By Donna Gordon Blankinship, Editor, JTNews
Leaders of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle allocated a total of $5.9 million to Jewish causes here and abroad for fiscal year 2002 — about $150,000 more than was allocated in fiscal 2001.
The $5,917,040 allocated makes up the bulk of pledges from the 2001 Community Campaign, which ended in June and totaled $9,356,931. Most of the remaining pledges — $3,118,831 — were donor-designated funds. Donors to the campaign, all of whom pledged more than $5,000, directed this money toward a variety of local and overseas projects benefiting the Jewish world. Another $321,060 was automatically set aside to build the community’s capital needs fund, pay for scholarships to Israel, cover dues to the national association of Jewish federations, the United Jewish Communities, pay for credit card fees and allow for uncollectible pledges.
Community Campaign allocations, decided by the Planning and Allocations Committee, chaired by Larry Finegold, are divided into four pillars — World Jewry, Jewish Identity/Community Building, Human Needs and Jewish Education — plus funding needed to keep the Jewish Federation running. Many organizations saw their operational allocations trimmed this year so the allocations committee could pull together enough funding to support many of the creative projects presented by those same agencies.
World Jewry
Toward organizations doing social work and community building in Israel and other countries such as the former Soviet Union, the Planning and Allocations Committee allocated $1,683,453. Donors designated an additional $191,197 toward overseas projects and organizations. The bulk of this money, $1.5 million of the total allocated by PAC, went to United Jewish Committees, to distribute to its Israel and world Jewry partners, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Jewish Agency for Israel.
The rest of the money distributed in the World Jewry pillar — both by PAC and by donors — was allocated to a variety of projects, mainly helping people in Israel and the former Soviet Union. Projects ranged from an after-school project for Ethiopian young people who have immigrated to Israel, to Jewish kindergartens for kids in the former Soviet Union to Birthright Israel, the program sending thousands of American young people on a free Israel experience.
Jewish Identity/Community Building
Toward organizations building the Jewish community, PAC allocated a total of $1.1 million toward general operations and $49,050 toward projects. An additional $2.8 million was designed by donors for agency operations and projects. This number is so large, in part, because 19 donors gave a total of $650,482 to the Hillel Capital Campaign through the Jewish Federation Community Campaign. Another $500,000 went to Brandeis University for graduate school scholarships. Four donors gave a total of $151,000 to the Kline Galland Center Building Fund, and 12 gave a total of $190,075 to the Temple De Hirsch Sinai Building Fund.
The Jewish Identity/Community Building pillar supports the Stroum Jewish Community Center, with $423,064 in operational funds; Hillel at the University of Washington, with $181,329 in operational funds; the Community Development Department of the Jewish Federation, with $223,500 in operational funds; and the Young Leadership Division of the Jewish Federation, with $124,000 in operational funds. Other agencies supported to a lesser degree include the Community Outreach Project of the Jewish Federation ($41,500), the American Jewish Committee ($17,512), the Anti-Defamation League ($20,026) and The Jewish Transcript ($32,350).
Donors and PAC also supported a number of projects run by these same agencies, including Hillel’s new J-Connect program for young adults, outreach High Holiday services run by Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation, the Study Buddy literacy program and kosher-for-Passover dinners at Congregation Beth Shalom.
Human Needs
The Human Needs pillar of the Community Campaign includes only a few organizations, but those are agencies strongly supported by the Jewish community. PAC allocated $435,538 to Jewish Family Service for operational funds and $60,000 to the Seattle Association for the Jewish Disabled for operational funds.
The PAC and donors also designated a total of $80,406 toward projects at these agencies, plus projects run by the National Council of Jewish Women, the Kline Galland Center and MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. The NCJW project is called Shalom Bayit and will help victims of domestic violence furnish the homes they move into after leaving a violent situation.
Jewish Education
The PAC allocated a total of $884,502 toward operational allocations of our community’s Jewish day schools, plus organizations that train and support teachers or educate adults. Another $201,150 is designated by PAC and donors to go toward projects under the Jewish Education pillar, although the bulk of this funding is Samis Foundation money used to fund projects managed in partnership with the Jewish Education Council (see the story on Samis Foundation allocations on Page 8).
Included among the education projects this year is $20,000 to help the Seattle Hebrew Academy deal with earthquake damage and $40,000 to pay for teen scholarships to Israel.
Among the community’s day schools, the Jewish Day School of Metropolitan Seattle will receive $184,280 from the Community Campaign; the Seattle Hebrew Academy will receive $117,460, the Seattle Jewish Community School will receive $61,880 and Northwest Yeshiva High School will receive $85,680. The PAC divides funding among the schools by making a per capita grant according to school enrollment. The Jewish Studies Program at the University of Washington will receive a grant of $29,500, and B’nai B’rith Youth Organization will receive $26,200. The Jewish Education Council, which offers a variety of programs, from the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School to other adult education and teacher training and the Israel Program Center, will receive $356,340.
Jewish Federation
The Finance and Administrative Committee of the Jewish Federation set aside about $1.5 million to cover fund-raising and other operations of the Jewish Federation. A recent audit report required the Federation hire more people to run its accounting operations, including an increase in coverage for the Community Endowment Fund. That is the main reason the Jewish Federation was one of the few organizations in Seattle to receive more operational money from the Community Campaign this fiscal year than they did in fiscal 2001. Other organizations will receive increases in their allocations, when both operational and project funding are combined.