Jewish Community Professionals

...and guess where it is coming from? THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore. That is right. In fact, many other Jewish communities across the U.S. have approached their Federations to research similar proposals.

So what is the funding?
The Weinberg Foundation in Baltimore has agreed to donate $5 million each year for three years to go to the local day schools and yeshivas. As part of the deal, the Federation must contribute $1 Million for each of those years on top of the Weinberg dollars. That is $18 million in 3 years.

Some questions I am currently researching to which I will report back...
1. How did this come about?
2. What schools are recipients?
3. Do the recipient schools have to jump through any hoops?
4. Do they have certains spending guidelines and what are they?

Either way, this is major news and the potential impact on a national level is yet to be seen. Stay tuned. Read the official press release about this major committment to Baltimore's Jewish day schools. I am thrilled to see that my mentor, Rabbi Larry Ziffer was heavily involved in realizing this monumental allocation and was quoted in the above press release.

Labels: Day Schools, Education, Jewish Federation, Weinberg Foundation

The United Jewish Communities (UJC) and Jewish Federations have been taking a lot of criticism for their Israel Emergency Campaign (IEC) where some of the dollars raised are going to support Israeli Arabs affected by the war in Northern Israel.

With all this unrest surrounding this campaign that has raised more than $100 million, the Orthodox Union put out an incredible statement showing their support of the Israel Emergency Campaign and their Torah perspective on earmarking dollars to Israeli Arabs.

The Orthodox Union understands and accepts that a portion of the funds raised for the UJC Israel Emergency Campaign go towards the welfare of Israeli Arab citizens. This is both halachically and ethically appropriate.

Certainly the funds raised through our own OU campaign (even before we joined forces with UJC) went to benefit Arab citizens as well as Jewish.

We have always expressed pride that organizations like Shaarei Zedek Hospital, an Orthodox institution which raises its funds from Jewish sources, serve the Israeli Arab population with not the slightest suggestion of discrimination. We should do no less.

Labels: Israel Emergency Campaign, Israeli Arabs, Jewish Federation, Orthodox Union, United Jewish Communities

Back with a vengeance ;-) Thank you for all your well wishes. Baby Zeke is doing really well and hopefully be able to have his bris in a few weeks. Please maintain your tefilos for Tinoke ben Chaya Rivka. Thank you.

I read an extremely fascinating article on turning charity donors into investors. And I mean that quite Literally.

...only recently has the idea emerged that anyone might invest in a nonprofit, as opposed to just giving it money—and, to date, there aren't any nonprofit investment securities for investors to bet on. Lawmakers can unlock this magic of the capital market by passing legislation that permits investors to risk the size and timing of their charitable tax deductions.

Let's say nonprofits worked in the same way the private sector does and allow donors to actually become investors. Investors in the literal sense. They would purchase stock and depending on market conditions and their productivity and effectiveness, the stock value goes up or down.

Existing charitable policy states the following...

If you give $600 to the American Red Cross, you get a $600 tax deduction. If you're in the 25 percent federal tax bracket, this deduction is worth $150. The Red Cross gets $600, and giving it costs you only $450. The financial incentive created by the tax deduction is among the finest traditions in our law. Still, it treats you as a donor, not an investor.

New policy would state the following...

It permits the Red Cross to issue "dynamically deductible shares." Say the DD shares are offered at $10 each. You buy 60 of them, paying $600. You are not permitted to take a tax deduction, however, until you sell the shares. You choose to risk the size and timing of your deduction, based on your confidence that the price of Red Cross DD shares will go up.

Your bet pays off. Two years later, your 60 Red Cross DD shares are worth $16 each, or $960 total. You ask your broker to sell. That year, you get a federal charitable deduction of $960—worth $240 to you, assuming you're in the same tax bracket. You have done good by providing capital to the Red Cross. And you have done well by reaping a gain of $90 (the difference between the $150 savings on federal taxes you would have gotten for a donation versus the $240 savings from investing in the DD shares).

Is this not the neatest and innovative way to create true investors in charitable giving. Imagine the whole industry bourne off this model. Heck, you can even have a Jim Kramer doing his booyah on "stocks" like United Way and Habitat for Humanity.

This is how dynamic deductibility works for the investor. For the nonprofit, it provides an injection of capital every time DD shares change hands. You buy the 60 DD shares and the Red Cross gets $600. You sell the 60 DD shares two years later, and the Red Cross gets the proceeds as well—either the increased value, if the price has risen, or the decreased value, if it has dropped. This is different from private-sector capital markets. When companies issue stock, they receive the capital. After that, however, money changes hands strictly among investors who buy and sell the stock.

It seems to be a win-win for all players...

Dynamic deductibility is a win for everyone. It is a win for nonprofits with the capabilities—but not the capital—to meet burgeoning needs. It is a win for the people and causes that increasingly depend on the nonprofit sector. It is a win for the capital-market firms and professionals whose business will increase. It is a win for legislators who believe in betting on markets to solve problems. And it is a win for investors: By taking smart risks on a better future, they'll be able to realize the elusive goal of doing good and doing well.

The biggest obstacles are the HUGE policy changes and public administration needed to make this a reality. This changes how nonprofits are supported and the many protocol and policies need to be put in place will probably keep it from ever becoming reality.

Thank G-d our baby boy is doing well. He is out of the NICU, the PICU and is now on the regular pediatric floor. It just so happens to be the same floor my wife works as a nurse so we are getting 5-star treatment. I will be staying at the hospital over Shabbos with my wife and son...so I am preparing for a pretty un-Shabbosdik Shabbos.

As you may be aware, we had a beautiful baby boy last Friday night. What I failed to mention was that he was diagnosed with a rare congential heart problem that will require 3 surgeries. The first surgery was done Wednesday and he is doing very well (bli ayin hara). The odds of having a baby like this? 4 in every million. With those odds I bought a couple Powerball tickets...but didn't win.

On Friday night, October 20th at 11:19pm my wife and I became the proud parents of a 8lb and 10 ounce baby boy. Looks like his older sister which means he will have my good looks ;-)

Jonah
PS. This should partially explain why my postings have been very sporadic lately...

This is a common theme many nonprofits seem to struggle with. Of course IT IS about the money because that is how a nonprofit is able to provide their services to the community or constituency.

However, nonprofits need to downplay the fundraising aspects and play up their direct service to the community. If people are turned on to the cause then their giving will serve as the barometer. This article addresses nonprofit websites and providing information above and beyong a "Donate Here" button. Interesting stuff.