JPEG

How We Were Formed

Our group originated from a casual discussion held by a few of us at the Limmud New York Learning conference in January of 2008. We realized there were very few means by which young professionals could effectively navigate and impact the philanthropic world. This struck us as odd, as we all aspired to one day be able to make significant donations, but were unsure when we were supposed to learn how to donate in an intelligent and effective way.

JPEG grew out of a desire to solve both of our problems at once. We recognized that as a group, we could teach each other and learn together about the process of giving. We also saw the practical benefits of giving together: we can effect greater change through a group donation than our small donations can individually.

Since January, we have met regularly and have established a corps of 13 committed members. We have discussed at length our visions for the structure of the group and the kinds of things we each hope to get out of it. We are now beginning to identify the organizations to which our group is interested in contributing.

The issue, of course, is that by entering with only limited information, there is only so much we can teach each other. Part of the learning process we envisioned involves educators from outside the group sharing their knowledge with us. While we possess a lot of energy and enthusiasm, none of us has previous experience participating in a giving circle, donating large sums of money, or teaching these things. We are looking to connect with experienced and inspirational people who can share their wisdom and insights with us, and help prepare a new generation of philanthropists.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Economic crisis and the giving response

Ruthie taught us about how "the end of the world as we know it" (read: the critical state of today's economy) affects the philanthropic world in a major way.

We learned about the massive hit charities took both from a loss in individual gifts from donors as well as from endowments.

Finally, Ruthie shared with us some Judaic sources on our obligation to giving; namely, our obligation to give regardless of the circumstances (though not to the point where we ourselves become impoverished).

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Meeting with Naomi Levine

Last Wednesday evening, 8 members of JPEG had the unique opportunity to meet with Naomi Levine, the chair and academic director of the Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising at NYU. We spoke with her about her career, values, and views on philanthropy. Everyone who attended agrees: the experience was phenomenal. We all feel very privileged to have been able to chat with someone so knowledgeable and influential in the philanthropic world.

Thank you to all who helped make this meeting possible!

Highlights from the meeting to follow.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Domestic Abuse Prevention Charities Selected

We have completed yet another round of narrowing down our charities. The two DV charities that we will further consider for our donation are Shalom Task Force and the NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project.

Group Learning: Emily Highlights the Talmud's Views on Our Obligation to Give

The texts used in the discussion were Deuteronomy 15: 7-8; and Talmud Tractate Ketutbot 67B.

The question posed to the group was, "What does it mean to give charity to a person according to that person’s own need?"

R’ Hillel provided status of wealth as a form of charity for a formerly wealthy man, to give to him according to that man’s need. The text raised all types of questions about what it means to give charity to people other than impoverished people. Should we support formerly rich people to help them live as they are accustomed to live, or do we expect people to live according to modest standards? How do we justify giving charity to all types of organizations when there are truly impoverished people in the world? Does all charity need to go to the poorest people, or is there a value in supporting people and causes that deal with people from a variety of socio-economic circumstances?

Thanks to Emily for sparking some lively and very thought provoking debate.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Israel Charities

JPEG has completed its second round of charity discussions and has selected three Israeli charities we plan to consider further. Our top three Israeli charities are: Gesher, Shutaf), and Yad Eliezer.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Education Component: Amy teaches us about the nuances of giving.

At out most recent meeting JPEG member, Amy Schiller, facilitated a learning conversation about strategic philanthropy. This conversation served a dual role, giving us food for thought about how to be more strategic with our individual giving, as well providing us with a shared language about different philanthropic strategies as they relate to our group's grantmaking.

To illustrate her points, Amy shared two excerpts from Inspired Philanthropy, written by philanthropic advisor, Tracy Gary (www.inspiredlegacies.org).

Idea #1 Moving from "obligatory giving" to "inspired giving"

Here's the quick summary. Most of us give most of our charitable dollars to organizations we feel socially obligated to give to and give far less money to organizations we are most passionate about and which we believe have the power to be truly transformative.

Part of the process of us become more strategic in our individual giving involves turning this model upside down. This means investing the bulk of our philanthropic dollars with organizations we believe to be transformative and which we are most passionate about. Gifts we feel personally or socially obligated to make can still make the cut, but should be minimized.

Idea #2 Tracy Gary's Levels of Philanthropic Intervention

Needs Philanthropy (immediate and recurring needs)
Empowerment Philanthropy (empowers individuals to care for themselves)
Capacity-Building Philanthropy (expansion of services or growth of numbers served)
Systemic Philanthropy (develop systemic solutions to collective problems)

JPEG talked about the challenges and opportunities of each of the philanthropic levels. This shared language will be useful to us as we continue to evaluate prospective grantee organizations.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Education Charities

We have successfully narrowed down the education charities to which JPEG might donate. The two charities (down from eight) we are considering further are Jumpstart (www.jstart.org) and Citizen Schools (www.citizenschools.org)

JPEG Members

Our members come from a variety of backgrounds, levels of education, and professions. The diversity of the group brings with it a plurality of perspectives and ideas.

Rick Bettan is an Associate at Boies, Schiller, and Flexner, LLP. He received his undergraduate degree in 2001 from Brown University and a J.D. from University of Virginia in 2005. He is originally from Roslyn Heights, New York. Rick spent a year between college and law school doing political fundraising as Deputy Finance Director for Patrick Kennedy's successful 2002 re-election campaign.

Jonathan Horowitz, 25, is Program Manager of Matching Grants at the Jewish Funders Network. He received his B.A. from Brandeis University in 2006. He is originally from Silver Spring, MD. Jonathan once ghostwrote a book for boys on adolescence and Judaism, and researched the changing paradigms of masculinity in American Jewish literature for his senior honors essay.

Erica Lemansky, 25, is Assistant Director of NYU Special Sessions and Coordinator of NYU Precollege. She receive her Undergraduate degree in 2005 from Brandeis University and in 2007 she received an MA in Higher Education Administration and College Student Personnel from New York University. Erica is originally from Mt. Laurel, NJ. Outside of work, Erica is the Conference Co-Chair of Limmud NY's 2009 conference.

Emily Loubaton, 25, originally from Brooklyn, NY, is currently the Program Director of YouthBridge NY (www.youthbridgeny.org) at the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. She received her B.A. from Brandeis University in 2005 and a Masters in Public Administration from Baruch College in 2008. Aside from her involvement in Jewish communal service, she is also a makeup artist for special occasions and celebrations.

Donnie Phillips, 25, is a Private Equity Associate at a distressed private equity firm. He received his Undergraduate degree in 2005 from Brandeis University and a Masters in International Finance from Brandeis University in 2006. Donnie is originally from West Hempstead, NY. Stemming from his undergraduate studies, Donnie enjoys formal and informal discussions about philosophy of religion and religious experience.

Jessie Podell, originally from Caldwell, NJ, is an Actress and Director of Client Services at Bluewolf, an IT Consulting Firm. She received her Undergraduate degree in 2006 from Brandeis University. In addition to auditioning and her work at Bluewolf, Jessie serves as one of the advisers of Caldwell, NJ's USY Chapter.

Ella Perlis is an Associate Producer at CNN. She is originally from Cherry Hill, NJ and received her Undergraduate degree 2005 from Rutgers University. Ella is a volunteer at JASA and NY Cares. One of her hobbies is running.

Samantha Raizen, 25, is originally from Denver, Colorado. She graduated with B.A. form Brandeis University in 2005. She is currently working as as a Senior Account Strategist at Morpheus Media (a digital advertising agency). Look out for her on Sesame Street's "word of the day" program in the fall.

Raphi Rosenblatt just completed his two year stint as a Teach For America, NYC 2006 Corps member. He continues to teach mathematics at Herbert Lehman High School in the Bronx. He received his Undergraduate degree in 2006 from Brandeis University and is completing a Masters in Education at Pace University. He is originally from Gainesville, FL, but spent time living in Vienna, Austria, working for The United States Department of State at the United Nations. He does not speak German.

Amy Schiller is a Non-profit Fundraising Consultant at CCS. She received her Undergraduate degree from Brandeis University and is originally from Cleveland, OH. Amy has also worked in political organizing and opinion journalism, and has done the world's largest commercial bungee jump, in Stormsriver, South Africa.

Michelle Sherry, 26 is originally from Denver, CO and graduated from the University of Michigan in 2003. Michelle is one of those lucky people to have 2 first names and thus has decided to go by her last name instead of her first. She currently works as the Production Manager for Civic Entertainment Group, a marketing and event planning agency located in New York City.

Naomi Skop, 24, is originally from Merrick, New York. She graduated with a B.A. from Brandeis University in 2005 and received her Masters of Social Work from Hunter College in 2007. She is currently working as a therapist in a therapeutic nursery school, Lawrence F. Hickey School for Child Development, in the Bronx. Outside of her professional interest in working with underprivileged populations she volunteers helping to plan the children's camp program for Limmud NY.

Ruthie Warshenbrot, 25, is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina. She graduated with a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005. For the past three years, she has been working at Limmud NY (http://www.limmudny.org/), a volunteer-run conference of Jewish learning and culture. She was promoted to be its Director in May 2008. Her claim to fame is her publication in the NY Times Metropolitan Diary section documenting a flip-flop “incident.”