Why the 72-Hour Crisis Campaign is Harming Jewish Philanthropy’s Future

We’ve been on both sides of the campaigns—the receiving and the sending.

My mailbox is full of emails that start to arrive within hours or minutes after a crisis, asking for help and monetary donations. As the CEO of an “American Friends of” organization who always has fundraising at the forefront of my strategic priorities, I force myself to take a step back and think if this is the right time for me to be reaching out, too.

It’s at these times that I try to separate the emotional desire to jump into action with a new fundraising campaign from the need to stop and look at the data. Emotions are hard to rein in, especially when your entire career is focused on helping those in need and creating a sense of community for supporters. Experience, data, and history help focus my strategy.

The Retention Reality

First, let’s look at the data. Data from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project shows that just over 1 in 5 micro-donors ($1-$100) are retained year-over-year. That’s the lowest retention rate across gift amounts. As an example, only 14% of new donors from the first half of 2024 had been retained year-over-year.

We know that a crisis, more often than not, will trigger a successful wave of emotional, one-time donations. People are reacting to what they see on social media, texts from loved ones, and a strong sense of wanting to help. Yet, we also know that if we are looking for sustainability, we must think long-term.

For Jewish philanthropies, we must focus on the future and implement long-term programs to sustain the unknown that lies ahead. It’s imperative that we recognize that while 72-hour emergency funding campaigns are urgent and important, it actually takes a seven-year commitment to ensure programs stay funded and meet an ever-growing need.

The Marathon of Recovery

With an entire population, including a generation of children, navigating the transition from shelters back to a new normal, we are entering the most critical phase of mental health recovery. Philanthropic leaders must now pivot from reactive, short-term relief to a strategic, long-range investment in organizational and service infrastructure, ensuring support doesn’t slow down as the greatest needs surface. 

As an example, my organization is focused on treating PTSD as a result of trauma and terrorism. Amazingly, research tells us that a significant majority of people who experience trauma do not develop chronic PTSD, demonstrating high levels of resilience. In the context of Israeli population studies, approximately 70.4% of individuals show resilience following large-scale traumas, such as the October 7th attacks.

However, when we fundraise, we are in a marathon. We must think about the programs that will ensure the remaining 30%, approximately 2 million Israelis, receive services that result in Post-Traumatic Growth. PTSD often doesn’t manifest until months or years after the event. The scale of need will eventually overwhelm existing infrastructure if it isn’t reinforced now. Being prepared is essential because we do not know when trauma will rear its head because it can be months or even decades later.

Innovating for the Future

Many organizations have been around for decades. We know what lies ahead and we have been planning for it. Now, it’s time to innovate.

If we know that donations after a crisis do not naturally develop into long-term giving, what is the solution? What must change is that we need to move beyond the donation transaction and into the realm of what makes it personal.

The traditional annual gala and solicitation emails will always have their place, but it is at the local level where we see the shift toward longer-term giving. According to the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer, over 70% of Americans trust local institutions more than national ones. Building a long-term strategy must focus on donors who are increasingly looking to make a difference in their own backyards. They want to be close to their investments, develop face-to-face relationships, and witness visible change. This is why we see Jewish organizations in Miami, Los Angeles, and New York coming to us to co-create events. Even as an “American Friends of” organization, we can make our impact feel local.

Building Resilience

To be successful, we must leverage the impact of the individual, developing relationships with those who give occasionally so we can grow with them rather than just asking from them when the next crisis arises.

This strategy should start early, at the bar mitzvah or high school level, fostering a sense of responsibility that carries into adulthood. Our annual plans must include hyper-targeted gatherings that cater to specific donor segments, including industry groups, age demographics, and neighborhoods. We must pay attention to the occasional donor who is open to a long-term relationship through smaller, personal touchpoints that speak to them.

Our success as Jewish philanthropic organizations will not be measured in weeks, but in years. As leaders, we should not be judged by how much we raised in the heat of a crisis, but by the strength of the infrastructure we leave behind. By shifting our focus from the transaction to the relationship, and from immediate relief to long-term investment, we build a resilient, connected community capable of weathering the unknown storms that lie ahead.