The Case for Operational Support

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The Case for Operational Support

Amanda Mizrahi, program officer for Aish from the Mayberg Foundation, and Dan Hazony, Chief Information Officer of Aish, discuss why an operational framework for giving is so important. According to Mizrahi, outward signs of an organization’s major growth, like a new building or program, are flashy and fun, but they only work if they continue to stand on a strong foundation, which has to grow with the organization. “I would think that anyone who cares about the success of any nonprofit would want to understand the base’s stability before adding onto it,” she writes. “A new program that aligns with an organization and donors’ mission is exciting, but only if that success is sustainable because the organization’s baseline operations (fundraising, data, and communications) are all in good shape.”

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The Backstop: An Underused Tool for Overcoming the Chicken and Egg Challenge

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The Backstop: An Underused Tool for Overcoming the Chicken and Egg Challenge

In this piece by Rebecca Weisman, The Backstop: An Underused Tool for Overcoming the Chicken and Egg Challenge, she lays out a dilemma many nonprofits know all too well – the organization cannot secure funding until they launch the project, and at the same time, cannot start the project until they secure funding.

During moments of uncertainty, like a global pandemic, finding creative solutions to funding challenges is even more necessary.

Enter, a creative tool that the Mayberg Foundation found to be particularly effective in funding an initiative as an early investor and mitigating risk. The “backstop,” which was successfully implemented in its funding of the Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC), allowed the organization to build a track record while seeking other funding sources.

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Not Locked Up During Lockdown: Appreciating the Value of Volunteers

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Not Locked Up During Lockdown: Appreciating the Value of Volunteers

Rising Trustee of the Mayberg Foundation Yacova Mayberg explains why she, as part of a group of Israeli and international participants on a preparatory gap year program, went door to door in an Arab village during the climax of the global pandemic, offering support. The answer lies, she relates, in the “culture of the state of Israel and the value it places on volunteering.”

“I feel blessed to be involved with the Mayberg Foundation, which values collective effort and foundational Judaism,” she continues. “This means having an impact on communities we care about and on the world through our instilled Torah lens. I have had some incredible, expansive volunteer opportunities this past year, which further shape my understanding of philanthropy.”

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Looking Through a Multidimensional Philanthropic Lens

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Looking Through a Multidimensional Philanthropic Lens

After 21 years at The AVI CHAI Foundation, I am excited to begin the next stage of my career as the Mayberg Foundation Senior Advisor for Education Grants and Programs. It’s wonderful to be able to bring my experience to a new milieu, while at the same time have the opportunity to learn from and about different philanthropic models. After only a few weeks, I can already point to noteworthy variations in approaches.

Both AVI CHAI and the Mayberg Foundation believe that Jewish literacy is key to sustaining the next generation of Jews. It’s no surprise then that both foundations view Jewish day schools as an essential vehicle for imparting deep Jewish knowledge. Each focuses on acting as an agitating force for the improvement of the instruction of Jewish studies. Additionally, the Mayberg Foundation and AVI CHAI both demonstrate a respect for Jewish unity and Jews across the spectrum. It’s striking that despite these similarities in funding priorities, there are numerous differences in philanthropic practices:

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The Attitude of Gratitude

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The Attitude of Gratitude

Growing up I wanted to be a stewardess, an actress and a lawyer.  At no point did I ever think, say or strive to be a fundraiser. But since none of the eight women who founded the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project (JWRP) wanted to raise the money, I said I would try until we hired a professional.  That was 10 years ago, and although it has not been easy, what I have learned through fundraising changed my life forever, and how I have grown far outweighs any of the challenges.

One of the biggest lessons is gratitude.  The greatest philanthropists I ask to invest in our movement are the ones who after I thank them for giving say, “No, thank you.  Thank you for giving me the opportunity.”

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Philanthropy and Nonprofits: One Sector, Not Two

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Philanthropy and Nonprofits: One Sector, Not Two

I have had the dual privilege of making my living working in the world of Jewish philanthropy and, previously, putting in substantial time raising funds for and managing Jewish nonprofit organizations. The work -- and the work environment -- can be so incredibly different between philanthropic foundations and charitable organizations.  It seems we often lose sight of the fact that the funders and the funded are flip sides of the very same coin, all pursuing the same public good with private resources and voluntary actions.

The philanthropic and nonprofit sector occupies a unique place in civil society, one that addresses the many unmet human needs that neither government nor commercial activity can adequately fulfill. In pre-American, European societies, these needs were frequently met by state religious institutions. Today’s nonprofit and philanthropic world is characterized by a sometimes uneasy balance of the unbridled passions of volunteerism and the attempted efficacies of institutionalized and professionalized organizations. We can rightly take credit for many great accomplishments even as we plead guilty to recurring charges of inefficiency, waste, amateurism and occasionally out-and-out fraud.

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