Loose Change: Federations respond to economic crisis, AJC courts young donors and the Suns win

Busy news week leading up to the holidays. It look slike the Jewish non profits are starting to act:

• The Jewish federation in Washington has allocated more than $200,000 to emergency aid for local Jewish agencies, reports the Washington Jewish Week.

• A program run by the Jewish Federation of Greater Cleveland that was originally designed to lure Jews to a Cleveland suburb has changed it s mission to address unemployment, reports the Cleveland Jewish News.

• Jewish arts projects in New York are feeling the financial squeeze, says the New York Jewish Week.

• Jewish food pantries in St. Louis face critical shortages, according to the St. Louis Jewish light.

• A Philadelphia-area businessman and philanthropist was arrested on charges of running a prostitution ring, reports the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent. In other — completely unrelated – news, the Exponent has hired JTA’s former editor and current foreign coverage guru Lisa Hostein as its next executive editor.

• The AJCommittee is courting leaders under 50 with a series of parlor meetings in New Jersey, reports the New Jersey Jewish News.

• The founder and executive vice president of Michigan’s Holocaust Memorial Center, Rabbi Charles Rosenzveig, died Wednesday afternoon, according to the Detroit Jewish News.

• The elderly are not immune to the tanking economy says a Chicago Jewish News columnist.

• The Jewish federation in Denver has issued its plan for dealing with economic fallout, according to the Intermountain Jewish News.

• The UJA of Northern New Jersey raised more than a million bucks at its Super Sunday event, exceeding expectations, says the New Jersey Jewish Standard.

• The Phoenix Suns held their first Jewish Heritage night this week, says the Jewish News of Greater Phoenix (Suns beat the Jazz 106-104).

• I don’t know what this story is about or if it is philanthropy-related (and the Boston Jewish Advocate has not responded to my request to get Fundermentalist readers free access to subscription only articles) but I can’t resist the headline on this one: “Adopt a donkey for Chanukah.”