March 24, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
On his Fundermentalist blog, Jacob Berkman is covering the annual meeting of the Jewish Funders Network, which he says is focusing on how donors can support innovative efforts.
“It almost in a sense feels like one big dare to the funders here to fund outside-of-the-box projects,” he writes on his blog, which is operated by the JTA, a Jewish news service. “One could question whether that is the right approach to take during a recession, when funds are tight and traditional charitable projects are seeing an increase in need and demand for services. I’ll let you make that call.”
During the St. Petersburg, Fla., conference Mr. Berkman has attended panels about how charitable groups should generate money and other resources to survive long-term and how donors say no to grant seekers during the recession.
Mr. Berkman also writes that Mark Charendoff, president of the Jewish Funders Network, suggested that during the tough economic times Jewish philanthropists should focus their giving on three causes: Jewish literacy, fighting anti-Semitism and advancing Jewish “people hood,” and Jewish service.
