The sun is setting on 2022 Annual Campaign

Kirk Wisemayer, Annual Community Campaign Director

The cycle of our Annual Community Campaign coincides with Jewish Federation’s financial year. This means campaign opens July 1 of each year and officially closes June 30 of the following year. While this may seem confusing at first, it also makes a great deal of sense.

Traditionally, Jewish giving occurs around the holidays and prior to the High Holy Days, or Rosh HaShanah, specifically. Given that many people are in Greater Naples only for ‘the season,’ however many months that may be, it makes perfect sense to focus our campaign efforts on the months when most of our Jewish community is in Greater Naples.

At the start of each new campaign year, when you are asked for your pledge to the campaign, we are only asking you to identify what level of support and commitment you will be making. We are not asking for your pledge to be paid at that time. Knowing the level of your commitment early in the campaign cycle allows Federation’s Allocation Committee to begin to plan for the coming year in regard to the level of funds that can be made available to the many worthwhile programs and organizations that benefit from your generosity.

Although your pledge can be paid at the time you declare it, or any time after that, it does not need to be paid until December of that Campaign year. For example, a pledge to the 2022 Annual Campaign, even though it may have been made in November 2021, does not need to be paid in full until December 31, 2022. While we certainly hope that most of you will not wait until December to pay your pledge, not having to pay your pledge when you first make it gives you some flexibility in planning your gift.

When your pledge to the 2022 Campaign is paid by the end of December 2022, Federation is able to fulfill the plans, commitments and allocations it has made. It also enables you to claim your contributions on your tax return. (A pledge to the 2022 campaign paid by December 31, 2022, is a tax-deductible contribution for 2022.) If your pledge payment is not received by December 31, 2022, it is not tax-deductible for calendar year 2022.

The Jewish community of Greater Naples is very fortunate. Its donors are very generous, and they honor the pledges they make. Thank You!

When you make a pledge before June 30, your pledge is counted in our campaign total, regardless of when you pay it. If you supported campaign in 2021 with a pledge (and a gift), if we do not receive your pledge before June 30, 2022, it will not be included in Campaign 2022: Here for Good. This means, for this year at least, your gift is lost. Think of what this means for those who would benefit from you gift.

Every pledge, every gift to the Annual Campaign is valued. This Jewish community cannot afford to lose a single pledge or gift. We need you. The Jewish world needs you. Unlike many of the other worthwhile non-Jewish causes you might support, we have no one else — only you.

There is still time to support the 2022 Annual Campaign!

Campaign 2022: Here for Good officially closes on June 30, 2022, which means that, as you read this, the sun is setting on this year’s campaign. If you have made a pledge, thank you! If you have yet to do so, you can still be part of this year’s campaign. All you need do is give Jeffrey Feld a call at 239-263-4205 or email him at jfeld@jewish naples.org before the end of the month. Please do; there are a great many people counting on your support.

Note from Jeffrey Feld: Kirk Wisemayer has completed his tenure as JFGN’s Annual Campaign Director. He has received an opportunity that he cannot allow to pass. We thank Kirk for all his efforts and wish him the very best in his future endeavors.