Happy hanukkah! Jewish nonprofits were hit hard by the Madoff scandal, with dozens of organizations losing millions of raised funds which were invested in the money managers $50 billion Ponzi scheme. UJA-Federation, one of the largest Jewish nonprofits, did not have money invested with Madoff thanks to strict oversight policies, but a recent Jerusalem Post article points out that the organization is still having to work hard to get donations in this chaotic time, so small donors are a big target.
From the article:
“Response rates for telephone, mail and on-line appeals – targeting people giving less than $1,000 – have increased dramatically, though the average donation has gone down to $110 from $118 last year, said Leslie Lichter, the UJA’s executive director of direct marketing. The organization took a page from US President-elect Barack Obama’s hugely successful campaign fundraising playbook and suggested smaller donation amounts – $18 and $36 instead of $54 – to attract people who were feeling strapped.
‘We’re asking for less money, but we’ve seen that you can raise more money in smaller amounts from more people,’ Lichter told the Post.”
