AJFCA Washington Advocacy Mission

AJFCA held our annual Washington Advocacy Mission this week in conjunction with the Jewish Federations of North America's Government Affairs Institute.  As part of the collaboration, the two groups strategized together on many issues of critical importance to the Jewish community in the United States and abroad.  Together, we advocated on Capitol Hill for the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA), and for the cosponsorship and inclusion in the OAA of a bill to assist Holocaust survivors to age in place in their communities with dignity and comfort.  We advocated for the renewal of the Lautenberg Amendment to assist those persecuted in other countries as a result of their religious beliefs to obtain refugee status in the United States.  The group attended meetings at the State Department, the Administration on Aging and the Administration for Children and Families, where government officials briefed participants on current government priorities in these issue areas.

Our time in Washington was highlighted by visits from Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.  Speaking at Tuesday's lunch meeting were Reps. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), as well as Paul Teller, the Executive Director of the House Republican Study Committee.  The speakers addressed many timely issues including the "Super Committee", Medicaid and Medicare, Developmental Disabilities and Israel.  At a Capitol Hill reception that evening jointly sponsored by JFNA and AJFCA, the featured speaker, Hannah Rosenthal, US State Department Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, spoke to the group about her field research in anti-semitism throughout the world.  In addition, many Members of Congress stopped by to address the group, including Judy Chu (D-CA), Patrick Meehan (R-PA), Charlie Dent (R-PA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Martha Fudge (D-OH), Louis Gohmert (R-TX), John Shimkus (R-IL), Robert Dold (R-IL), Randy Hultgren (R-IL) and Allan West (R-FL).  It was an exciting and informative few days during which collectively we made the voice of the Jewish social service movement heard in our nation's capital.

AJFCA Board of Directors Meeting

AJFCA held its fall Board meeting in Washington, DC on Monday, September 12, 2011.  Thank you to those Board members who participated in person and by phone.  In addition to its regular business, the Board strategized on important issues that have emerged from the strategic planning process.  The Board anticipates voting on a final strategic plan at its next meeting in January 2012 in Naples, Florida.

AJFCA Conference Planning Committee Met in Washington, DC

The 40th Annual AJFCA Annual Conference will be held in Houston, Texas on April 22-24, 2012.  AJFCA professional and lay leaders and our guests will have the opportunity to network, share ideas and gain information about trends in the Jewish human services field with a conference theme of Leading with Vision: Strategizing for Excellence. Many thanks to the dedicated conference committee members who traveled to Washington, DC this past week to work as a team by reviewing the 2011 Annual Conference Evaluations, excellent submitted workshop proposals and suggested guest speakers, and begin the process of putting together a truly fabulous conference. Your hard work and "strategizing for excellence" will be appreciated by all. 

New Canadian Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs 

As of July 1, 2011, the new "one-stop shop" Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (formerly known as the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Affairs, and both referred to as CIJA), headed by Shimon Fogel, became the voice of Jewish advocacy for the Canadian Jewish community. It is the advocacy arm of UIA Federations Canada.

The new CIJA describes itself as the official voice for all issues conerning the organized Canadian Jewish community, including those previously handled by the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), the Canada-Israel Committee (CIC) and the Quebec-Israel Committee. A recent article in the Toronto Star indicates that the University Outreach Committee has also been folded into the new CIJA. CEO Shimon Fogel noted that the new body is in a better position to serve the advocacy needs of Canadian Jewry, and the broader pro-Israel community in Canada.  AJFCA Canada is exploring how the new CIJA and AJFCA Canada might work together to identify and address issues important to the Jewish community.

Milennial View on Fundraising in the Jewish Community

eJewish Philanthropy published an eye-opening account of fundraising in the Jewish community from the perspective of the milennial generation. The author points out that young donors will not give automatically to Jewish causes as did their parents and grandparents. Rather, Jewish issues will get in line with environmental, medical and political causes. He advises the Jewish communal service sector to adhere to the mantra that "people give to people", and thus provide relevant volunteer opportunties that will lead to donations. And requests for funding should be presented as an opportunity for the donor to accomplish something the donor deems important through the agency making the request. To read the entire article by Ben Goldberg, summer intern at EHL Consulting (originally published by eJewish Philanthropy, September 9, 2011), click here.

New Schusterman Foundation Hire to Focus on Young Jewish Service Leaders
The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation announced that Abby Strunk Saloma will join its national office in Washington, DC, as a Program Officer. Strunk Saloma will develop and implement initiatives to engage and support young Jews involved in secular service work and otherwise as they explore and become creators of Jewish life. In addition to her work with young Jewish secular service leaders, Strunk Saloma will design, manage and evaluate initiatives to recruit, network and train the best and brightest young Jewish professionals. To read the entire article, eJewish Philantrophy, September 9, 2011, click here.

Jewish Social Service Agency Names New Director of Planned Giving & Major Gifts  

 JSSA has appointed Shira Oler as the development department's Director of Planned Giving & Major Gifts. Oler will join JSSA's senior management team.

Oler will be responsible for defining and expanding JSSA's program through the identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of current and prospective donors, the oversight of planned giving materials and the creation of partnerships with essential third parties.

Project Extreme Opens Minnesota Girls Academy: Nurturing Jewish Adolescent Girls in Need