Jewish Federation raises more than $23.6M through UJA annual campaign

WHIPPANY, NJ — Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ recently announced that, thanks to the generosity of many community donors, it has exceeded its projections and raised a total of $23.6 million, an increase from last year’s total, in its United Jewish Appeal 2018 campaign. This amount includes more than $20.6 million in unrestricted gifts and nearly $3 million in designated gifts.

“I am so proud to work with such a passionate and dedicated team of professionals and lay leaders,” UJA Campaign Chairman Ira Steinberg said in a press release. “The increase in our campaign this year is a direct result of our collective effort and commitment to innovative strategies and to focus on welcoming new donors, reconnecting with lost donors and inspiring long-time donors to reach new levels. We are definitely moving the campaign needle in a positive direction and I am beyond optimistic that we are well positioned to achieve even greater success in 2019.”

This year’s campaign numbers include gifts from 9,576 donors, including more than 1,000 new and recovered gifts. The average gift increase was up 1.6 percent from last year. The women’s campaign raised more than $6.8 million, including double the number of new and recovered Lion of Judah gifts — $5,000 or more — and a gift-for-gift increase of 5.3 percent.

“I feel a tremendous sense of pride in the relationships we’ve built and the money we’ve raised in Women’s Philanthropy,” outgoing Women’s Philanthropy President Rebecca A. Gold said in the release. “We’ve been nurturing a culture of warmth and inclusivity, working to maintain and attract new donors for years, and in this campaign year we really hit a sweet spot. I’m confident that this remarkable group of donors, volunteers and leaders in Women’s Philanthropy will continue to flourish in the coming years.”

Thanks to the increase in dollars raised, Federation’s Unified Allocations Council has been able to allocate even more to the local and international programs it supports, as well as the programs and services Federation offers, impacting the lives of even more individuals this year.

“We have focused on reaching out to more and more members of our Greater MetroWest Jewish community to let them know about the important work that Federation and our partner agencies are doing. They understand the role we play in caring for those in need, building a strong foundation for the future of our community and literally saving lives,” Federation President Scott Krieger said in the release. “What we do and what we accomplish, we all do together. Part of our educational process is to demonstrate Federation’s power to leverage dollars raised to achieve the greatest impact for the greatest good. Promoting such understanding achieves greater results.”

  Jewish Federation of MetroWest