Published: 28 June 2018
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Jews in Australia have consistently been at the forefront of both philanthropy and advocating for human rights. I feel immensely proud of this fact. Our community has built a solid Jewish not-for-profit infrastructure. Wonderful organisations such as Jewish Care have long looked after the community’s needy.
There are 16 Jewish schools, dozens of synagogues, and three excellent museums. Powerhouses like the United Israel Appeal, Jewish National Fund and WIZO continue to work tirelessly to support worthy causes in Israel, and the Jewish Communal Appeal in Sydney provides the fuel to 22 constituent organisations.
The Major Jewish families are synonymous with incredibly generous giving across a spectrum of worthwhile causes. Walk into any hospital, university or museum and there are bound to be sponsorship boards featuring Jewish names. Many of these families arrived in this country as refugees from Europe with the shirts on their backs and built large business empires.
They also built synagogues, Jewish schools and Jewish welfare organisations. Giving back is at the core of their philanthropic goals. The Gen 17 survey results showed that 78% of all respondents indicated that “donating money to charity” is important to their own sense of Jewish identity.
The question facing our community today, however, is whether the next generation will continue to support Jewish institutions? Does Gen X and Y have the same commitment to building and supporting Jewish life that their parents and grandparents had?
This next generation of philanthropists has grown up in a vastly different world to that of their grandparents and even parents. They have not experienced genocidal anti-Semitism or lived in a world without Israel. They live in an era of individualism, secularism, and materialism and in this atmosphere, religious and ethnic identities are very difficult to nurture and cultivate. This will inevitably impact their charitable giving.
When Gen 17 respondents were asked which type of charitable causes they prioritise; 45% indicated “Jewish charities in Australia”, 23% prioritise “general charities in Australia and 19% indicate ‘Israel charities”. Not surprisingly, the older and more religious respondents were, the more likely it was they prioritise Israel and Jewish related causes; the younger they were, the more likely they are to prioritise overseas aid.
We are about to experience the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of mankind. What does this mean, particularly for the Jewish community who are among the most prosperous? Will the next gen continue the giving legacies and strategies of their parents and grandparents, or do they want to go in new directions?
While they may have a more global view of the world, having a thriving Jewish community is still a priority for many emerging philanthropists, and Jewish communal organisations need to lift our game to ensure that we are engaging our donors in meaningful ways. I’ve been fundraising in the community for the last 10 years and these are some of the trends I’ve noticed:
- We have officially moved beyond focusing on traditional “cheque book philanthropy” to a focus on more “hands on philanthropy”. The donors want to be involved in the programs and see the impact first hand.
- The donors want their gift to make a meaningful difference, and demand accountability and measurable results, and often want to leverage the commitment with giving from others. The emergence of giving circles is an exciting trend.
- This generation is far less likely to define its philanthropy from a sense of self-taxation, responsibility or guilt. They will give to causes that resonate with their values, and to organisations that are transparent and have strong leadership. In the US, donations to Federations has reduced by almost 40% over the last 25 years, while targeted giving has increased significantly.
- Donors want to know what the organisation is doing to be more financially sustainable. They are interested in organisations who are developing income-generating initiatives that will help fund aspects of the community work.
As with any set of challenges, these trends represent enormous opportunity. Organisations need to be agile, innovative, strategic, and tell a compelling story. They cannot expect donations will just keep coming, but rather need to engage their donors with stories and statistics about the impact being achieved with the dollars raised.
Fundraising is about relationships, and next gen donors will not give if they are called once a year. I am hopeful the Jewish communal sector will continue to thrive and that community organisations will step up to the challenge of engaging the next generation of givers.
