The Federations we need now
Dear Federations,
I have known you for most of my adult life. One of my first interactions with you was in the mid-1970s when my friends and I would drive from Queens College into Brooklyn to operate a storefront on Pitkin Avenue that we called The Brownsville Jewish Center. There we engaged with the elderly Jewish poor who could not flee the crime and squalor when their wealthier neighbors did. We provided Jewish holiday programs, a kosher food pantry, and took them on trips to remain engaged with the Jewish community. On Fridays some of us picketed the NY Federation of Jewish Philanthropies because it was one of their agencies that pulled out of Brownsville, taking the last semblance of Jewish communal infrastructure with them. One night while we were demonstrating at a fundraiser for the recently created UJA-Federation Joint Campaign, we created a bit of a disturbance and I made off with the podium banner as a trophy.
In the course of my Jewish communal career in Federations and Federation-funded agencies I came to NY UJA-Federation, where that banner held a prominent place on my wall, in my line of sight at all times, keeping me honest, true to myself and to the needs and dreams of the Jewish community. That banner became more of a memento than a moral North Star because while the work at Federations was always challenging, the Jewish ethos of the workplace never was. Federation is where I saw how Jews of all kinds love and care for one another. Federation is where I met volunteer and professional activists who dreamed, sweated, and celebrated together in overcoming challenges that might have crushed another system that did not stand atop a 3,000-year-old foundation of interdependence while focusing its optimistic vision on an infinite horizon.
Every generation believes that the times they are living in are historic. That the challenges have never been greater. That failing to meet those challenges will have generational consequences. At the same time, every generation for the past century had one table around which everyone was welcome. A table where troubles were aired. A table where responsibility was shared. A table as central to the Jewish community today as the altar was to the Jewish community in Temple times.
One JFNA leader recently wrote that Federations cannot be everything to everyone. That is true, and that never was the goal of any Federation. But the unique role and the holy obligation of every Federation are to be at least something to everyone.
With all of this in mind, I ask you to consider my perspective in pursuing your mission at this moment. Some ideas may sound retro. Some may sound naïve. All are expressed in a spirit of respect and admiration, and with the certainty that our collective will and historical experience will carry us forward.
Stick to the knitting. It is said that “there are things that only a Federation can do.” While this is not the absolute litmus test for committing or withholding political and financial capital, we count on you to focus on those things where a Federation’s role is pivotal. There will always be other issues on your radar. They will be compelling to Federation leaders as human beings and as Jews. They will be domestic and Israeli issues. They will be political and cultural issues. Just because Federation is an important entity, it does not follow that every important issue needs to be heaped onto your agenda. There are other excellent organizations that have the expertise and the track record to address these, some created by you to represent the Jewish community’s interests and obligations. Resist the temptation to own every issue. Resist the pressure to meet every need. When we say that “there are things that only a Federation can do,” it is because no one else is doing them. If you get distracted, you will be doing these things less well when the goal is to become better. Yielding to other expert organizations does not mean that you don’t care. It means that you trust them to do their job. As you would wish they trust you to do yours.
The poor of your city take precedence. Our community is shackled by unacceptable poverty. Not in a relative way, but in an existential one; people are living paycheck to paycheck, if they have a paycheck at all. One of the hallmarks of the Jewish community for centuries has been to joyfully take hold of every outstretched hand and help. We have become far too reliant on government to fulfill our obligations. Especially now when government funding is ever more tentative, it is time to free up additional philanthropic dollars to provide more direct assistance to people in our community who may seem okay but are being crushed financially. Can we promise that every Jew has food, a roof over her head, or is assisted in a job search? This is the wealthiest Jewish community in history. Let us be the first Jewish community in history that says “Yes.”
Combating antisemitism should not be the organizing principle of Jewish communal life. Too many communities live under the genuine threat of antisemitism. Some Federations may be well positioned to coordinate responses, support victims, or advocate for policy changes. But too many Federations focus fundraising on the specter of Jew hatred. Let’s not mislead people to believe that the more money they throw at you, the more antisemites will repent.
Leverage the passion of fighting hate to promote joy. When Abraham met God for the first time, God did not say, “Abraham, your mission is to fight antisemitism.”Our mission as a People is to learn and to live as Jews, however each of us understands it, and to set an example of holiness for others to emulate. Unleash funding and other resources to promote Jewish literacy, to instill love of Israel and her people, and to build Jewish pride. Increase baseline allocations to Jewish day schools. Liberate gifted rabbis and the finest Jewish educators by giving them stipends to leave their buildings and to teach in private homes and in public spaces. Reimburse anyone who is enrolled in a Hebrew language program for 100% of the cost. Advise any donor who wants to make a mega-gift to “fight antisemitism” that 10% of the gift will be used to promote Jewish pride by investing in local Jewish education. That’s how we fight antisemitism.
Keeping us safe is not your job. It’s not the responsibility of the Jewish community to safeguard the Jewish community. It is the bedrock responsibility of every level of government to provide for the physical safety of its citizens. You were caught off-guard and had to fill a gap; you did it admirably. But we cannot bankrupt our future because the government is abdicating its responsibility. We will continue to do our part. We can shovel the sidewalk, but we cannot plow the street. For every private security grant, donors should be aware that you will allocate 10% to lobbying the government to do its job so that you can do yours.
You are funded by donors but live among people. In most communities, there are more Federation non-donors than donors, but every single Jew is a citizen of the community, worthy of your care and your love. “Of course!” you will say. Indeed. Keep that in mind every time you make a decision that will affect “the community.” The community is more than the rabbis. More than the donors. More than the agencies. More than the Federation itself. Your community includes people you do not know and may never know. They, too, may not know you, but they have an innate awareness that there is a Jewish community that’s supposed to be helping them. Go out and find them. They are waiting.
The best way to predict the future is to invent it. (Alan Kay, Computer Scientist) You are fortunate to be in this seat at this time. You have remarkably dedicated and outrageously generous lay leaders. You have talented professional colleagues who wake up every morning thinking of ways to help people and to strengthen the stitching that holds us together. The ongoing and emergent issues are as unrelenting as the ocean’s tide, and you are engulfed in the urgencies of the day. Do not get stuck treading water. One of the things that only a Federation has the perspective to do is to plan and to build for the future – not the future of my shul, not the future of my school, not the future of my agency – but the future of a community that encompasses more and is greater than the sum of all those things. Yet, Federations are so inescapably mired in the turbulence of today that you cannot disentangle yourself to plan the future. Your Jewish Community Foundations are built for the future. They prepare for the future. They are funded for the future. Re-imagine the partnership: Federations will get us through today, while Foundations will envision, test, and invest in what comes next. Don’t wait for the future. Build it.
A mentor of mine, himself a senior Federation professional, once told me that I get disappointed sometimes because I expect too much of Federations. Let’s prove him wrong.
