THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND

In 2007, Jewish National Fund (JNF) donors helped make a tangible
difference in the lives of the people of Israel. The JNF website
(http://www.jnf.org/) highlights its major accomplishments in the
areas of water management, education, community development,
environmental preservation. Following are some of these accomplishments:

JNF’s Work for People with Disabilities: The JNF-Elizabeth and
William Shatner Therapeutic Riding Consortium for Israel made its
first distributions, giving out about $200,000 to 15 therapeutic
horseback riding programs throughout Israel.

Preserving Israel’s History: Construction of JNF’s Wall of Honor at
Ammunition Hill is well underway. Money raised for the wall --
established to honor Jewish servicemen and women worldwide --
will fund ongoing renovations to the battle site and museum at this
historic location of the pivotal battle in the 1967 Six-Day War that
enabled Israeli paratroopers to reunify Jerusalem under Jewish rule
for the first time in 2,000 years.

Water Management: Six new reservoirs were adopted by
communities across the U.S. JNF’s network of 200 reservoirs
(and counting!) has increased Israel’s water supply by 10% and
provides water to 1.5 million Israelis every day.

Education: JNF’s Caravan for Democracy prepares Jewish
high school and college students for the anti-Israel sentiment
they will face on campus. The program empowers teens with
concrete skills, advocacy training and the ability to respond to
anti-Israel rhetoric in an intelligent and informed manner.
In 2007, JNF brought 50 prominent Israeli speakers to over
30 college campuses across the country in 2007. Speakers
included Dr. Ra’anan Gissin, Alan Dershowitz, Dr. Yossi Olmert,
Arnon Perlman, and Ido Aharoni.

CHARITY NAVIGATOR RATING: 4-stars (the highest rating)
This rating placing the Jewish National Fund in an elite group
of only 15% of American charities that have received this
designation two years in a row. Based on JNF’s 2006 990 tax
return, Charity Navigator gave JNF a 4-star organizational
efficiency rating and a 4-star organizational capacity rating.
82% of its revenue was used to pay for program expenses,
8% of its revenue was used to pay for administrative expenses,
and 9% of its revenue was used to pay for fundraising expenses.
Its net assets are $42,542,575. Compensation for its CEO,
Russell Robinson, was $329,427. This amount is 0.85% of its expenses.

The Jewish National Funds also meets all of the 20 standards of the
Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance (BBB).

Next week's blog: Donor Advised Funds

JEWISH PHILANTHROPY FACTS

Gary Tobin and Aryeh Weinberg recently published “A Study of
Jewish Foundations” for the Institute for Jewish and Community
Research. Their study was based on the foundations’ most recently
filed tax returns (either 2004 or 2005.)

For Definitional purposes, a “Jewish Foundation” is a foundation
established by a Jew without taking into account the individual’s
level of practice or identity.

Of the 100 largest foundations in the United States, eight were
founded by Jews.

Total assets of Jewish foundations is about $17 billion.

There are two Jewish foundations with assets of more than
$2 billion, the Annenberg Foundation and the Harry and
Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

In either 2004 or 2005 (depending on which was their most
recently filed tax return), Jewish foundations made grants
totaling $1.2 billion.

Most Jewish foundations gave most of their grants and a majority
of their dollars to non-Jewish causes and institutions:
21% of total dollars went to Jewish organizations
79% of total dollars went to non-Jewish organizations.

40% gave their largest grant to Jewish organizations
60% gave their largest grant to non-Jewish organizations

The Annenberg Foundation is the largest Jewish foundation
with total assets of $2.6 billion. It awarded grants totaling
$256,384,000 of which 0% went to Jewish organizations.

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation is the second
largest Jewish foundation with total asset of $2 billion. It
awarded grants totaling $98,674,000 of which 52% went to
Jewish organizations. It gave more in total dollars to
Jewish organizations than any other Jewish foundation.

The Avi Chai Foundation has total assets of $649 million. It
awarded grants totaling $38,774,000 of which 98% went to
Jewish organizations.

The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation has total assets of $67 million.
It awarded grants of $2,915,000 million of which 100% went to
Jewish organizations.

The Steinhardt Philanthropies have total assets of $15 million. It
awarded grants of $15,076,000 of which 58% went to Jewish organizations.

The Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies have total assets
of $17 million. It awarded grants of $882,000 of which 92% went
to Jewish organizations.

The Soros Fund Charitable Foundation has total assets of $96 million.
It awarded grants of $4,258,000 of which 1% went to Jewish organizations.

GUIDESTAR: A Free, Public Database of the Federal 990 Tax Returns of Non-profit Organizations

Guidestar is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that was founded in 1994. Its mission is “to revolutionize philanthropy and non-profit practice by providing information that advances transparency, enables users to make better decisions, and encourages charitable giving.” Guidestar accomplishes its mission by providing a free public website, www.guidestar.org.

As the nation’s leading source of financial information of non-profit organizations, Guidestar provides visitors to its website with information about the programs and finances of 1.5 million non-profit organizations with revenues greater than $1 million. It provides visitors with the actual Federal 990 tax return that each non-profit must file each year. In 2006, there were 7.9 million visitors to the Guidestar website.

For a fee, Guidestar provides instantaneous reports detailing the financial information of specific non-profit organizations. These reports provide information on the non-profit’s income, assets and expenses. The reports also provide easy to read charts and graphs that reveal trends in the non-profit’s finances.

As philanthropy has become a $300 billion a year business, Guidestar promotes the effective allocation of society’s resources. It believes that the most effective decisions are made when donors, foundations, researchers, educators, governing agencies, and the media use the high quality information provided by Guidestar. By gathering information and securing the collaboration of non-profit organizations, foundations, and government agencies, Guidestar has created a one-stop philanthropy information kiosk.


Next Week’s Blog: How to analyze the Federal 990 tax return of non-profit organizations.