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Tzedakah |
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A CAUSE OF
DISSATISFACTION
What about giving to charity? I
would like to connect my giving to my Judaism but the Jewish Federation seems
to have as its priority the State of Israel and is ignoring agencies whose work
represent my priorities.
OUR EXPERIENCE
In the 70’s Ron was on the allocation committee of the local united way. While
society was changing, the same organizations received the same amounts each
year. The committee developed a needs survey for the community, prioritized the
needs, asked the agencies to submit program based budgets and invited groups in
the community to submit proposals to serve the prioritized needs. In the 90’s
Ron was on the board of the local Jewish federation which promoted a well
attended program for the community where input was requested about what those
in the Jewish community wanted. Unfortunately, the effort failed since the
leadership had no plans to take into account the desires of the community when
making decisions about how the funds contributed should be allocated.
Within our Havurah, some of our members formed a Tzedakah Cooperative.
Each month we made contributions and quarterly held meetings to decide on
allocations.
LET US HELP YOU
Let us help you form or join an
organization to collect and distribute gifts to needy individuals and groups.
While it may appear that the only option for giving to charity in the Jewish
world is through a local Jewish federation, that is not the case. There are
many worthwhile social and economic justice oriented organizations to choose
from. They support efforts in the areas such as healthcare, education,
employment, housing, civil rights and the environment both here and around the
world. There is much satisfaction to be found in giving money to organizations
whose work is consistent with your values and your beliefs. With our support,
you will:
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Discuss and consider your critical issues
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Recruit and bring together participants
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Choose an area of focus
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Find relevant reading material
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Locate organizations active in your priority area
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Set up guidelines for the first year
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Design, plan and hold the first meeting - the first step in attempting to
improve the situation for those who are supported by your donations.
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