Groups hope to spur educational gifts

NEW YORK, March 15 (JTA) — A new philanthropic venture is borrowing fund-raising tactics from the world of public broadcasting in the hope of spurring support for Jewish education. The Avi Chai Foundation of New York and the Jewish Funders Network are hoping to attract philanthropists who have never given to Jewish causes by using a new $1 million fund to match new gifts to Jewish educational projects — thereby doubling each contribution. Rare if not unprecedented in its approach, the plan not only uses fund-raising tactics that have won wide success in the public broadcasting world, but also defines Jewish education in broad terms and avoids restricting philanthropy to specific causes. “The idea is really to encourage philanthropists who haven’t viewed Jewish education as a priority, or haven’t expressed that priority in terms of their giving, to do so,” said Mark Charendoff, the JFN’s president. “Everyone wants to leverage their money, to get $2 of value out of $1 given.” The plan draws upon the wealth of Avi Chai, one of the Jewish foundation world’s biggest charities with assets of $500 million, which is putting up the $1 million, as well as the membership reach of JFN, an association of more than 800 Jewish family and private foundations and funders, including Avi Chai. Founded by the late Zalman Bernstein in 1984, Avi Chai supports 75 projects in the United States and Israel, many of them focused on Jewish education. JFN is 14 years old and includes many of the top charities among 8,000 Jewish foundations in North America. With studies showing that most donations from Jewish philanthropists go to non-Jewish causes, there have been other attempts recently to launch innovative initiatives to boost Jewish education. Mega-donor Michael Steinhardt, already a longtime supporter of Jewish educational causes, proposed a $100 million Fund for Our Jewish Future at the annual General Assembly of the United Jewish Communities federation umbrella group last November. Steinhardt vowed to give $10 million if others would make up the rest. Such efforts come the year after the Institute for Jewish & Community Research in San Francisco released a study tracking 188 mega-gifts of $10 million or more from the 123 wealthiest Jews in the United States between 1995 and 2000. Of a total of $5.3 billion given, only $318 million — or 6 percent — went to Jewish institutions, the study showed. Meanwhile, the Chronicle of Philanthropy and the online magazine Slate have found that 14 of the 36 donations of $25 million or more in 2003 came from Jews — but none went to strictly Jewish causes. But Avi Chai and JFN say they’re targeting philanthropy on the opposite end of the charity pool. Under the plan, Avi Chai and JFN will match any gift between $25,000 and $50,000 aimed at a Jewish educational enterprise that includes Jewish education as part of its mission or that enhances Jewish commitment generally or American Jewish ties to Israel. They will match gifts until the $1 million fund is exhausted. “This is a serious commitment, but hopefully at a level people feel comfortable getting involved with for the first time,” said Lauren Merkin, an Avi Chai trustee. Jewish educational enterprises include Jewish summer camps, day schools, synagogues or religious programs. Any project targeted primarily at a Jewish audience and that is committed to enriching Jewish life and the centrality of Israel would qualify as a recipient, officials said. While the groups hope to bring in a new generation of Jewish philanthropists to support these educational institutions, Charendoff said they also hope to encourage donors to become involved in a “hands-on” way, beyond check-writing, with local Jewish education. People who already have given small gifts such as $1,000 to Jewish educational causes “won’t be excluded” from the effort, he said. “We want to develop philanthropic relationships.” Gary Tobin, president of the Institute for Jewish & Community Research, lauded the approach. “Any joint initiative is a good idea because donors are more likely to contribute if they’re in partnership with others,” Tobin said. But Tobin said that thinking big generally spurs bigger money. “Projects that have larger visions and bigger target goals are more likely to succeed than smaller projects,” he said. Still, Merkin said this plan is aimed at “new ideas, new people,” rather than the same mega-donors that already support Jewish causes. Those behind the plan say they’ll measure its success by the rate of response from JFN’s membership. A panel of members will judge funding proposals and determine whether they qualify. The groups were to launch the idea publicly at the first annual JFN Institute in Cambridge, Mass., on Sunday, when 135 philanthropists were due to discuss “re-imagining citizenship in the Jewish people.”