefing you on these efforts in the months to come. |
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They wanted to experience a miracle at all costs and you helped make it happen.
The following reflections are from Judith Goldkrand Cheskin, president of the JCF Women’s Alliance. In July, she traveled with Norman and Dr. Carol Traeger, 2007-2008 Annual Campaign Chairs, along with JCF Chief Development Officer Roberta Catalinotto, to Ethiopia and Israel, where they witnessed firsthand the hope and the need in these communities, and the tremendous, worldwide impact of your JCF contributions.
After boarding a small plane to Gondar, I thought I was heading for the lush mountain regions of Ethiopia. Little did I know but I had actually boarded a time machine. From the airstrip to jeeps, I found myself bouncing along unpaved, muddy roads headed into the mountains. At first, goats, cows, and sheep with their seven-year-old attendants were our only company. With each passing moment, the community slowly introduced itself: women walking on the road with chickens in their arms and baskets on their heads coming from the market. Further along, a village where the line of 15 jeeps must have been the greatest parade they had ever witnessed; children waving and calling out, standing barely clothed and barefoot in the mud; open stalls selling the items required to live and threadbare scarves on the ground filled with grains. And then the road was quiet again. At the top of this mountain was the village of Ambovar, perfectly preserved as it was 1,000 years ago... fields being plowed by oxen and wooden plowshares, women cooking over small fire pits in their doorways, one-room homes made from sticks, mud and straw. This was the home of the Beta Israel, the Ethiopian Jews.
It is now the story of contrasts. Among the people we met on our trip were two women who started in adjoining huts and are now centuries apart: Oreta spends her days trying to keep her husband and children alive—scrubbing clothes on a rock in a muddy river in a valley an hour's walk from her home, carefully measuring the little grain she has to make food, walking to the river for water. Barely surviving with limited food, only the threadbare clothes she wears, no running water or electricity. No future. Liat was there too but her family had a dream of Jerusalem. For generations they waited for the bird to come and carry them to Jerusalem. Now Liat lives in Israel, a successful Ethiopian Israeli—an officer in the Israel Defense Forces; a university graduate; a professional.
Liat's family dared to dream so that she could have a future. We, the Jewish Community Federation, were the bird that came and made their dreams come true. You made a miracle happen for over 110,000 people. You allowed a people to make a journey in a generation that moved them a millennium. This is the story of the Exodus in our time. This is the story of a people willing to risk their lives to walk to the Promised Land and experience the miracle of the bird G-d sent to save them. They were willing to experience a miracle at all costs and JCF made it happen.
Although the last of the Ethiopian Jews is now in Israel, our work is not done, the miracle is not yet complete. It is our job to continue this work. We made a promise. |
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Rosh Hashanah resources
Dear Friends,
It’s hard to believe that Rosh Hashanah is less than a month away. It’s always amazing to us how quickly the days and years fly by. On behalf of the Jewish Community Federation, we wish you a healthy and joyous new year.
As the holidays approach, we find ourselves thinking about how lucky we are to be part of the Bay Area’s unique Jewish community. We’re blessed that there are so many different opportunities available to express our connection to Judaism. We encourage you to find a way to come together with other Jews during our High Holiday season. For some, that might mean going to a synagogue, while for others that might mean a festive meal with family and friends. Some might even consider a trip to Israel, a wonderful journey to take anytime, and a very spiritual place during the holidays.
If you’re not already affiliated with a synagogue, please give the Board of Rabbis (415.369.2861) or the Jewish Community Information and Referral Service (415.777.4545) a call. They will be happy to connect you with a shul that meets your needs. You can also go online to get High Holiday information in your area. You should know that synagogues in our community are waiting for you to walk through the door and that Jews who wish to pray on the holidays are not turned away for financial reasons.
We hope you’ll find a path that works for you this year. We hope the road you choose will help you begin the New Year as part of a community that will inspire you during the year to come.
Shanah Tovah,
John Pritzker, President, Jewish Community Federation
Deborah Mintz, Chair, JCF Synagogue Initiative Task Force
Rabbi Marvin Goodman, JCF Rabbi in Residence and Executive Director, Northern California Board of Rabbis |
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Bridging the past, present and future
Meet Elaine.* Elaine, an artist and teacher, is eager to join the ranks of women who have endowed their annual Lion of Judah (LOJE) gift. In fact, part of her motivation is to honor other women who have set an example of generosity. So, she was pleased to set up her endowed gift to commemorate this milestone year - the year the JCF Women's Alliance turned 50. “It was a way to honor all the women who have done work in the Jewish community and those who will do work in the future,” she says.
Elaine found the process of revising her will in order to earmark money for the LOJE program was a time to reflect on her own values and legacy. “By having an endowment, you very clearly say what’s important to you. If you feel you’ve accomplished things you set out to do and made things better in your lifetime, you don’t mind leaving…maybe,” she says with a smile.
Read more stories on how you can create a living legacy today.
* Please note that names have been altered to protect the privacy of the donors. |
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Help victims of Peru quake
All donations to the JCF will support rescue and relief work in the areas of Peru impacted by the recent earthquake. Give today!
On Wednesday, August 15 at 6:41 p.m. a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Peru. Over 1,500 people are believed injured, with a death toll at 510 and likely to climb.
Funds raised by the JCF will help facilitate rescue and relief work by the Federation’s overseas service partner, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), which has provided critical services in response to earlier disasters. The JDC’s non-sectarian program aided those affected by the tsunami in South Asia; flooding in Haiti and the Dominican Republic; and earthquakes in El Salvador, India, Morocco and Turkey, as well as victims of terror in Turkey and the war in Kosovo.
This local fundraising effort is part of a comprehensive drive by United Jewish Communities, the coordinating body of Jewish Federations across North America.
Over these past few years of hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes we have collected funds for relief and rescue efforts made in the wake of natural disasters. We feel that it is our responsibility to help those in need. It is a Jewish imperative and we are fortunate to be able to help. |
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Israel @ 60 Community Mission: “Looking Back, Leading Forward”
April 30 – May 8, 2008
Experience Israel like never before! Join the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation for a unique, multi-track mission celebrating Israel’s 60th anniversary.The mission, our community’s first since Israel’s 50th birthday, will begin at the end of Yom HaShoah, the holiday commemorating the Holocaust, continue through Yom HaZikeron, the memorial day for fallen Israeli soldiers, and end as we celebrate Israel Independence Day in the streets of Tel Aviv. These somber and exciting days in Israel are like no others, representing the vibrancy of Israeli everyday life, its history, collective memory and its shared future. In our travel, we will engage with a variety of Israeli communities as we celebrate Israel’s milestones of the past 60 years. This will be an opportunity for each and every community member to create personal connections, and take part in the commemoration of Israel’s founding.
A unique feature of this trip is its sponsorship by the Federation’s Business Leadership Council and the opportunity it provides participants to focus on their business and intellectual interests in three main tracks:
- Arts & culture
- Business tracks: high-tech, real estate & investments or life science
- Archeology & history
The mission is being planned in cooperation with Lehrhaus Judaica and in consultation with experts specializing in the Israeli business community and Israeli arts and culture. It is chaired by Robert Blum and Bobby Lent.
Don’t miss out! Join your neighbors, friends and family who have already secured their spots on the mission by contacting Caron Tabb at 415.512.6208 or Benjamin Pither at 415.512.6437. |
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Other events
Monday, August 13 - Thursday, August 30, 2007
Israeli cartoonists take a critical look at the Israel of today. Free parking available at the Pierce Street entrance.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
70-s, 80-s & 90-s music, dance and more. With DJ UV and DJ Michal. Free summer treats. First 30 people get one free alcoholic beverage from the bar.
Tuesday, September 4 - Friday, September 7, 2007
The first event of a special lecture series for Israel @ 60, featuring Israel's finest literary voices, with author Sami Michael. Born in Baghdad in 1926, Michael joined a leftist underground movement and fled Iraq for Israel in 1948. Michael has written six novels, four children's books, and three non-fiction books.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Dedicated to promoting community-wide growth by bringing together Jewish people from all over the Bay Area, the To Life! Festival offers a fun-filled day for people of all ages with an array of live entertainment, arts, culture, community and, of course, food.
Saturday, September 15–Wednesday, October 31, 2007
In this unique collection of 28 images Israeli photographer Harel Stanton explores his interpretation of the sacred rites, traditions, and significant cultural nuances. Stanton’s photographs feature ethnicities and religions including Orthodox Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. “For me,” says Stanton, “as someone who studies the religious ceremonies through the lens of the camera, every time I am amazed again to see that it is all the same people who are behind the uniform, costumes, dress, burka, kippa etc.”
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