By Dana Sheanin, Jewish LearningWorks’ CEO. Originally posted on the J – Jewish News of Northern California.
A new study of changes in philanthropy since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel found that 37% of Jewish organizations have received money from new donors over the past year, according to an Oct. 30 article in eJewishPhilanthropy.
However, a closer look at the study, conducted by the CCS Fundraising, reveals that most of the organizations that benefited were those with a specific focus on Israel.
In fact, 52% of the 73 U.S. Jewish organizations surveyed reported no change in their support since last October. Another 15% of the organizations reported a decline in fundraising.
But based on my conversations with dozens of Bay Area Jewish leaders, I suspect the real number is far higher. For example, at the organization I lead, Jewish LearningWorks, which advances Jewish learning through professional development in the Bay Area, we saw a nearly 50% decline in annual gifts. My conversations with colleagues over the past year confirm that ours is far from the only Bay Area organization wrestling with a decline in giving since the Hamas attack.
The drop in fundraising occurred just as we were beginning to celebrate our 125th anniversary, a chance to highlight the impact from our earliest days as the Jewish Education Society of San Francisco to our time as the Bureau of Jewish Education to our current form as Jewish LearningWorks, where we now serve 600 educators each year. Instead of celebrating, we changed direction and focused on helping 150 Bay Area Jewish educators respond to the ongoing war.
While larger communities such as ours are fortunate to be home to generous foundation partners and individual donors, their focus varies greatly. Several key foundation partners in the Bay Area unfortunately chose last year to end their Jewish giving or redirect it toward antisemitism and Israel. It is therefore not surprising that at least two highly regarded organizations, the Jewish Youth for Community Action and the Jewish Coalition for Literacy, have closed, and at least one other I am aware of is actively considering a merger.
Perhaps most troubling is the study’s finding that only 13% of Jewish donors prioritize “enriching Jewish life” and just 1% prioritize “Jewish youth education.” Last month, the New York Times reported that since Oct. 7, 40% of engaged Jews have become more engaged, and many who were not engaged have turned to congregations, day schools and community centers for support.
Why does our generosity not extend to the essential local organizations at the core of the community? A singular focus on crisis support for Israel is unsustainable and has already begun to have a profound local impact. Organizations that had not yet fully rebounded from pandemic-era financial challenges now find themselves again eliminating staff positions, scaling back planned programs and asking more of exhausted and depleted educators, rabbis and other leaders. Indeed, Jewish LearningWorks has reduced our staff size by 22% since last October.
In this challenging environment, Jewish LearningWorks remains committed to addressing the deepening talent crisis in the rabbinate and in Jewish education. While philanthropists are often understandably concerned with saving money for a rainy day, we are clearly in the midst of a worsening storm.
As I have written previously, local communities need both individual donors and foundation partners to meet this moment with increased generosity and to view communal priorities through a wider lens. Organizations and individuals who believe in the power of Jewish life to heal what divides us and to provide a balm to our grieving souls must act now.
Without immediate and substantial financial support for local community organizations, we will all lose the sources of support and belonging we need to carry us through the years ahead.
