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President's Message May 2004: Donate Wisely

by Brett Borah
President, Jewish Federation
of Greater San Jose

As the Jewish Federation enters the final months of its annual campaign, I would like to address the commonly asked question, “Why give to the Federation?” People often ask why they should give to Federation when they can easily give to charities and agencies directly?

My first response is that you are not giving to the Federation but through the Federation. Federation serves as an umbrella fundraising agency for many local Jewish agencies and overseas partners. We make allocations to synagogues, day schools, museums, and social welfare agencies both here and abroad. Some of these agencies are not able to fund raise adequately for themselves. Their annual Federation allocation is the difference between making it and not making it financially.

My second response is that by giving through the Federation, you allow the community at large to set its priorities. A committee of community members reviews allocation requests and makes recommendations to your Board of Directors. That committee is as diverse as we can make it. It has relative newcomers to the community as well as past presidents of our agencies as its members. Together, they review the audits, business plans, annual budgets and goals of each agency and through the allocation process set the priorities of the community. Those recommendations are then reviewed and adjusted by your Board of Directors.

Third, I respond that many factions of the secular community give to the symphony, theatre, marching band, schools, medical research, and other secular causes. These are all worthy and noble causes but no one except Jews give to Jewish causes. If we don’t support our own agencies, programs and causes, no one else is likely to do so. It’s up to us to take care of each other. Our national campaign chair reminded me recently that our campaign is one Jew asking a second Jew to help a third Jew. It’s just that simple. A gift through your Federation helps satisfy the mitzvah of K’lal Y’srael – the duty of Jews to take care of each other.

Finally, a gift through the Federation frees the individual donor of the burden of setting priorities, investigating and vetting the agencies.
This economy calls on many of us to be lean with our charitable giving so we just need to be smart and get the most bang for our buck. Your Federation is working hard to make the best decisions possible for our community.