Federations prepare to launch ‘new era’ with merger

NEW YORK -- When representatives of nearly 200 North American Jewish federations meet in Washington after Passover, they will celebrate the start of what is being called "a new era in Jewish community life."

The merger of the Council of Jewish Federations, the United Jewish Appeal and the United Israel Appeal has been over five years in the making, and it promises to change the way North American Jews go about the business of raising funds and providing services to communities at home and abroad.

"In many ways, this is not really a merger; it's three existing organizations voting themselves out of business," said Jeffrey Solomon, the president of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, who has been serving as a consultant to the creation of the new entity.

The change is "not as profound as the Iron Curtain coming down, but it has the same feeling," Solomon added. With local Jewish federations taking ownership of the central fund-raising structure, the control will be "closer to the people and to the marketplace."

Representatives of federations and national agencies say the groundwork has been laid for the creation of a new entity that will raise funds more efficiently and effectively -- last year, federations raised $760 million for local and overseas needs -- and will closely represent the concerns and desires of the local communities.

On Monday, in a conference call, the CJF approved the merger. The vote represented the final organizational approval required for the union. But the kickoff party for the new entity, scheduled for Sunday through Tuesday in Washington, may be a bit premature.

The merger is still very much a work in progress, with salient details still to be determined, approved and put in place:

*Name: The new entity has been operating under the title "Newco" -- a legal term applied to any new, as-yet-unnamed company -- until federations select an official name. Four names tested by a marketing consultant -- United Jewish Appeal, United Jewish Alliance, United Jewish Action and United Jewish Communities -- have not passed muster so far with federations. Whether a new name, which must be determined before the organization can become a legal entity, will be unveiled at this month's meeting is still unclear.

*Focus: Reflecting the programming and funding concerns that have emerged in the past decade, the new entity's mission will be built on four platforms -- Jewish Renaissance and Renewal, Israel/Overseas, Health and Social Policy, and Financial Resource and Development.

*New leadership: The chairman of the entity's board, Charles Bronfman, and the chairman of the executive committee, Joel Tauber, went straight to work following their elections in February. But the search for a chief professional officer continues.

*Structure: As they assume ownership of the new entity, federations will gain substantial representation in governing bodies, including a super majority in the 550-member delegate assembly and majority representation -- 68 percent -- in its 120-member board of trustees. A 25-member executive committee will oversee daily operations.

This systemwide change "will serve as a catalyst for us to engage much more actively on a regional and national level," said Michael Novick, the executive vice president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle.

"As owners, we'd better be at the table" to discuss "how to respond to the challenges" of contemporary Jewish life, he said in a telephone interview.

"Otherwise, I don't think we're serious about it."

Legally, the merger is set to be completed this summer, culminating nearly six years of tension over who would control the new entity, who would be represented by it and what its relationship to Israel and the rest of world Jewry would be.

Perhaps the most significant shift -- and one of the most contentious issues in designing the merger -- will change the way the North American Jewish community funds overseas needs.

In the past, local federations have determined what percent of their raised funds would be sent to the United Jewish Appeal. The UJA, according to predetermined formulas, in turn channeled moneys to the Jewish Agency for Israel through the United Israel Appeal, while overseas moneys for other destinations flowed through the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

While UIA will be officially part of the merged entity, its board and that of the JDC agreed to give up ownership of the UJA.

Under the new system, representatives of the JDC and the Jewish Agency are expected to have three seats each on the committee that will determine overseas funding. But the majority of the 25 seats on the overseas needs assessment and distribution committee will be filled by federation representatives.

This would give federations not only a new voice in the process, but the dominant one at that.

Most of the federations that signed off on the merger plans have done so with a great deal of enthusiasm.

"We feel relieved now that, at least, we have a say," Robert Goldberg, the president of the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, said recently.

"The new organization will be owned by us," he added, echoing the view of many. "Before we felt sort of disenfranchised."