First, congrats to JFNA, the Denver GA produced a $300,000(+) surplus. That’s great. The surplus suggests that the fewer the full pay Registrants , the absence of the Prime Minister, the diminished number of paid speakers, even JFNA can run a profitable GA. Read More »

I understand the sense of desperation at JFNA over the probability that TribeFestivus II will be as big a financial failure as the first Festivus . So, here’s what’s happening (or not happening): ~ JFNA Senior professionals have made it abundantly clear in writing that the overriding purpose of TribeFest “.. . Read More »

In the Orwellian lexicon of hyperbole at JFNA where less is more and failure is success, it will come as no surprise that having failed in its cash collections for at least the sixth straight year, the Board Chair closed her cash rtesults transmittal to the JFNA Board with the following message: ” May we go from strength to strength . Read More »

For some reason, JFNA’s leaders decided to roll out the panoply of functions allegedly performed by its ” Philanthropic Resources Support Services to Federations ” in a lengthy presentation/discussion/program filler at the recently completed Board Retreat. And I am sure that Susie Stern presented it in a compelling manner. Read More »

Sigh. Is it the beginning of the end or just the end of the beginning? ~ As JTA reported just before the New Year, the Boston Globe wrote that “… Combined Jewish Philanthropies has hired a gay rabbi as its first interfaith ambassador, a role in which he runs interfaith parenting workshops and presides at interfaith marriages . Read More »

It used to be said that the last refuge of scoundrels is patriotism but, after listening to the Board Chair try to enwrap herself in “lawyerspeak” in defense of JFNA’s breach of its November 2010 Agreement with JAFI and JDC, I believe the new “last Read More »

Still don’t know what is we’re doing? Then we must be doing it well . When it comes to the GPT and the Second Membership Criterion, you know my sense that the Board Chair and her Sancho Panza, the CEO and President, have been gaming the system from Read More »

Today the JFNA Board has the ability to take leadership’s proposed By-Law Amendments and, by a Motion to Table, send them back for necessary revisions  that will reflect history and purpose. Read More »

In response to my Post asking IS THERE SOMETHING IN THE WATER?, I received and published an Anonymous Comment : “You should know that there are professionals at JFNA who work tirelessly in pursuit of our highest goals and aspirations, alongside many fine lay leaders, despite the lack of support from within — and from you all on the outside. Read More »

When I published SO MANY THINGS ARE NONE OF OUR BUSINESS on January 16, I didn’t anticipate that so many leaders of the 400 non-federated Network communities would write to comment on the sorry state of JFNA-Network relationships and related matters. But, they did…and their voices need to be heard here because they are no longer heard there. Read More »

Back in the early Fall of 2010 JFNA’s Board Chair and its CEO and President began pressing the Jewish Agency and Joint to enter into a tri-party agreement that would bind each and all of them to certain underlying understandings. Read More »

It was only a short while ago, while reviewing JFNA’s By-Laws (something its leaders might consider doing but I admit its easier to ignore them if you have no idea what’s in them and just want to change them so much), that I came upon an Amendment just one year old. Read More »

Since we returned to these pages one of the things about JFNA’s constant lack of accountability and “new culture” that has concerned us the most has been that only a small group of “leaders” has been made privy to matters that should be the concern of all of us. Consider,  if you will, litigation against the organization. Read More »

Yes, I was totally wrong. The current JFNA leaders have proved that you can fool all of the people all of the time. In fact, you can even fool those one thought would be the ones who would first argue that the Emperor/Empress wears no clothes. What am I writing about? Read on… Read More »

With many of you I received one of those JFNA e-vites that have become so ubiquitous. This one was addressed to Calling All NYL Young Leadership Alumni . Like many of you, I’m certain we had no idea what the NYL was or is. (I’m pretty sure these “branders” didn’t really mean the duplicative “National Young Leadership Young Leadership. Read More »

The question raised by the title to this Post relates to what appears to be a repetition of a disease that seems to afflict those in power in the corporate offices of JFNA, whether at 111 8th Avenue or, now, 25 Broadway, over the past six years. Read More »

Back in the day, in 1996 or 1997, Tom Friedman, the same Israel basher then as he is today, wrote some particularly scathing attacks on the Israeli Prime Minister. They were not of the “bought and paid for” or “engineered” as recently, but ugly and harsh and unreasoned. Read More »

Back in the shadows of history — at JFNA that means a year ago — JFNA demanded an agreement among itself, JAFI and JDC. Among the matters agreed to in November 2010 was the following: JFNA will work with Federations in an effort to increase overseas allocations to support the important work of JAFI and JDC . Read More »

I have been blessed having learned the lessons of philanthropy, capacity giving and collective responsibility from my community. When I read of the supposed “achievement” of another Federation (hint: the one with the most Jewish lawyers of any community in the world), which raised $1. Read More »

Lately a number of federations have “unveiled” what some have termed to be ” A New Philanthropic Model .”  Seattle, Philadelphia and San Francisco are but the latest to roll out “designated/thematic giving models” as if they are something both new and innovative. Read More »