Facing significant budget cuts, the Jewish Federation of San Francisco, the Penninsula, Marin and Sonoma – and the Jewish Communal Fund attached to the federation — will lay off 33 staff members, according to the federation’s CEO.
Jennifer Gorovitz, the who took over as CEO of the federation last year, announced the “across the board” cuts in an email to the federation’s beneficiary agencies, telling them that the federation was making the cuts in light of the fact that it had to also cut allocations to their beneficiaries.
“Change of any sort is painful, and never more so than when its impact is on those who have dedicated themselves to sustaining Jewish life. But we believe that these steps are necessary and unavoidable in order to position the organization to meet the inevitable ongoing challenges in the economy, our local community and the world of philanthropy,” she wrote in the letter. “We see a collective opportunity to rethink how all of our community’s Jewish agencies work together to better deliver services and engage our community.”
Here is her entire letter:
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Dear Friend,
As you know, we are in a time of extraordinary challenge and change in our Jewish community, our economy and in our major institutions. It is clear that what has worked for the past 100 years of the Federation’s history will not sustain us for the next 100 years.
With that in mind, the Federation and its Endowment Fund are instituting across-the-board budget reductions that include eliminating 33 staff positions.
Given the reduced allocations we are asking our beneficiary agencies to endure, adjusting our own staffing and budgets is the right thing to do. These cuts reflect an ongoing priority of the Federation to direct as many resources as possible to the community.
Change of any sort is painful, and never more so than when its impact is on those who have dedicated themselves to sustaining Jewish life. But we believe that these steps are necessary and unavoidable in order to position the organization to meet the inevitable ongoing challenges in the economy, our local community and the world of philanthropy.
We see a collective opportunity to rethink how all of our community’s Jewish agencies work together to better deliver services and engage our community.
Despite the challenges of a rapidly changing world, the potential is great for the Federation. We are a strong organization with a rich history of helping those in need and building our community. We have a talented staff, generous donors and dedicated volunteers who are committed to having a great impact on strengthening Jewish life.
I hope you will join us in the important work ahead; our community has so much to gain.
Sincerely yours,
Jennifer Gorovitz,
Chief Executive Officer
Jewish Community FederationJim Koshland,
President
Jewish Community Federation
