The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia is committed to Caring for Those in Need, Supporting Israel and Global Jewry, and Securing a Vibrant Jewish Future.
Thanks to your support of our Annual Campaign, we continue to uplift Israeli communities in their daily lives while proactively preparing them for future emergencies.
For example, we are a proud supporter of Ofanim, which provides weekly STEM education in innovative buses to elementary school students. Over the past two decades, Ofanim has helped children from underserved communities, including our Partnership2Gether region Netivot.
Ofanim’s Impact:
• 55,000 program graduates
• 4,500+ students in grades 1 through 8
• 30 evacuated communities are served
Whether in crisis or calm, sorrow or celebration – we are Here As One. Over the past year, you have shown up for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia as we continued our work to Care for Those in Need Locally, Support Israel and Global Jewry, and Secure a Vibrant Jewish Future. But, there is still work to be done. And we know that we can count on you to help us.
Department Updates
Strategy and Impact
• Fiscal Year 2024 grantee reports are in and are being reviewed by department staff.
• The Strategy and Impact team worked with FRD to align all grant making processes along parallel timelines. Women of Vision, Weinberg Fund and JFRE RFPs are currently open. Camp reports and scholarship applications will be out by the end of November. All have a submission deadline of Dec. 15.
• There are now assigned program officers to every local grantee. Agencies have been notified of their program officer, and Beth Razin and Daria Barkai are connecting with each agency individually to schedule introductory calls and site visits.
• Director of Israel and Global Operations, Tali Lidar and Israel Programs Representative, Tamar Brody from the Israel office traveled to the United States. Lidar attended the JFNA General Assembly with Chief Strategy and Impact Officer Kelly Romirowsky and other Jewish Federation professionals, and Brody attended the Diller Teen conference in Chicago. After the conferences, Lidar and Brody convened in Philadelphia for several productive work days in the Philadelphia office.
FRD/Affinity/Endowment
• Women of Vision’s 2025 grants process is now open. The grant review committee will consider proposals from Israeli organizations on an invite-only basis for funding in Fiscal Year 2026 and Fiscal Year 2027. The committee will consider grants based on the following priority areas, which impact the lives of Jewish women and girls and create long-lasting change: health and safety, financial security, or empowerment. This year’s grantmaking process is shortened due to the crisis in Israel.
• The first year of the Life & Legacy initiative closed at the end of November. Thirteen organizations generated 297 realized, confirmed and intended gifts totaling over $29 million. A community-wide one-year celebration was held on Dec. 3.
• The Jewish Community Foundation’s Professional Advisors Network will host Steven Woolf, consultant and former senior tax counsel to JFNA, on Jan. 29 at the Jewish Federation’s office. Woolf will present “Legislative Outlook for Tax and Estate Planning in 2025.”
• The Bernard and Etta Weinberg Family Fund’s 2025 grants process is now open. Applications will be considered by invitation only for programs that provide Jewish education, services to the elderly, and geriatric counseling and care management.
Community Leadership Development / Engagement
• The community engagement team welcomes Isabella Duarte as the new community engagement manager for the Old York Road Kehillah. Duarte is from the area and looks forward to strengthening the relationships she has made and building new ones through this role.
• The Kehillot are preparing for a busy December, featuring Chanukah events throughout the month all over Greater Philadelphia.
• The first committee chair orientation was held on Nov. 7 to provide all Jewish Federation committee chairs a shared understanding of the Jewish Federation’s mission, a look at the organization’s implementing structure and an opportunity to build community strength across the agency.
• There was an inaugural Board of Ambassadors orientation session on Nov. 14. About 20 members now have access to a toolkit that will enable them to reach out to community members to Share the impact of the work of the jewish federation at their congregations, local community events and social media.
Marketing/Events/PR
• Grantees for Fiscal Year 2025 are available to view at jewishphilly.org/impact.
• The marketing team has put together this PDF to highlight Jewish Community Fund grantees for Fiscal Year 2025.
• In October, the Jewish Federation reached an audience of 1.32 billion through earned media. You can see our October PR report here.
• Impressions across social media (Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn) increased by 32.5% in October from September.
• Updated Annual Campaign marketing kits for leaders can be found here and for the Board of Ambassadors can be found here.
• The marketing team released its one year Israel report, which you view by clicking here.
• In October, the Jewish Federation hosted six events that were attended by a total of 1,218 people.
JCRC and Government Affairs
• JCRC has facilitated introductions for Lower Merion School Board members to educational vendors capable of providing antisemitism education. JCRC Director Jason Holtzman also met with the acting superintendent and Lower Merion school board president to discuss increasing antisemitism education within the district. In response to a recent issue with the school board, JCRC has been fostering community relations between the Lower Merion Jewish Family Association (JFA) and NAACP Main Line.
• Since the start of the academic year, Holtzman has met multiple times with the superintendent of the Philadelphia School District and the district’s chief equity officer to address antisemitism in Philadelphia schools and to offer resources. Holtzman invited both to visit the Nova Exhibit at the Weitzman Museum, which they attended and found profoundly impactful.
• JCRC recently held productive discussions with administrators at Swarthmore College, Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania to address campus-related concerns. At Swarthmore College, JCRC supported the administration’s enforcement of new policies to maintain campus standards, including removing an unauthorized structure erected by Jewish Voice for Peace. At Temple University, administrators reported that suspending a student group has contributed to a calmer campus environment. At the University of Pennsylvania, JCRC was updated on the failure of a BDS proposal, which administrators had anticipated. These conversations underscore JCRC’s commitment to fostering positive relationships and addressing key issues on local campuses.
Human Resources
New Hires
• Assistant Director of Endowment Accounting Jim Squadrito will replace Inna Isakovich, who held the position for 18 years. Squadrito has an incredible background in finance.
• Director of Finance
Chuck Avner will replace Dan Levine. Avner started on Oct. 14 and has integrated quickly into his new role and has proven to be a valuable addition to the team.
• Assistant Director of JCRC Meir Zimmerman comes to us from the Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) in Boston. The previous JCRC program associate position was replaced with this higher level role, to provide exceptional support for Jason Holtzman who is the director of JCRC, and within our JCRC community.
• Senior Marketing Communications Account Manager Joanna Volpe starts Dec. 16. The previous account marketing communications manager position was replaced with this higher level role to elevate the marketing strategies for the organization and provide excellent service to the various departments.
Promotions
• Sarah Lefkowitz has been promoted to the position of director of NextGen, effective Dec. 9. Lefkowitz is replacing Susan Allen’s previous role, who has accepted a position working with Rabbi Mike Uram at JFNA. A search for Lefkowitz’ previous role will begin shortly.
• Rachel Cohen has been promoted to marketing associate. There is a search for the marketing coordinator role with many qualified candidates being interviewed.
Other
• Lindsay Davidman resigned from her position as director of Women’s Philanthropy and there is an active search for this role replacement.
• The Strategy & Impact department has been restructured and is recruiting for a new role of program associate. There is large interest in the position and we are actively interviewing candidates.
• We are in the final stage four Pay Transparency project, with the rollout of salary grades, salary ranges, and individual employee compa-ratios by the end of December. The target date to include salary ranges in job postings is February 2025.
• The two months of the Fiscal Year 2025 fiscal year ended with a significant lift (+$60,000) in operating revenue of which eighty percent (80%) came from interest earnings on idle funds and the balance from sponsorships for-scheduled events. Interest income continues to outperform budgeted amounts due mainly to idle cash balances and the slow and deliberate pace of FOMC interest rate policy softening compared to what we anticipated at budget time.
• The public equity markets in October retraced September gains. The fiscal year to date performance was -0.5% or -1.9 million of which $2 million. At month end there was $7.3 million in unrealized investment losses, $1.5 million of investment income and $3.8 million of realized investment gains.
• The finance team is working with the independent accounting firm of EisnerAmper for the Fiscal Year 2024 financial statement audit for both the Jewish Federation and the Foundation for Jewish Day Schools and then the applicable annual tax returns for both entities. As a reminder, we extended the engagement of EisnerAmper Through Fiscal Year 2026.
• The Director of Finance position was replaced effective Oct. 15, 2024. The new person has brought a new set of skills to the position that will enhance the Finance Team. The Assistant Director Endowment Accounting was open due to a resignation. We have hired a replacement with extensive finance and accounting experience. We anticipate this new person will upgrade the current position and will start Monday, Dec. 2, 2024.
• Pledges receivable – are down by $2.5 million (-315%) year over year. This is due to the Israel Emergency Funds pledged during October 2023. This pledges receivables balance includes all pledges, JCF, allocable, and designated through the out years for pledges designated to years beyond the current campaign year.
• Long term investments are up 21% (+63 million) from October 2023 due to good investment performance and additions to the principal of multiple categories of the endowment.
• Total current liabilities continue to track to prior year balances, supporting effective cash management practices.
Finance Snapshot
Operating Results FYTD ............................................................................... October 2024
Summary by Fiscal Year Campaign (BBEC Gift Year Specified by Donor) Source: Financial Accounting System
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between Financial Accounting System (FAS) and CRM is timing difference between pledges recorded in the CRM and pledges verified, documented, and recorded in the FAS.
