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Tuesday January 7, 1997

Federations must take chances

Some will question the prudence of federations experimenting with handing donors a bit of control over how their gifts are spent.

Others will applaud risk-takers, such as the federations in the San Jose and East Bay areas. Facing flat or shrinking annual campaigns in the midst of growing affluence, they are searching for innovative ways to attract new donors.

We commend those federations. No one should be faulted for experimenting.

Traditionally, donors wrote checks to a central community fund and let federation lay leaders and professionals decide how to spend it. But with an aging donor base, federations find they can no longer conduct business as usual.

Baby boomers and Generation Xers need to be brought into the fold. Perhaps one way to entice those potential givers is to offer them more control over where their money goes.

Certainly, a different approach involves major risks. The experiment could fail. Giving donors power over where their gifts go might not result in more campaign dollars. And as donors choose to earmark dollars to their pet causes, other critical but less prominent services could collapse.

One of the most radical changes is taking place at the Denver-based Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado. Leaders there have decided to let donors set aside a portion of their contributions to individual agencies.

Taken to extremes, donor designation could undermine the very reason federations exist.

The strength of the Jewish federation system has been its grasp of the big picture and its ability to distribute money where it's needed most. Realistically, donors don't always know where the greatest needs lie.

In the best-case scenario, however, Bay Area donors will give their usual amount to the federations in the East Bay and the San Jose area, then augment it with money designated for special funds.

We wish the best of luck to the risk-takers, and hope the community makes the gamble worthwhile.

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