The Federation’s Annual Campaign focuses your donations on the services that are most critical to local and global Jewish vitality and continuity.

We run the gamut from providing aid to Jews in need to connecting our people and resources “on the ground” in Israel to ensuring that our diverse community and its children build a welcoming and meaningful relationship with their heritage and values. Campaign dollars sustain Jewish life, supporting the programs and services that make an impact on the lives of Jews everywhere.   Each year, millions of Jews in our five local regions and around the world are helped by our donors. Professional & social networking groups and events allow those with shared values and interests to connect with each other as members of an active and compassionate family.  Together, we turn caring into action.

Announcing a special opportunity in 2008

The 2008 Annual Campaign multiplies your giving. Thanks to a $1 million challenge grant that will match all new donations and increases to gifts, your dollars go even further. There is no better time to join your community in building a better world. Give today!

Why give?

A heritage of generosity

Our Jewish family is larger than we know. It is past, present and future. It is the faces of our children, our loved ones, our friends and our communities.   Jewish Community Federation Annual Campaign puts our values into action.  Each year, we build a collaborative network of people whose common bond is the profound belief that it is our responsibility to improve the lives of those less fortunate.

Why Federation?

The power of many

The Jewish Community Federation (JCF) offers a unique opportunity to dramatically enhance your personal philanthropy. More than any other single Jewish organization, the Federation has the experience, the infrastructure and the expertise to put your dollars to work wherever and whenever they are most needed – responding to the call of today and the challenges and opportunities we will encounter tomorrow.  The Federation’s Annual Campaign is a pillar of the Jewish community, providing critical funds for our collective strength, vitality and endurance.

Your gift to the Annual Campaign:

• Supports more than a single cause. With just one contribution you fund essential services – care for seniors, support for single-parent families, resources for children with special needs, programs for new immigrants, thriving community centers, celebrations of arts and culture, strong schools and more.
• Provides a full spectrum of solutions. Our work serves the range of human needs – physical, emotional and spiritual – through our integrated network of partner agencies here, in Israel and around the world.
• Responds to community priorities. The Federation has a unique vantage point that spans geographic areas and encompasses all types of community services and programs. We bring together representatives from across the Jewish world to research, evaluate and prioritize the community’s current needs and long-term aspirations, and we invest in the most effective solutions.
• Ensures a 24/7 safety net. Together we build an emergency response system that stands ready to immediately provide resources and expertise in a crisis such as conflict in Israel, a war or a natural disaster.
• Honors Jewish values. Each gift exemplifies the timeless Jewish tradition of caring for one another to improve our community and the world.
• Supports the Israeli people. The Federation’s work in Israel includes on-the-ground staff and community leadership. We reach out to groups such as new immigrants and those on the country’s geographic periphery, while building programs that celebrate Israel’s diversity and create person-to-person connections.
• Uses funds efficiently and transparently. Our fundraising expenses are tightly controlled by an elected body of senior community leaders and annual independent audits. Each year, we provide detailed accounting showing you exactly how your donations are invested and the impact they have. 

Why now?

The needs are great, the resources are critical

The Jewish world of today is fundamentally different and much more challenging than it was just ten years ago. Our security and our identity are increasingly called into question and the collective issues facing our community and the Jewish people appear to grow daily.  We must respond with strength and vision if we are to overcome these challenges.

Your partnership is essential as we work together to develop real solutions for the most pressing issues:

• The welfare of the elderly. With more than 2/3 of today’s Jewish seniors receiving their services from Jewish organizations, and the senior population doubling in the next 25 years, supporting our Jewish community services for the elderly is critical.
• Economic security. In our local community, 1 out of 10 Jewish families lives in poverty. Your contribution supports basic needs for food, rent and medical care as well as job training for low-income single parents and scholarships for young people.
• Providing for children with special needs. An estimated 7500 children in our community have learning or developmental disabilities. Yet today our community lacks the needed programs to enable these children and their families to participate fully in Jewish life. Your gift to the Federation supports the development of our community's strategy to address this growing need. 
• Welcoming our diverse community. Interfaith couples - who make up 56% of couples in the Bay Area - are far less connected to the Jewish community than their non-intermarried counterparts. Our dollars support outreach programs that engage interfaith families in Jewish life, train clergy to be more welcoming, work with young couples on college campuses and provide Jewish camping for children of interfaith families. JCF also funds programs for specific populations such as Russians, Israelis, LGBT individuals, young adults, and teens.
• Engaging young families with children. Numerous studies have shown that participation in a Jewish preschool significantly boosts families’ later enrollment in formal Jewish education and Jewish life more broadly. Your contributions go toward programs that strengthen Jewish preschools and make them available to more families.
• Promoting democracy and equal opportunity in Israel. JCF-directed grants in Israel bring marginalized minorities into the social and economic mainstream and support the creation of a Jewish community that honors and sustains multiple modes of practice and identification with Judaism.
• Responding quickly and effectively to the emergency needs of Israel and Jewish communities around the world. We utilize the expertise of the international Federation system and our own staff to determine where emergency funds are needed and how they may be swiftly deployed - wherever tragedy strikes.