Jewish Federations of North America
Non-profit organization located in Canada and the United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), formerly the United Jewish Communities (UJC),[5] is an American Jewish umbrella organization for the Jewish Federations system, representing over 141 local Federations and hundreds of smaller independent Jewish communities across North America that raise and distribute over $2 billion annually, including through planned giving and endowment programs, to support social welfare, social services and educational needs. Jewish Federations also provides fundraising, organization assistance, training, and overall leadership to the Jewish Federations and communities throughout the United States and Canada. JFNA's government advocacy and community relations work focus on building the social safety net, protecting minority rights, combatting antisemitism and other forms of hate, providing security to the Jewish community and other at-risk faith groups, and other priorities. It operates a flagship public affairs office in Washington, DC.[6] The Federation movement protects and enhances the well-being of Jews worldwide through the values of tikkun olam, tzedakah and Torah.[citation needed]
 | |
| Abbreviation | JFNA |
|---|---|
| Formation | January 31, 1935[1] |
| Tax ID no. | 13-1624240 |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization |
| Headquarters | New York City |
Region served | North America |
President and CEO | Eric D. Fingerhut[2] |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Revenue | $279 million[4] (2023) |
| Expenses | $283 million (2023) |
| Website | jewishfederations |
Formerly called | |
JFNA was formed from the merger of the United Jewish Appeal (UJA), Council of Jewish Federations, and the United Israel Appeal. The organization hosts an annual General Assembly event for the broad North American Jewish community.[7]
Local Jewish Federations are secular Jewish non-profit organizations found within many metropolitan areas across the United States with a significant Jewish community. They provide supportive and human services, philanthropy, financial grants to refugees around the world, humanitarian and disaster relief, host leadership conferences and fellowship opportunities for women and youth, charitable drives, help those in need navigate comprehensive resources, and provide outreach to at-risk Jewish populations in 70 countries worldwide, and more.[8] Jewish Federations, which often serve to represent their Jewish communities, provide support for a wide network of Jewish communal institutions, such as Jewish Community Centers, Jewish schools, Jewish daycare, Jewish family services, Jewish Summer Camps, Hillels, Moishe House, and Israel-related organizations such as Birthright, as well as providing their own direct programming. They have three international core partners: The Jewish Agency for Israel, The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and World ORT, for which the Federations system provides the largest amount of unrestricted funding each year. While the Jewish Federation was created to primarily service Jewish communities, they also provide for other communities. All federations in North America operate an annual central campaign, then allocate the proceeds to affiliated local agencies.[9]
History
Starting in 1654, when the first Jewish communal settlement in New Amsterdam (modern-day New York) began despite Governor Peter Stuyvesant's attempts to ban the first Jewish people in North America from the settlement (until he would be overruled), and for the next 250 years; the Jewish community promised local governments they would not become a burden, by taking care of their own community. Throughout this period, as the Jewish community continued to grow in what would become the United States, they "established synagogues, burial societies, credit unions, and Hebrew youth societies in dozens of cities before there was a single federation."
According to Historian, Donald Feldstein in The Jewish Federation: The First Hundred Years:
″There is no single source where one can find a comprehensive history of the Jewish Federation in North America...The first Jewish Federation in the United States was founded in Boston in 1895, another was organized in Cincinnati, Ohio, and within several years federations sprung up around the country wherever there were significant Jewish communities."
The founding philosophies of the first Jewish Federations in America were based in secularism, but deeply influenced by Jewish tradition, like Hesed (loving kindness); and organized like the Kehilla, a communal organization found in diverse regions throughout Eastern Europe at the time; created to meet the welfare needs of Jewish communities in an inclusive and comprehensive way. However, unlike the Kehilla, which were usually formed under the authority of local governments to collect taxes from the Jewish community in support of services, the Jewish Federation in the United States has always been fully autonomous.[9]61-62
The first Jewish federation was founded in Boston in 1895 as Associated Jewish Philanthropies.[9][10] Cincinnati formed its federation, United Jewish Social Agencies, the next year. Chicago founded its federation in 1900 followed by St. Louis.[10] Federations were soon formed in many other cities with large Jewish populations. Initially (1895-1945) the federation system was focused on welfare needs of individual Jews with the goal of integrating them into the US. The Jewish federations inspired the 1913 formation of the forerunner of the United Way, the community chest in Cleveland, Ohio.[9]
Council of Jewish Federations (1932-1999)
The National Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds was formed in 1932 as the umbrella organization for Jewish federations in the United States.[11] "National" was dropped from the name in 1935 and "Welfare Funds" was removed in 1979 to become the Council of Jewish Federations (CJF).[12]
United Jewish Appeal (1939-1999)
 | |
| Abbreviation | UJA |
|---|---|
| Formation | January 1939 |
| Founder | Arthur Loewengart.[13] |
| Type | Non-Profit organization |
| Headquarters | New York City, U.S. |
The United Jewish Appeal for Refugees and Overseas Needs (UJA) was founded in January 1939 to combine the efforts of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), led by Rabbi Jonah Wise; the United Israel Appeal led by Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver; and the National Coordinating Committee Fund led by William Rosenwald. Its founders emphasized that the worsening crisis facing European Jewish people in Europe and Palestine would require three to four times the funds raised in the previous year. Under the unified campaign, each organization retained its distinct responsibilities: the JDC focused on aid to Jewish people in Europe; the United Israel Appeal supported the Jewish community in Israel, including incoming refugees; and the National Coordinating Committee Fund assisted refugees arriving in the United States.[14]
United Jewish Communities
In 1999, the UJA, CJF, and United Israel Appeal merged to create United Jewish Communities. Amid declining influence and a shift toward donor-directed philanthropy, local federations gained greater control, selecting two-thirds of the new board. Philanthropist Charles Bronfman became volunteer chairman, leading the organization's strategic planning.[15]
Jewish Federations of North America
In October 2009, the UJC was renamed the Jewish Federations of North America,[16] and many local federations subsequently adopted variations of its new logo.[17]
After a couple of years of lower staff layoffs in February 2010, new CEO Jerry Silverman laid off three senior vice presidents that made an estimated $750,000 to $1 million combined.[18] JFNA declined to run the decennial National Jewish Population Survey in 2010 due to re-prioritizing.[19]
In 2022, the JFNA pressured the Jewish Council for Public Affairs to fold their organization into a larger organization and mute its progressive politics or to break away and lose funding from dozens of Jewish federations across the United States. The organization refused to mute or repudiate their progressive politics, choosing independence and losing their ability to speak for 16 Jewish national organizations and 125 Jewish "community relations councils", almost all of which are part of local federations.[20]
After the October 7 attacks, JFNA launched the largest emergency campaign in its history, raising $908 million for Israel, with JFNA allocating $235 million. The largest share of donations went to the Jewish Agency, the Joint Distribution Committee, and non-profits in the Gaza Envelope.[21][22]
In December 2024, JFNA announced it opposed the reestablishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza.[23]
According to The Forward, a common refrain at the November 2025 General Assembly conference was a greater emphasis on "Jewish education, Zionist identity, and Torah learning", according to Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.[24] Clips from the conference went viral, including a clip where The Free Press journalist Olivia Reingold argued that portrayals of Palestinian children starving due to the Gaza Strip famine were misleading due to them having pre-existing conditions and remarks by Sarah Hurwitz where she argued that Holocaust education was incorrectly teaching people to "fight the big, powerful people hurting the weak people".[25]
Structure
Each federation within JFNA is autonomous from federations of other cities and they tend to focus on local concerns.[9] The federations typically have elected boards or trustees that are accountable to the community, paid staff, and volunteer leadership. Originally, the federations operated on volunteer only basis, but quickly turned to professional staffs. They engage in centralized planning for the needs of the local community, and may provide centralized administrative services for their constituent agencies.[9]
Depending on the size of the community, the federation may provide services directly or fund another agency to provide that function. For example, the federation may have a local as an arm or function, if not provided by a separate federation funded agency.[9]
Community Relations Council
Most local federations are either affiliated with or host a local Jewish Community Relations Council, which deals with local antisemitism, Holocaust education support, and inter-religious or interracial community functions and organizations.[9]70-71 Depending on local preferences, the JCRC may be volunteer or professionally-staffed, and may have varying degrees of structural separateness from the federation itself.
Fundraising and spending
Federations raise money for central, local campaigns that support the organizations of the entire local Jewish community.[9] Historically, with a number of Jewish institutions running their own fundraising campaigns, Jewish communities leadership felt it could be more efficient to instead have a single campaign that could centralize gift-making.
Between 30 and 50 percent of Jewish households in the United States typically contribute to their local federation.[9] Jfeds also raise money for the national United Jewish Appeal campaign that sends funding overseas and may combine the Federation annual and United Jewish Appeal into one campaign.[12] The federations or the federation system may hold special campaigns in addition to the annual campaign.[26]
Federation spending and efforts have adapted as the need for particular social services has changed—for example, from Jewish orphanage work in the early twentieth century to retirement homes in the late twentieth century.[9]
More than half of all funds raised by federations are earmarked for various local Jewish social service agencies, with the largest single allocation to Jewish education, typically constituting 25 percent.[9] After education, Jewish community centers, the local Jewish family and child services, homes for the aged, and campus Hillels are the next largest recipients of financial support. In some communities were the federation does not provide the service, a Jewish vocational service agency is usually funded to provide job related services.[9]
As an example, in 2008, the Overnight Camp Incentive Program provided grant money to 18 campers to attend Pinemere Camp. The program is a joint project of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, the Foundation for Jewish Camp, and the Neubauer Family Foundation.[27][28][29] The program provided grants of $750 to $1,250.[27] The majority of the Pinemere campers who received grants chose to return the following summer.[27]
Super Sunday
A significant feature of the annual federation campaign is the annual Super Sunday, a day designated for community-wide phone banking, seeking contributions from members of the community.[30] The fundraising event is held by many of the 155 Jewish federations located in North America. The phone-a-thons are typically expected to raise most of the budget for the federation and its constituent agencies and organizations.
The name "Super Sunday" is borrowed from the American football usage for the day on which the Super Bowl is played. Impliedly, the Super Sunday phone-a-thon is also the major annual event for the federation, as Super Sundays play a large role in the life of the local Jewish community. The results of a Super Sunday can have a major impact on the contribution intake of any particular federation, and thus can have a domino effect on the various entities that receive federation funding, such as social service organization, classes, scholarships, and family care. The success of Super Sunday holds substantial weight, as it directly influences the contribution intake for the federation.
Some of the largest and most visible Super Sundays occur in the major urban areas with large Jewish concentrations, such as Los Angeles and New York, but also through smaller federations, such as Seattle and Minneapolis. Super Sunday was created by Jerry Dick of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington in 1980.
Role in community
Jewish federations can wield a sizable degree of influence in the Jewish communities in which they are located.[31] Many of the local federations hold annual fundraising drives that are expected to raise most of the next year's budgeting for many community programs.[31] In return, in many communities the agencies which receive funding from the federation agree not to engage in major fundraising for themselves for a number of months often called the "primacy period" when the local federation's fundraising has primacy. Decisions made by the local federations can have a great impact on the community,[9] including the opening or closing of programs, staff hirings and firings, and land purchases and sales.
Jewish family and child services
Jewish Family and Child Services (JFCS) is usually the general social service agency supported by the local federation.[9] A JFCS may have other names like Jewish Family Services, Jewish Family & Children's Service, Jewish Family & Community Services, Jewish Community Services, or other derivatives. Similar to the federation, a JFCS may be a part of the federation, the only Jewish service agency in a community, or may be several separate agencies.[32]
Campaigns
LiveSecure Campaign
Due to The Tree of Life Pittsburgh synagogue shooting in 2018, the LiveSecure Campaign was launched to ensure that every Federation community had a full-time security professional to coordinate with every Jewish institution and liaise with law enforcement. [33]
In 2021, JFNA announced the $54 million LiveSecure campaign, but ultimately raised $62 million which brought the entire campaign to $130 million when added to local matching grants.[34][35]
As a result of the campaign, more than 130 communities have professional security program in place, helping protect synagogues, schools, JCCs, and other Jewish institutions, overseen by the JFNA's Secure Community Network.[36] Beyond physical security, Federations are investing heavily in community resilience, recognizing the rising financial and psychological burden on Jewish life.
JFNA activities
Walk With Israel
The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto organizes the annual Walk With Israel, a pro-Israel fundraising and solidarity two-to-three-mile walk first held in May 1970 as the "Walk for Jewish Survival". The original event was a 22-mile walk that raised funds for the UJA-Israel Special Fund, and UJA later described it as the largest single community event in Jewish Toronto, with proceeds designated for Israel.[37] In the 2020s, the walk drew renewed media attention because of large attendance, pro-Palestinian counter-protests, and heightened police security; in 2026, organizers estimated more than 60,000 participants, while Toronto police reported six arrests at or near the event.[38] The Toronto walk is the largest pro-Israel event in North America, larger than New York's Israel Day Parade, and is the largest annual pro-Israel rally outside of Israel.[39]
National Jewish Population Survey
JFNA administered the National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS), a decennial census of the Jewish community in the United States. The 1990 survey indicated that the intermarriage rate was 52 percent, a claim questioned by demographers. The 2000-2001 edition of the NJPS used a different survey method, cost $6 million, and the data was lost. JFNA did not fund the 2010 survey due to re-prioritizing given decreased revenue given its limited direct benefits to local federations.[19]
JFNA helps direct hundreds of millions of dollars annually for Jewish programming and organizes an annual conference that is one of the largest gatherings of Jewish professionals in the world.[24]
Jewish DataBank
In 1986, CJF established the North American Jewish Data Bank in conjunction with City University of New York's Center for Jewish Studies.[40] The Databank's purpose is to serve as a repository and to standardize research methods for academic studies and surveys about Jewish community. In 2004, the Databank moved to the University of Connecticut under the direction of scholar Arnold Dashefsky.[41]
