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Thursday September 27, 2007

Federations pressed for more funding for Birthright

by jacob berkman
jta

Major philanthropists behind Birthright Israel are pressuring the United Jewish Communities and federation system to contribute more money to the program.

When the initiative to send Jewish young adults on free 10-day trips to Israel was launched in 2000, private philanthropists, the government of Israel and the federation system agreed to share the costs equally. But this year, with the budget for Birthright hitting $80.6 million, the federations have contributed only $5.5 million.

“I don’t think there has been an honest-to-God buy-in,” said Charles Bronfman, who founded Birthright with fellow philanthropist Michael Steinhardt.

In an unprecedented step to cull more money from the UJC system, Bronfman’s foundation is setting aside about $1.5 million for local Jewish federations to hire full-time development professionals to raise money for Birthright. In addition, the UJC and Birthright are discussing the creation of an endowment fund of up to $500 million to fund Birthright on a continuous basis.

Bronfman has derided UJC for contributing less than 1 percent of its budget to Birthright. He and the other philanthropists who back Birthright say that without more money from the federation system, a program that is widely seen as the most successful Jewish continuity effort cannot keep up with demand.

Eric Levine, a UJC official, said the situation is not so simple. “In all honesty, everyone wants to fund Birthright to a greater extent.” Federations, however, are multi-issue organizations, and their fundraising totals are increasing incrementally, he said.

“The fact is that we don’t want to pull money from a poor person’s mouth to pay for a free trip to Israel,” Levine said.

To a large degree, the funding crunch is a product of Birthright’s success. The program was expected to last only five years, but now with participation skyrocketing the plan is to keep it running indefinitely — and at higher levels. The result for many federations is greater-than-expected financial demands.

In 2000, 9,462 Jews between the ages of 18 and 26 took the free trips. This year, nearly 36,000 from around the world, mostly North America, are expected to participate, with thousands more on the waiting list.

Birthright has cost $314 million over the past eight years. Private philanthropists have contributed $147 million and the Israeli government $75 million. The federation system, Birthright sources say, has contributed about $43 million. Additional funding comes from other sources, including the Jewish Agency for Israel.

Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has pledged $60 million over the next two years to pay for those on the waiting list. Yet with the program receiving 2,000 applicants a day and typically having to close registration only a few weeks after it opens, Birthright officials say more money will be needed.

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