American Jewish fundraising has reached new heights and shows every sign of achieving even greater in the decade of the 1980’s, I win field, national chairman of the United Jewish Appeal declared here.
In a meeting of UJA national officers and regional chairmen hosted by Philadelphia’s campaign and community leaders, Field reported that the nationwide 1980 campaign, now past the half way mark, was continuing to register an increase of more than 17 percent over 1979 campaign pledges.
Results date represent the largest sums raised, at the earliest date, with the active participation of more communities, than at any time since the 1974 campaign which began with the Yom Kippur War, he reported. For the first time since 1974, Field stated, a campaign total of more than $500 million is assured.
“This unprecedented flow of peacetime pledges,” he said, “is a reality that must sweep aside all unfounded predictions of reduced American philanthropic giving. The majority of our communities are in the midst of their most productive and fastest paced campaigns in six years. The potential of American Jewry – despite any and all psychological and pseudo-demographic prophecies of doom and gloom – is unlimited. I fully expect that new records in giving will be established year after year, throughout this decode.”
SIGNS OF SUCCESS
An immediate test of Field’s projection of escalating campaigns was posed by guest speaker Akiva Lewinsky, treasurer of the Jewish Agency, in a graphic presentation of the Agency’s budget of needs in the coming year. Campaign income at current levels, he indicated, would not meet the cost of already reduced programs and services. A campaign exceeding this year’s, the assembled leaders agreed, would have to be achieved in 1981.
Responding, UJA national chairman-designate Herschel Blumberg outlined a comprehensive planning process, already under way, for structuring and carrying out the 1981 campaign. Field pointed to this vigorous early pre-campaign activity as evidence that the spirit of American Jewish philanthropy was “energized, not enervated.” He credited much of resurgence to intensively increased cooperation between UJA and Council of Jewish Federation leadership in planning, implementing and communicating the issues of the 1980 campaign.
Other indications of this positive, climate included significant gains in participation and pledges for Project Renewal, it was reported by Robert Russell, chairman of the UJA Project Renewal Coordinating Committee. A pilot project for a sweeping new national program for obtaining new campaign gifts was introduced by UJA national vice chairman Herbert Solomon. Marvin Demchick, campaign chairman, forecast a peak peace-year campaign in 1980 and an even better showing in 1981.
The meeting here was the latest in a series initiated by Field, bringing UJA’s national and regional leadership together in major American communities.
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