Blog entries tagged: UJA New York
New York federation hires new fund-raising chief
The UJA Federation of New York, the country’s largest Jewish federation, has hired Mark Medin as its vice president for financial resources development.
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UJA raises $43 million at Greenberg dinner
The UJA-Federation of New York was able to raise $43 million at its annual Greenberg dinner on Thursday Sept. 25 – an increase of $2 million over last year.
That the UJA was able to actually increase its total should probably not be taken as a sign that the philanthropy world is surviving the financial crisis just fine. But other groups should probably use the UJA-NY as a model.
The Greenberg dinner – which annually is held at the private home of former Bear Stearns chairman Ace Greenberg (ironically, the first bank that failed, touching off the current crisis) – gathers the UJA’s largest donors. Press aren’t invited, but rumor has it that the event used to involved Ace calling out individual donors, publicly reading out their pledges from the year before and asking them to match or beat their earlier numbers.
I’m guessing it is done with more tact now.
Federation leaders have reportedly been meeting with top donors individually for the past several weeks and stressing that they need to help make up for what will surely be a shortfall in New York as bankers lose their jobs and bonuses are cut drastically with falling profits or loses.
Big donors seem to have stepped up, at least so far.
Here is the press release from the UJA:
UJA-FEDERATION OF NEW YORK’S ANNUAL KICKOFF RECEPTION
RAISES $43 MILLION, EXCEEDS LAST YEAR CAMPAIGN OPENING BY $2 MILLION
Governor David A. Paterson Delivers Keynote, Praises Philanthropists, Volunteers
NEW YORK, NY [September 26, 2008] — The philanthropic leadership of the New York Jewish community raised $43 million, an increase of $2 million over last year, at the 21st consecutive launch of UJA-Federation of New York’s Annual Campaign held last night at the home of Alan “Ace” C. and Kathryn Greenberg in Manhattan.
The Honorable Governor David A. Paterson delivered the keynote address to the 110 people who attended the annual kick-off fund-raising reception. In his address, Governor Paterson recognized UJA-Federation of New York’s volunteers and philanthropists for stepping up to the plate to help those in need, especially during these turbulent economic times here in New York, the rest of the nation and abroad.
“Every year, nearly three million New York volunteers put in more than 366 million hours of service,” Governor Paterson said. “These volunteers – regular New Yorkers – stand watch everyday and guard their fellow human beings against hunger and homelessness, poverty and despair. The work of these everyday heroes is a bright reflection of the best we have to offer and many of them are affiliated with the UJA-Federation. UJA-Federation’s agency system plays a critical role in caring for the people of New York. Now, as more citizens find themselves vulnerable, we must work together to redouble our efforts.”
John M. Shapiro, UJA-Federation of New York president, echoed the Governor’s remarks, noting that more individuals and families are expected to turn to UJA-Federation for help during the economic crisis.
“Now, more than ever, our community needs to come together and offer support not only to the people who already rely on us but to populations who have been affected by the recent financial crisis,” Shapiro said. “Due to the recent turn of events, we will see greater unemployment, failed businesses and families who have lost their homes due to foreclosure. This will just add more challenges to an already overburdened infrastructure. We cannot predict when things will turn around but we can make things easier for the lives of those affected.”
UJA-Federation campaign leadership also announced the formation of its Challenge Fund, which was developed in direct response to this year’s economic instability. The Challenge Fund pledges to match the charitable donation of any new donor and, for existing donors who donate 10% or more over their last year’s pledge, it will match the increase at 50%.
John S. Ruskay, UJA-Federation of New York’s executive vice president and CEO, said that in times of crisis, donors have traditionally turned to UJA-Federation because they know that every dollar will be applied effectively to meet people’s needs and will be allocated where it will have the greatest impact. “I wish to thank those who gathered here tonight to show their support during these very trying times,” Ruskay said. “To exceed last year’s number and to raise additional funds through the Challenge Fund in these troubled economic times is a tribute to the philanthropic leaders of the Jewish community and their trust in our organization to determine how best to allocate those funds for the greatest impact. All of you serve as role models not only to our organization but to other charitable organizations throughout New York and across the country.”
About UJA-Federation of New York
The world’s largest local philanthropy, UJA-Federation of New York cares for those in need, rescues those in harm’s way, and renews and strengthens the Jewish people in New York, in Israel, and around the world. Funds raised by UJA-Federation sustain the activities of 100 health, human-service, educational, and community agencies. Every day, these community-based organizations provide a multitude of services that improve and enhance people’s lives. For more information, visit the UJA-Federation website at http://www.ujafedny.org.
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UJA-Federation of New York braces for tough times
The UJA Federation of New York is expecting a difficult year, the organization’s executive vice president and CEO, told me.
“We are going to have a challenging year,” John Ruskay told the Fundermentalist in a brief telephone interview Wednesday afternoon, “but we remain confident that our donors will understand, as they have in the past that when the going gets rough economically, the UJA-Federation and our agencies are out there with support for those who have lost their jobs with basic necessities and core support. That is in a sense, the theme of our campaign: It is time for those who can do, to do.”
The UJA is holding its annual Greenberg Wall Street dinner next week, which last year accounted for $40 million of the federation’s $153 million annual campaign. The event is named after Ace Greenberg, the former chairman of the Executive Committee of The Bear Stearns Companies, who became the vice chairman of Bear’s retail business for JPMorgan Chase & Co. when JP Morgan bought out Bear after his bank went under in April.
Ruskay said that he has met individually recently with many of the federation’s largest donors and they have agreed to step up their donations to help the federation keep pace.
Still, he acknowledged, this will be a tough year.
“This is unfolding as we speak, and it is hard to predict,” Ruskay said. “But one donor said to me, ‘UJA will be the last place we cut. I love my university and my museum, but we need to make certain that the people in our city are taken care of.’
“This has been evolving for a year and a half, and obviously the last few days there is a lot of concern, and the shock waves have been significant, but we have been coping with this. It has been forefront for us.”
Last year, the federation had to withhold 1.5 percent of all of its grants to take care of basic needs and cut $1 million out of its administrative budget.
And this year could be worse as donors lose jobs, and grants from local and state government drop because of a decreased tax pool, he said.
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Where’s the celeb love for Jewish charities?
Since the New York Times Magazine ran Natalie Portman’s mug on the cover of its money issue in March, which featured a story about celebrity influence on giving, it seems that the charitable world has gone a bit TMZ.
The phenomenon is legit enough that the Chronicle of Philanthropy held an interesting online panel discussion this week about celebrity involvement in charity.
That discussion turned me onto Looktothestars.com, a comprehensive Web site that provides daily updates about celebrities and their giving.
For the Jewish philanthropy-phile, it’s definitely worth a perusing.
The site has two pieces about Natalie Portman’s involvement with the micro-loan group FINCA, including a Q&A.
Did you know:
- Adam Sandler donated 400 Playstations to Israeli families that were victims of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.
- Goldie Hawn, Michael Douglas and Bill Clinton support the Jewish National Fund.
- And Don Cheadle, who is not Jewish, is a supporter of Jewish World Watch, an organization that “works to mobilize synagogues, their schools, their members and the community to combat genocide and other egregious violations of human rights around the world through education, advocacy, and refugee relief,” according to its Web site.
Jewish celebrities have historically been involved in high-profile philanthropy, from the Jew who runs the world’s most famous telethon, Jerry Lewis, to Paul Newman, who is now giving away to charity all of the assets from his Newman’s Own line of food products.
A bevy of Jewish celebs show up on the site’s database of stars who notably give to charity. The database includes a listing of each of their causes.
But are Jewish charities missing the star-studded cruise?
Looktothestars also has a searchable database of charities that have been able to sign on celebrity sponsors, and aside from the JNF, Jewish World Watch and several foundations started by Jewish celebrities, few overtly Jewish causes show up on the list.
I know that there are some Jewish charities that have been able to enlist Jewish b-list celebs, older celebs and entertainment industry execs, but there seems to be a specific dearth of young Jewish gliterati involved in the old-school Jewish charity world.
There have been attempts to court them.
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and Gen-D, a young leadership program, drew several celebs to a fund raiser in L.A. to help Cuban Jewry earlier this month. That event attracted Mischa Barton and Nikky Hilton (pictured above at the event).
And there have been strong whispers that the Joint and the UJA-Federation of New York have been courting Portman to help them with their non-sectarian causes in Africa.
For a society that is voraciously interested in the Hollywood elite, and that is trending towards emulating their behavioral patterns – good and bad – it is safe to say that celebrity involvement in a charity can help its fund-raising effort.
Maybe it’s not shocking that old-time organizations, like the Jewish federations, the Joint, the Jewish Agency and the ADL, are absent from Looktothestars. But not even the trendier stars of the J-philanthropy scene, such as Hazon and the American Jewish World Service, show up.
What gives? Or, more appropriately, who gives?
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UJA-New York lends helping hand to out of work Wall Streeters
The New York federation is reaching out to those in the financial services industry who suddenly find themselves out of work, and is trying to help them find jobs.
A buddy of mine – who is still well-employed by a major bank – sent me this email from the UJA-NY announcing that the federation has opened a job bank of sorts.
In response to the downturn in New York’s job market, UJA-Federation of New York’s Wall Street and Financial Services Division has initiated Wall Street Job Link, a program run by F.E.G.S. Health and Human Services System to help people in our community directly affected by recent layoffs.
This online resource will enable job applicants to register their career profiles and resumes on an exclusive site geared toward Wall Street and financial-service professionals. Profiles and resumes will be available for viewing by prospective employers who are recruiting to fill open positions within their firms.
If you or someone you know is looking for a job and would like to participate in this program, please visit http://www.parnossahworkswallstreet.org.
F.E.G.S. Health and Human Services System, a beneficiary agency of UJA-Federation of New York, provides a host of employment services, programs, and resources. For more information, please visit http://www.fegs.org or contact the F.E.G.S. Resource & Referral Line at 1.212.524.1780.
Good move, says the Fundermentalist. The UJA-NY took in about $40 million from its Wall Street division last year. That is hard to do if your donors aren’t working....
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