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Recession translates to lower JCF allocations
By MARGI HERWALD ZITELLI
City Editor
The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland unanimously approved allocations for the 2009/2010 fiscal year at its June 29 board of trustees meeting. For the first time in more than a decade, it is a smaller, tighter budget than the year previous, owing to the troubled economy and resulting fundraising struggles.
Federation leadership planned to sign the allocations into effect on or after July 1, the first day of fiscal year 09/10.
Federation’s 2009 Campaign for Jewish Needs raised $28,772,420, a decrease of $3,956,104 over the previous year. This represents a 12% loss in campaign earnings, the first decrease in many years.
Because of the difficult campaign, Federation had to decrease its total annual allocations to local partner agencies by 7.7%.
Overseas allocations for Jewish agencies and projects in Israel and around the world will see a funding decrease of 13.3%. The actual dollar amounts cut from the local and overseas pools are relatively even, explains allocations committee chair Randy Korach. Although there has been debate as to how to prioritize community spending, the committee felt “the fairest way was to split the reduction in available funds equally between local and overseas needs,” Korach says.
National Jewish agencies will receive 12.6% less than last year.
Fewer dollars raised than the year before is “just not a problem our community has faced,” Korach admits. “I’m proud of the work the committee has done this year. I wouldn’t change a thing … except having more available resources.”
On top of its campaign earnings, Federation received a $2,100,222 contribution from United Way Services – a nearly 10% decrease from last year – directed for local needs. Also, to assist local agencies, Federation’s own Endowment Fund has taken the unusual step of granting an additional $675,000 to be used toward local allocations. The grant “will go a long way toward bridging the gap,” Korach says.
Federation deducts 8.18% of campaign’s total earnings, or $2,345,434, to cover its fundraising expenses. After subtracting those campaign costs and 4.5% of total earnings ($1,294,759) to account for uncollected debts, the allocations committee had $25,123,227 (not including United Way and the Endowment Fund grant) to disperse directly to nonprofit Jewish education and human-service agencies. That’s more than $3 million less than last year.
LOCAL ALLOCATIONS
Federation earmarked $15,576,358 for its 16 local partner agencies (See chart p. 10.). The total includes United Way funds directed for Bellefaire JCB, Jewish Family Service Association, the Jewish Community Center, and Federation’s own planning and advisory groups, and the Endowment Fund grant.
Also included are funds donated by several leading families in the community specifically earmarked for the Fund for the Jewish Future, a Jewish education improvement program established 18 years ago by the Commission on Jewish Continuity. This year, families donated $1,470,000 to the fund, a decrease of $255,000.
Federation also set aside $1,367,622 for the fund from the general campaign total, which Korach has described as essentially a matching commitment. The funds are distributed through the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland (JECC) for educational needs throughout the local community.
All of Federation’s partner agencies received decreased allocations for FY 09/10. Agencies were told to submit a budget and funding requests based on 80% of what they received last year. Before making its decisions, the allocations committee reviewed each agency’s “contribution to the health and vitality of the Jewish community” and its ability to absorb the full 20% funding cut and survive, according to the committee’s report. In the end, thanks in large part to the Endowment Fund grant, agencies on average received 87.4%-97.4% of the previous year’s allocation.
The Cleveland Hebrew School, which is slated to close next year, received an allocation of $185,456. CHS “may not close completely,” explains Federation president Stephen H. Hoffman. “There’s a high probability it will continue to operate in Solon.” Whatever the fate of CHS, funds will still be needed over the next year for shutdown costs at its Beachwood facility and the costs of maintaining the buildings even if school’s not in session. Ultimately, any allocation money not used by CHS will return to Federation, Hoffman says.
Federation allocated itself $1,409,314 to fund programs it provides, a $156,177 decrease from last year. Federation also sets aside $60,000 to cover agencies’ audits, insurance and retirement needs.
OVERSEAS ALLOCATIONS
United Jewish Communities (UJC), the umbrella organization of North American Jewish federations, funds overseas programs in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). Cleveland’s Federation also supports programs of its own creation in Israel and St. Petersburg, Russia, through its Overseas Connections Committee (OCC). The total allocation to overseas projects is $11,383,329, a $1,741,402 decrease from last year. (See chart above.)
Federation will give UJC a total allocation of $8,609,901, of which $6,888,292 is for unrestricted use toward whatever overseas programs UJC sees fit. Federation has also earmarked $1,058,909 for a UJC program that enables a federation to direct funds to specific overseas needs of interest to its community. Cleveland’s elective funds will go toward Partnership 2000 (Cleveland’s partnership with Beit She’an, Israel) and camp scholarships for Eastern European Jewish youth.
The rest of UJC’s allocation is earmarked for specific programs. The Ethiopian National Project, which assists the integration of Ethiopian immigrants into Israeli society, will receive $320,000, and JDC’s program for hunger relief in the former Soviet Union gets $342,700. Over the past several years, Federation has also contributed money to a program to assist Ethiopian Jews making aliyah. That annual commitment of $250,000 ended last year.
Federation’s own overseas arm, the OCC, will receive $2,773,428, earmarked for its six major projects: PACT reading program for Ethiopian immigrants; Havat Hashomer army training program for at-risk youth in Israel; ISHA Israeli Health Advancement for Women; the Jordan Cross-Border Initiative, which encourages community dialogue between Jordanians and Israelis; Bridge to the Future, an Israeli community-building not-for-profit; and Cleveland’s partnership with St. Petersburg, Russia.
NATIONAL ALLOCATIONS
National allocations total $938,762, or $135,191 less than last year, split among 10 specific agencies and a national consortium of Jewish groups. Each of these national agencies, including American Jewish Committee, BBYO and Hillels at Kent State University and throughout Ohio, saw its individual allocation cut. The allocation for American Jewish Congress, which does not have a strong presence in Cleveland, was cut in its entirety.
“I hope the community at large understands how serious and thorough a process this was,” says Korach. “It was thoughtfully deliberated, and I think the outcome reflects that.”
mherwald@cjn.org
How allocations are made
Allocations are based on three factors: needs agencies report, priorities of the Cleveland Jewish community, and fiscal oversight by the allocations committee.
Local agencies are evaluated as part of a budgeting process in effect for the past five fiscal years. The allocations committee has created two- or three-person “liaison teams” that meet two to four times a year with each of Federation’s partner agencies.
This year, the allocations committee had the added burden of trying to make these decisions before the Campaign for Jewish Needs was completed. The campaign, scheduled to end in December 2008, was extended until April 2009 due to the recession. The allocations committee begins determining its recommendations in January, explains committee chair Randy Korach, so it was working theoretically until the final fundraising numbers came in this spring. “It impacted our certainty of available dollars, but the process went on.”
Another change this year: Knowing the final campaign tally would be less than previous years and would necessitate deep cuts, the allocations committee engaged leadership, agency staff and focus groups to try to determine the Jewish community’s spending priorities. Strong opinions surfaced from those whose favored Israel’s needs or Jewish education or local health and human services.
In the end, “majority opinion” of the committee was that “with a down campaign, targeted assessment was better than across-the-board cuts,” Korach explains. Thus, the committee developed the evaluation system described in the local allocations section (p. 10) to determine how deep each cut would be, rather than judging the agency on community priorities alone.
M.H. Zitelli
Federation leadership planned to sign the allocations into effect on or after July 1, the first day of fiscal year 09/10.
Federation’s 2009 Campaign for Jewish Needs raised $28,772,420, a decrease of $3,956,104 over the previous year. This represents a 12% loss in campaign earnings, the first decrease in many years.
Because of the difficult campaign, Federation had to decrease its total annual allocations to local partner agencies by 7.7%.
Overseas allocations for Jewish agencies and projects in Israel and around the world will see a funding decrease of 13.3%. The actual dollar amounts cut from the local and overseas pools are relatively even, explains allocations committee chair Randy Korach. Although there has been debate as to how to prioritize community spending, the committee felt “the fairest way was to split the reduction in available funds equally between local and overseas needs,” Korach says.
National Jewish agencies will receive 12.6% less than last year.
Fewer dollars raised than the year before is “just not a problem our community has faced,” Korach admits. “I’m proud of the work the committee has done this year. I wouldn’t change a thing … except having more available resources.”
On top of its campaign earnings, Federation received a $2,100,222 contribution from United Way Services – a nearly 10% decrease from last year – directed for local needs. Also, to assist local agencies, Federation’s own Endowment Fund has taken the unusual step of granting an additional $675,000 to be used toward local allocations. The grant “will go a long way toward bridging the gap,” Korach says.
Federation deducts 8.18% of campaign’s total earnings, or $2,345,434, to cover its fundraising expenses. After subtracting those campaign costs and 4.5% of total earnings ($1,294,759) to account for uncollected debts, the allocations committee had $25,123,227 (not including United Way and the Endowment Fund grant) to disperse directly to nonprofit Jewish education and human-service agencies. That’s more than $3 million less than last year.
LOCAL ALLOCATIONS
Federation earmarked $15,576,358 for its 16 local partner agencies (See chart p. 10.). The total includes United Way funds directed for Bellefaire JCB, Jewish Family Service Association, the Jewish Community Center, and Federation’s own planning and advisory groups, and the Endowment Fund grant.
Also included are funds donated by several leading families in the community specifically earmarked for the Fund for the Jewish Future, a Jewish education improvement program established 18 years ago by the Commission on Jewish Continuity. This year, families donated $1,470,000 to the fund, a decrease of $255,000.
Federation also set aside $1,367,622 for the fund from the general campaign total, which Korach has described as essentially a matching commitment. The funds are distributed through the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland (JECC) for educational needs throughout the local community.
All of Federation’s partner agencies received decreased allocations for FY 09/10. Agencies were told to submit a budget and funding requests based on 80% of what they received last year. Before making its decisions, the allocations committee reviewed each agency’s “contribution to the health and vitality of the Jewish community” and its ability to absorb the full 20% funding cut and survive, according to the committee’s report. In the end, thanks in large part to the Endowment Fund grant, agencies on average received 87.4%-97.4% of the previous year’s allocation.
The Cleveland Hebrew School, which is slated to close next year, received an allocation of $185,456. CHS “may not close completely,” explains Federation president Stephen H. Hoffman. “There’s a high probability it will continue to operate in Solon.” Whatever the fate of CHS, funds will still be needed over the next year for shutdown costs at its Beachwood facility and the costs of maintaining the buildings even if school’s not in session. Ultimately, any allocation money not used by CHS will return to Federation, Hoffman says.
Federation allocated itself $1,409,314 to fund programs it provides, a $156,177 decrease from last year. Federation also sets aside $60,000 to cover agencies’ audits, insurance and retirement needs.
OVERSEAS ALLOCATIONS
United Jewish Communities (UJC), the umbrella organization of North American Jewish federations, funds overseas programs in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). Cleveland’s Federation also supports programs of its own creation in Israel and St. Petersburg, Russia, through its Overseas Connections Committee (OCC). The total allocation to overseas projects is $11,383,329, a $1,741,402 decrease from last year. (See chart above.)
Federation will give UJC a total allocation of $8,609,901, of which $6,888,292 is for unrestricted use toward whatever overseas programs UJC sees fit. Federation has also earmarked $1,058,909 for a UJC program that enables a federation to direct funds to specific overseas needs of interest to its community. Cleveland’s elective funds will go toward Partnership 2000 (Cleveland’s partnership with Beit She’an, Israel) and camp scholarships for Eastern European Jewish youth.
The rest of UJC’s allocation is earmarked for specific programs. The Ethiopian National Project, which assists the integration of Ethiopian immigrants into Israeli society, will receive $320,000, and JDC’s program for hunger relief in the former Soviet Union gets $342,700. Over the past several years, Federation has also contributed money to a program to assist Ethiopian Jews making aliyah. That annual commitment of $250,000 ended last year.
Federation’s own overseas arm, the OCC, will receive $2,773,428, earmarked for its six major projects: PACT reading program for Ethiopian immigrants; Havat Hashomer army training program for at-risk youth in Israel; ISHA Israeli Health Advancement for Women; the Jordan Cross-Border Initiative, which encourages community dialogue between Jordanians and Israelis; Bridge to the Future, an Israeli community-building not-for-profit; and Cleveland’s partnership with St. Petersburg, Russia.
NATIONAL ALLOCATIONS
National allocations total $938,762, or $135,191 less than last year, split among 10 specific agencies and a national consortium of Jewish groups. Each of these national agencies, including American Jewish Committee, BBYO and Hillels at Kent State University and throughout Ohio, saw its individual allocation cut. The allocation for American Jewish Congress, which does not have a strong presence in Cleveland, was cut in its entirety.
“I hope the community at large understands how serious and thorough a process this was,” says Korach. “It was thoughtfully deliberated, and I think the outcome reflects that.”
mherwald@cjn.org
How allocations are made
Allocations are based on three factors: needs agencies report, priorities of the Cleveland Jewish community, and fiscal oversight by the allocations committee.
Local agencies are evaluated as part of a budgeting process in effect for the past five fiscal years. The allocations committee has created two- or three-person “liaison teams” that meet two to four times a year with each of Federation’s partner agencies.
This year, the allocations committee had the added burden of trying to make these decisions before the Campaign for Jewish Needs was completed. The campaign, scheduled to end in December 2008, was extended until April 2009 due to the recession. The allocations committee begins determining its recommendations in January, explains committee chair Randy Korach, so it was working theoretically until the final fundraising numbers came in this spring. “It impacted our certainty of available dollars, but the process went on.”
Another change this year: Knowing the final campaign tally would be less than previous years and would necessitate deep cuts, the allocations committee engaged leadership, agency staff and focus groups to try to determine the Jewish community’s spending priorities. Strong opinions surfaced from those whose favored Israel’s needs or Jewish education or local health and human services.
In the end, “majority opinion” of the committee was that “with a down campaign, targeted assessment was better than across-the-board cuts,” Korach explains. Thus, the committee developed the evaluation system described in the local allocations section (p. 10) to determine how deep each cut would be, rather than judging the agency on community priorities alone.
M.H. Zitelli
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