JCC Rockland Teen Leadership Initiative

April 1, 2014

JCF’s Impact• Each year, JCF makes a Community Gift of

$2 million to UJA-Federation of NY • $10 million has been awarded from JCF’s

Special Gifts Fund since 1999 to dozens of Jewish communal organizations • JCF donors grant more than $250 million

annually to charities in all sectors

Educational ResourcesJCF provides seminars, guidebooks, webinars and online resources to help people be more strategic and have greater impact with their philanthropy:• Teen Tzedakah Guide• Your Jewish Philanthropy Roadmap• JCF Roadmap – Start Your Journey Conversation Cards• JCF Legacy Scrapbook & Guidebook

Goals for this session:

•Create an evaluation rubric•Learn how to research charities•Discover tools to help you be more thoughtful with your own charitable giving

Who said this?“To give away money is an easy matter…and in any man’s power. But to decide to whom to give it, and how large and when, for what purpose and how, is neither in every man’s power nor an easy matter. Hence it is that such excellence is rare, praiseworthy and noble.”

Share an example of a time when you had to make a

decision about where to give tzedakah (charity).

What did you decide and why?

Ways to evaluate charities:

•Review grant application• Look at charity’s website/materials• Site visits• Interviews with

staff/volunteers/recipients• Look at charity’s financial health

Research Charities Online

•Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org) •GuideStar (www.guidestar.org)•Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org/us/charity-reviews)

How to Read a 990

• If an organization is doing important work but its finances are a mess, your donation may be mishandled.• Every public charity files a form 990

with the IRS which can tell you about its financial health

Exercise: Sharsheret’s 990

•What % of donation goes to charitable purposes? (Should be at least 60%)• Is the charity in good financial health?•What is the organization’s mission?•What programs are in place to achieve

these goals?• How do they measure effectiveness?• How long has the organization been in

existence?

Why an evaluation rubric?

•Common set of questions to ask of all organizations levels the playing field•Choose grantee more objectively, less because of emotion

Articulate a Mission Statement

We, the JCC Rockland Teen Leadership Initiative, will support an organization that:___________________________________________________________________________

Grant Application Evaluation Qs

•What is the purpose/mission of the program?•What need does it address? What

would happen if it didn’t exist?•How many people will benefit? •Who will benefit?•Does the project’s budget seem

appropriate?

More questions• How great is the need this project

addresses?• How feasible is this project?•Will this program have a measurable

and sustained impact?• Does the budget/financials seem

appropriate?• Do you have confidence in the

applicants’ ability to carry out this program successfully?

Questions?Tamar Snyder

Associate Director, Strategic Initiatives & Communications

212.752.8277 ext. 231tamar@jcfny.org