MANAGEMENT REPORT May 1 - June 30, 2015 Michael M. Sonduck President & Chief Executive Officer
new initiatives shalom san diego
caring reach out for israel support
2015 aid
aging in community
teen
travel
annual campaign
Management Report 5/1 - 6/30, 2015
MANAGEMENT REPORT OVERVIEW
Michael Sonduck, President & CEO During this period we focused on the final “push” of the 2015 Annual Campaign, which involved every member of Federation staff and many, many volunteers. The results, reported below, were impressive. We launched planning for FY16, including implementing major programs in support of our strategic initiatives. At the same time we said “thank you” to board leadership and volunteers who served Federation and our community, and elected new leadership. Partnerships with our historic Jewish communal partners in San Diego, North America, Israel, and around the world, and with new organizations, grow stronger and stronger, enabling us to seize key opportunities to bolster our Jewish community worldwide. We continue to be fiscally sound and are exploring ways to improve our financial footing in order to face future challenges. We were hampered by key staff vacancies in Development as well as in Marketing and Communications.
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Management Report 5/1 - 6/30, 2015
Development Overview
Lance Yeaman, Director of Philanthropy Operations Fiscal Year 2015 was a year of change, opportunities and growth. An ambitious $10+ million was raised (98% of our goal), thanks to community support of Federation’s Reach Out for Israel fund. The donor base was increased by 10% over 2014 as a result of outstanding efforts in engagement and data analytics despite not holding the two flagship events, Men’s Event and OPTIONS.
Accomplishments
• 95% of Major Donors were retained thanks to an organized and well-communicated stewardship plan with volunteers. Overall campaign retention rate was 63% in contrast to the industry average of 43%! • The Spring Campaign push brought in $3.7 million in the final quarter of the campaign with the help of all Federation staff and volunteers. • The wildly successful PJ Library Match (generously provided by David and Claire Ellman) was a much-needed spark at the end of the campaign, bringing in more than 400 donations for close to $50,000, mostly at the Community Campaign level. This response provides even more encouragement for initiative-specific fundraising next year. • The NextGen World of Good Gala brought together 163 young adults and more than doubled Federation’s monthly giving program — bringing in more than $30,000 a year. • The return of the popular Breakfast Club sold out, with 100 participants, and plans are in place for three Breakfast Club events next year.
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Management Report 5/1 - 6/30, 2015
• $3.4 million dollars were raised for the Reach Out for Israel Campaign, putting San Diego in the top five communities for dollars raised around emergency relief for the 2014 war in Israel. • Federation Cuba Mission participants collectively increased their overall giving by over 50%, as they had an opportunity to see Federation’s work firsthand and get an insider’s view of the new direction of Federation.
Challenges
• The loss of Men’s Event and OPTIONS proved to be a difficult hurdle to overcome in the Community Campaign. Though it had little material effect in recovering Mid-Level gifts (and no effect in Major Donors), a sizable number of new donor relationships generated primarily through these events proved unrecoverable, though they are expected to return next year.
Community Partnerships Overview Heather Wolfson, Sr. Director, Community Partnerships
The Community Partnerships team focused on aligning the department with Federation’s mission-driven strategic initiatives and launching early initiative work with partners. Over the course of the year, the team has seen changes in leadership, a deeper focus on initiatives, and new accomplishments and challenges. The following provides a snapshot of the FY15 year.
Teen Initiative Heather Wolfson
Accomplishments
• Established Federation’s first strategic-initiative partnership, with the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center. A community-based steering committee developed a plan to engage 2,800 teens annually by 2020 through a Jewish Teen Service Institute and Corps (JTSIC). • Received a $3,092,000 matching grant over five years from the Jim Joseph Foundation to support the JTSIC.
Challenges
• The Teen Initiative is the first initiative to near full completion under the new model. Throughout the process, the team learned how to best collaborate with Federation partners, questions that need to be asked, and more. This is a constant learning curve with important relationships to nurture.
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Management Report 5/1 - 6/30, 2015
NextGen
Carly Ezell, Sr. Manager, NextGen
Accomplishments
• Planned and executed a meaningful and impactful mission to Berlin and Israel that brought 30 of San Diego’s NextGen leaders together in order to talk about leadership and our community and dream about San Diego’s Jewish future. • Engaged over 2,200 NextGeners in the community and increased collaborations with partner organizations to unprecedented levels. • Hosted a successful NextGen fundraiser that spotlighted Federation’s global work and its role as a fundraising organization: 100% of 163 NextGen participants donated to Federation, bringing in 45 new monthly donors (Star of David Alliance), 54 new donors, and 21 recovered gifts.
Challenges
• Defining the NextGen demographic and engagement parameters for measurement. • Working with the Young Adult Board and volunteers to shift NextGen’s programming focus to a collaborative community effort. • Identifying and connecting with community members on the fringes.
Shalom San Diego
Heather Wolfson & Lisa Kalal, Director, Women’s Philanthropy and Shalom San Diego
Accomplishments
• Established collaboration with Lawrence Family JCC’s Shalom Baby/PJ Library programs to increase young family engagement. • Provided Shalom Baby/PJ Library with a grant to ensure that 2,300 children received PJ Library books and that programming continued. • Benefitted from further engagement with Women’s Philanthropy, which supported the initiative with the Seder Match program.
Challenges
• The initiative had several false starts over the course of the year due to leadership transition within Community Partnerships and uncertainty over where to begin.
Israel Connections
Jane Fantel, Director of Israel Connections
Accomplishments
• Launched the Israel Connections strategy task force, made up of community leaders, and began the process of assessing Federation’s Israel strategy. • Continued relationships with key partners and funded the work of P2G and the Sha’ar HaNegev Municipality.
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• With authorization from the Board of Directors, committed $2 million from the Reach Out for Israel campaign for a sports complex and community center in Sha’ar HaNegev.
Challenges
• Continuing Federation’s work in Israel by working efficiently and effectively on parallel paths while the initiative is still in its early stage of development. • Increasing community understanding of Federation’s role vis-à-vis Israel.
Aging in Community Heather Wolfson
Accomplishments
• Launched feasibility study in partnership with Seacrest, JCC and JFS to determine how to best serve the aging community, based on the prior work of the Senior Services Council. • Focused on the “Village” model as the best tool to support the older adult population to age in place (details still in development).
Challenges
• It took nearly four months to identify and retain a consultant to support the feasibility study. The consultant was retained in January 2015 and will be completing work by September 2016.
Jewish Community Relations Council Linda Feldman, JCRC Director
Accomplishments
• Developed a new planning process under new leadership for the Latino-Jewish Coalition, which has led to the adoption of a theme (Immigration/Borders/Journeys) and a 40% increase in program participation. • Hosted over 600 individuals at the Yom HaShoah program “70 Years on from the Holocaust”; established a new partnership with North County Inland synagogues for a commemoration. • Continued work with the Israeli Consulate.
Challenges
• JCRC continues to face funding challenges.
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Management Report 5/1 - 6/30, 2015
Jewish Chaplaincy Services Rabbi Ralph Dalin, Community Chaplain
Accomplishments
• Served over 286 clients with over 690 contacts; officiated at or arranged 41 funerals and memorial services; provided over 30 consultations to local health care facilities; made over 500 Jewish Chaplaincy volunteer visits to Jewish patients in local hospitals. • Spearheaded the establishment of protocols and procedures for providing Jewish burials for the indigent in partnership with Jewish Family Service, Jewish Community Foundation, Am Israel Mortuary and Greenwood Memorial Park.
Challenges
• Staffing changes within partner organizations has delayed the launch of the Burial Fund work.
Camping
Brenda Silvers, Camping Coordinator
Accomplishments
• Sent over 150 children to Jewish overnight camp for the first time through One Happy Camper incentive grants. • Provided over $35,000 in needs-based camping scholarships.
Challenges
• Securing ample funding to sustain and expand the program to support Jewish camping. The One Happy Camper incentive grant (a five-year, one-time grant) ended with the summer 2015 awards, leaving Federation with less money to support first-time campers.
Finance, Accounting, and Human Resources Susan Halliday, CFO
Finance and Accounting
The accounting and finance team accomplished quite a bit in fiscal year 2015, most notably the successful training of staff in the new Blackbaud donor management system, and the subsequent implementation. The support of other Federation teams across the country was of tremendous help, as our Federation now joins the pay-it-forward model that has been key to the successful implementation of Federation databases throughout the country. Federation’s Audit Committee, led by Larry Katz, evaluated and chose a new audit firm, Lindsay and Brownell, to perform an independent audit and an additional review of internal controls. The audit team’s review confirmed the accuracy of Federation’s revenue and expense record keeping and offered suggestions for improving documentation of 8
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pledges and tracking account reconciliations. The upcoming audit of fiscal year 2015 will proceed much more smoothly now that the auditors are familiar with Federation’s accounting systems, and new staff is familiar with the audit process. Under Andy Ratner’s leadership, legal counsel of Federation and Foundation have made substantial progress toward the creation of The Endowment for Federation, which should be ready for final review and approval by Federation’s Board of Directors in September. New leadership in our Community Partnerships and Development Departments, and the progress of our collaborative strategic partnership initiatives, necessitated the development of a new budget format for fiscal year 2016 that clearly defines goals and benchmarks. Thanks to the leadership of Gary Kornfeld and Andy Ratner, the Board approved a break-even budget at the May 2015 board meeting. Federation accepted the role of fiscal agent for two area programs, Partners in Torah and Shabbat San Diego. Partners in Torah provides free weekly Torah sessions with an area rabbi and has a budget of approximately $40,000 per year. Shabbat San Diego’s threeday inaugural event was held in October 2014 and engaged nearly 10,000 affiliated and unaffiliated Jews in challah-making, Shabbat dinners, and Havdalah activities, for which Federation provided marketing and accounting support. Nearly $150,000 was raised to support Shabbat San Diego activities, and the 2015 event is expected to engage 15,000 to 20,000 San Diego County Jews.
Facilities
Fiscal year 2015 was a busy one, as Federation completed a major refurbishment of the first floor, including painting, building a demising wall to separate the lobby from work areas, and installing new carpet tile made from recycled materials. In an effort to continue the ‘greening’ of Federation, energy-saving LED lighting will be installed throughout the building, and solar panels will be installed on the roof of the main building and on two soon-to-be built carports in the south parking lot. Nearly 98% of the building’s energy will be supplied by the new solar panels, the installation of which should be completed by the end of October 2015. In addition, two new electric charging stations will have the capacity to charge four electric vehicles, and the infrastructure is in place to add more stations as need and demand arise. The solar and lighting projects have a payback of just over 7 years, and the savings, and tax credits will generate cash that can be used toward other building improvements, such as updating the second floor bathrooms and installing drought-tolerant landscaping. NCSY signed a lease for office space during this past year and is interested in expanding into another office area. Three offices on the second floor are now available to rent. In cooperation with the ADL team, staff received security and safety training, and administrative staff members received a separate training. The training is designed to make administrative and reception staff better aware of how to deal with suspicious mail, phone calls, and visitors. An emergency drill was also organized, and additional drills are planned for the upcoming year.
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Management Report 5/1 - 6/30, 2015
Human Resources
HR consultant Sheila Ricks assisted in the successful recruitment of Federation’s NextGen Manager, Women’s Philanthropy Manager, and Database and Applications Manager. Three open positions, Chief Development Officer, Sr. Development Manager, and Copywriter, are being actively recruited. In addition, after reviewing healthcare benefits, a new broker was found who could offer more diverse (and less expensive) health plans. Federation supervisors have been participating in supervisor training, and a number of employees have participated in computer and other administrative training to develop and strengthen their skills. An outline of on-boarding procedures was also developed to provide a thorough orientation to new staff about employee benefits and how to navigate building operations and computer systems.
Accomplishments
New staff in almost every department — Accounting, Marketing, Development, and Community Partnerships — was hired. This new team of very strong players promises to contribute to meeting and exceeding Federation goals for the new fiscal year.
Challenges
Meeting revenue targets for the fiscal year was very challenging, and it was only in the final weeks that budget targets for the campaign were met. Filling key open development positions with people who bring the right mix of experience and skills has also been a challenge.
Marketing and Communications
Aaron Truax, Director of Marketing & Communications
Accomplishments
• Redesigned and re-launched Federation website for mobile responsiveness, new community directory, news, and tools. • Increased website traffic 15% year over year. Broke records, increasing monthly traffic to 8,000 in July 2015. • Increased social media following 50%, from 2,000 on July 1, 2014, to 3,000 on July 1, 2015. • Increased community campaign donors by 10%! • Brought 1,000 San Diegans together for the Reach Out for Israel Rally — raised $3.4 million for Israel and its summer 2014 conflict.
Challenges
• Loss of flagship events hurt community campaign numbers — projected loss of 400+ donors. • Staffing challenge in writer position — the search continues.
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T HE WOM EN ’ S EV E N T
Management Report 5/1 - 6/30, 2015
Sunday, November 1
T H E WO M E N ’S E V E N T
11:30am-2pm | Manchester Grand Hyatt Join us for an afternoon of connection, delicious food, and inspiration from a dynamic panel of Jewish women. Couvert: $36 | Dietary Laws Observed
FEATURING Co-Chairs Simone Abelsohn, Karen Kogut, Stacy Soefer, Laura Vainer
T HE Tracy Borkum Principal Urban Kitchen Group
learn more at jewishinsandiego.org/options
WOM EN ’ S EV EMelissa N T Rivers Janet Gurwitch Founder & Former CEO Laura Mercier Cosmetics
Actress, Television Host, Producer, and Philanthropist
For more information, please contact Lisa Kalal at lisak@jewishfederationsandiego.org or (858) 737-7123
T HE WOM EN ’ S EVEN T
THE MEN’S EVENT
Underwritten by the Mizel Family Foundation
FREE
event
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16 | 6pm DEL MAR FAIRGROUNDS
featuring
BENJAMIN GANTZ
former chief of staff of the israel defense forces
2260 jimmy durante blvd, del mar seating is limited. first come, first serve. dietary laws observed.
CO-CHAIRS jonathan bell | simon vainer | philip linssen | gary levitt
learn more at jewishinsandiego.org/mensevent August 6, 2015
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OUR VISION A vibrant, caring, connected, and enduring Jewish community. OUR MISSION Inspired by Jewish values, we broaden and deepen engagement in Jewish life to strengthen Jewish identity, foster dynamic connections with Israel, and care for all Jews in need. We mobilize our community’s resources, leaders, and organizations to address the community’s most critical needs, creating profound impact locally, in Israel, and around the world.