Many Federations identify themselves as fundraising organizations and judge their successes by the size of their campaigns. We are not a fundraising organization. We are a forward thinking, problem-solving organization that raises funds to support our mission and our work.
For decades, donors gave to the Federation because their parents did. They gave out of a sense of history and obligation. The Federation’s Annual Campaign was losing thousands of donors each year and had been flat for over a decade. Historic giving was in decline. Our donors were giving us a message and we needed to hear them. We needed to change our work so that we could show a clear value proposition to investing in us. We had to demonstrate how our work makes a material difference in the lives of our community members today and how it is shaping the future.
Jay Sanderson, “Transforming the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles”, eJewish Philanthropy (7 January 2015) [http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/transforming-the-jewish-federation-of-greater-los-angeles]