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Friday April 4, 1997

Economist shines light on practices of Jewish charities

DAVID CONN
Baltimore Jewish Times

Ira P. Kaminow is on a mission: To take all the mystery out of giving, and bring it into the light.

During Purim, with Passover not long after, many Jews followed the tradition of matanot levyanim, or gifts to the poor, decreed by Mordechai himself, Queen Esther's uncle.

Some are seeking broader information for year-round giving. Those who want to find out who is most deserving can turn to Kaminow's small company, Tzedakah Reports.

Since late 1995, the Rockville, Md.-based economist has been researching and churning out a series of reports that examine the goals, religious observance level and finances of 50 Jewish charities across the nation. By this year's High Holy Days, he expects to have a total of 90 to 100 reports.

"I did it because of all the solicitations I get, basically," said Kaminow, 56. "And having no way to know which were worth giving to.

"One of my intentions with this is to make people more proactive in their giving," he said, sitting in the study of his Rockville home, surrounded by bookcases of mostly Hebrew texts.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Kaminow was raised in a family he called "kind of left-wing Orthodox," and attended a Jewish day school before moving on to public schools.

Since 1992, he and several partners have run their own policy consulting firm called Capital Insights Group. His company's clients, mostly mutual and pension funds, are seeking investment help.

"There are clearly a lot of metaphors between investing and tzedakah," Kaminowsays. "What people are doing is trying to find out what charities best match what they're trying to accomplish."

At least, those who subscribe to Tzedakah Reports are trying to make that link. Last year the company had about 200 customers, up from about 50 at the end of 1995. These days, most people pay $39 for 40 to 50 reports.

What they receive is a laundry list of items, including a description of each charity and its goals; the level of religious observance, such as keeping kosher and observing Shabbat; staffing information, including salaries; any awards, endorsements or grants from governments or philanthropies; and a breakdown of revenues, assets and spending.

Kaminow was careful to note that he doesn't actually audit anyone -- nor, for that matter, do any of the four or five national companies that review secular charities, he said.

He does report whether an outside auditor was hired, and whether any red flags were raised.

In his report last year on the Jewish National Fund, for instance, he noted that auditors Deloitte & Touche found several examples of accounting irregularities that minimized the amount JNF spent on fund-raising. The report specifically challenges $6.5 million that Deloitte & Touche said was spent on Israel programs.

"Tzedakah Reports disagrees that this represents Israel programming," the report states. "The vast majority of the amount represents spending on publications, brochures, television, radio, and newspapers."

Kaminow said he's careful not to cross any lines of halachah, or Jewish law, such as the prohibition against gossip or slander. He consults his many sourcebooks, as well as Rabbi Yitzhak Breitowitz, of the Woodside Synagogue in Silver Spring, Md.

Kaminow has reported on charities ranging from Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger to the Zionist Organization of America. With a focus lately on subscriber requests, he hasn't done any of the Jewish federations, although he may venture into that arena.

Along with requests, "My policy is that any legitimate organization...who wants to provide the information, I'll do the [report] and send it out to my subscribers," Kaminow said.

That doesn't always happen, of course. "I run into a lot of charities that think this is the worst thing in the world," he said. "They have their private fiefdoms and they don't like the idea of sunshine."

For as long as he can stay afloat -- and he does intend to run Tzedakah Reports in the black -- Kaminow said he'll work to shine a little more light on Jewish giving.

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