With only about 10 days to go before Shavuot, I find myself thinking a lot about… cheesecake. But I also look forward to the simplicity of preparing for this chag, as compared with the overwhelming tumult of Pesach. The fact is, the two holidays are not that far apart: the Jewish calendar has actually been moving us toward Shavuot ever since we finished singing L’Shanah Ha’baah B’Yerushalayim at the end of the second Seder when we began counting the omer.

This tradition, known in Hebrew as sefirat ha’omer, commands us to count each and every one of the 49 days between Pesach and Shavuot—literally, to announce them and bless them. As these days wind down, I’ve been reflecting on the freedom to pull back and look at the bigger Jewish picture.  Now, how does this relate to endowment and legacy giving? That’s easy.

Endowment and legacy giving takes the fundamental mantra of “make each day count” one critical step further. It presents an extraordinary opportunity to “make even the days after count.” 

Let’s be clear: you might not be able to work sefirat ha’omer into a solicitation on your first try, but give this a shot… dust off your old elevator speech, highlight the transformative power of endowment giving, and engage your prospects in a new way. Start off by asking them about their “a-ha moment”—the instant they realized the essential value and necessity of investing in a Jewish day school education. Once that emotional connection has been made, chances are the donor will feel empowered to leave a legacy. An endowment and legacy gift enables them to:

• transmit their most cherished values and beliefs to the next generation,
• bestow this unparalleled education upon others,
• invest in the next generation of Jewish leaders,
• provide for the future of these excellent academic institutions,
• influence the Jewish community,
• inspire others to do the same, and
• link the history of the Jewish people with the future of the Jewish people (from one generation to the next generation… L’Dor V’Dor…which just happens to be the name of PEJE’s national endowment recognition society.  

 Now, here’s a seasonal challenge for development: When counting the omer each day (only 10 days left!) and reflecting on what is important in your life, spend a moment thinking of an additional reason why an endowment and legacy gift has the power to make our lives count for so much. You can reward yourself with a big piece of cheesecake when Shavuot arrives; it’s much tastier than Pesach sponge cake. Please share your declarations in the comments section—I’m counting on you!

 
Francine Shron carries a varied PEJE portfolio that includes program management for the endowment and legacy team.

2012 has seen the release of a number of regional Jewish day school tuition grant programs. While these programs vary in terms of how they’re funded, who qualifies, and what percentage of tuition is being paid for, they all aim to transform the affordability issue from a liability into a way to welcome new families. They also give schools a chance to promote their value and connect with the community in meaningful ways.

Schools and communities have used many tactics to address the affordability issue, but the regional approach is one that has been gaining traction in recent years. Here are a few examples of communities that are implementing tuition grant programs:

Milwaukee. Milwaukee Jewish Day School recently announced an anonymous donation that is funding tuition grants for the school. The Building Our Future Program provides grants to both current and prospective students, including a first-year free tuition opportunity for new students. The amount of grant money available for each student depends on their grade level and whether they are current or prospective students at the school.

Philadelphia. The Kohelet Foundation has teamed up with nine schools to form the Jewish Day School Collaborative of Greater Philadelphia. The Collaborative provides grants for one-third of the day school tuition after financial aid, for up to four years in elementary school; three years in middle school; and four years in high school. The qualifications vary slightly based on whether a student is in elementary, middle, or high school.

Syracuse. The Jewish Community Foundation of Central New York has created the Central New York Discover Day School Fund to provide tuition grants to families attending Syracuse Hebrew Day School in Dewitt, New York. The grants provide $2,500 for three years to the “first in family” attending SHDS.

These tuition grant programs are but three in a series of similar affordability efforts that have been popping up across North America in recent years. Boston is currently entering the second year of its Discover Day School grant program, which provides money for the first child in a family to attend a local day school. Similarly, the Jewish Day School of Metropolitan Seattle created a New Student Discovery Grants program to attract new families to the school. In Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Jewish Day School Council, like Milwaukee Jewish Day School, has offered free tuition for families transferring to any of its three schools in grades 3-11. The schools have enrolled over ten new students as a result. In Calgary, Akiva Academy has likewise promoted a three-year free tuition program for families that relocate to Calgary from another city. Note that the “grant” model is just one of many tuition strategies. Day schools also partner with foundations, central agencies for Jewish education, federations, donors, and other local organizations to develop other ways to address day school affordability.

As day school affordability continues to be a challenge across North America, communities are developing innovative strategies that fit with their local needs. What’s particularly great about these particular programs is that it they give schools the opportunity to project positive messages about the value of day school while reducing the actual cost. We look forward to learning more about the impact of these programs as they grow and develop!

You—that is, you Board Members, teachers, Heads of School, parents, prospective parents, development professionals, grandparents, communications people, volunteers, admission officers, marketers, literary high school students, funders, would-be funders, alumni, and curious federation heads—must read Cynthia Ozick’s underappreciated 1983 novel, The Cannibal Galaxy. This slim volume of fiction is perhaps the only work by a major American writer to be set in a Jewish day school. Reading it is a great way for the day school field to celebrate the outspoken Ozick’s recent birthday on April 17.

Dive into the 161 pages of Ozickian prose and you won’t want to climb out until your fingers are good and pruney. The fact that this great writer devoted a whole book to our world is a point of pride. And while The Cannibal Galaxy isn’t directly about, say, helping you write a great annual campaign plan or building your endowment-and-legacy program, Ozick has useful things to say about the business of day school. For instance:

The Cannibal Galaxy raises great questions. Consider the following passage. In it, Joseph Brill, Ozick’s fictional Head of School, contemplates the difficulties in translating the Dual Curriculum from his ideal to the classroom:

Two worlds split him. A school that teaches Chumash and Rashi and Gemara is called a yeshiva; its head is called the Rosh Yeshiva. Whereas he, in his mock-Sorbonne, was a Principal and ran a Dual Curriculum. It could be done… and yet it could not be done. Rather, it could be done only in imagination; in reality, it was all America, the children America, the teachers America, the very walls of the chair factory [the school is housed in a converted factory] America. Egalitarianism—the lowest in the lead.

The paragraph above hoists up all kinds of questions for the self-aware day school person, such as:

• How well do your students excel on both sides of the Dual Curriculum? Which metrics to you use and how often—and how rigorously—do you scrutinize these pedagogical methods? How well do you explain your evaluation methods your community? Does your school engage in public displays of excellence?

—and—

• How does “egalitarianism” function in your school’s philosophy and day-to-day practice? We’re constantly trying to ensure that day school is an option for all kinds of Jews, but with the ever-present danger of schools treating students as consumers rather than students, egalitarianism is a real issue today.

The book contains numerous JDS case studies. You’ll find some pointed mini-narratives in The Cannibal Galaxy about important JDS issues such as leadership succession, school name changes, hiring and assessing teachers, and how to—or not to—invite illustrious parents to address the day school community. One could easily excerpt appropriate passages, add a few pointed questions, pass them out to your day school Board, and create a profitable seminar on important day school issues. In fact, more than once, while reading about Joseph Brill, I was reminded of PEJE’s case studies and how we got 1,000 people working on these cases at the 2010 PEJE Assembly.

The Cannibal Galaxy is packed with literary history and will put the intellectual heritage of day school into historical context for you. Read it, and you’ll learn about how the Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment, influenced—and influences—the way we teach. Ozick brings so much to our attention: the interesting character of Edmon Fleg, bits of astronomy and Talmud, even E.M. Forster. Consider all this a kind of professional development: a cost-free way for JDS people to improve their own understanding of the Dual Curriculum.

The book will improve your JDS communications. The Cannibal Galaxy despises lazy, clichéd, and/or jargon-stuffed language, and it admonishes us to great take care with the words. Ozick shoots down both academic nonsense and absurd psychological profiles. And watch what she does to the fictional school’s P.T.A. Bulletin, “compiled by Mrs. Sheila Frucht, a fifth-grade mother well known… for her fine writing talent”:

Mrs. Rebecca Gould Korngelb, one of our school’s most distinguished alumna, mother of three, and the eight grade’s most lively and popular teacher, not to mention being an attractive brunette in her own right, now moves to the other side of the Dual Curriculum as well; she is the first teacher in our school’s history to teach on both sides of the Dual. What a brain! In addition to Social Studies, she will take over Principal Ephraim Gorchak’s Bible History class. Principal Gorchak has his hands full just running the school! Congratulations on super achievement, Mrs. Korngelb!

The humor will give you perspective. You’ll laugh at the way Ozick describes Brill’s funder (“The rich benefactress,” as the author dubs her, “had a billboard streak; she liked slogans”) and the school mothers (“The mothers came to him in committees, in troops, in adversary eddyings; they came to quarrel. The old dismal combat crackled on”). The fathers—the majority of whom are doctors—don’t fare much better: “he thought them stingy. Their philanthropies were rare and grudging. The biology lab had never even so much as a microscope from any of them. Instead, they owned sailboats, and at the annual fall picnic, stepped right onto the school beats, their belts cheeping over denim shorts and virile calves.” It’s impossible for Ozick not to smile at human nature of the day school enterprise. You’ll smile as well—and perhaps be a little more tolerant of quirky parents when you next encounter them on campus.

The other day I spent $100,000 (ok, so I spend it over the last nine years in tuition) for my son to learn four words. And I was glad to do so.

Let me start at the beginning… last week was Yom Hashoah and The Rashi School, where my son attends, had invited a Survivor to speak. The children all assembled in the Beit Midrash: Six students read a prayer and lit six yartzeit candles, two students gave a brief reading, and the guest was introduced by a teacher.

As the guest stood up to talk, he appeared overwhelmed. He said to the children in a thin voice “You are the future,”—and then fell silent. He was pale and non-responsive, although he remained standing. A few adults helped him to sit down. The school nurse was called as was 911. The children were asked to leave the Beit Midrash, which they did very quietly and calmly.  

Lying on a gurney, leaving for the hospital, our humble guest said in a soft but firm voice, “I am sorry that I did this to the children.” 

Sorry?, I kept repeating in my head. Sorry? I didn’t get it. What was he sorry about? Sorry for the all-too-brief speech? Sorry that he required attention? Sorry that he may have upset some of the kids? 

The seventh-grade class, my son later explained to me, was moved by the Survivor’s four words and they had a lengthy conversation after the assembly. What did “you are the future” mean to them? They understood the great responsibility to always remember. They grasped that they are the future leaders of our shuls. The future leaders in our communities. The future leaders of great businesses. The future leaders of our country. The future leaders of our Jewish people. 

As a parent of two day school students, I’m reminded on a regular basis that not only are my children receiving a best-in-class education, but they are also learning what it means to be a Jew and how to handle the attendant responsibilities. My wife and I are blessed that their day schools provide enrichment to their lives every day. Now our kids also know that they are the future. May our future leaders—my kids and yours—take us from strength to strength!

B’Kavod,

Jim

Jim Blankstein is the new Senior Marketing Strategist at PEJE. Jim resides in Needham, Massachusetts, with his wife Jodi, a cantorial soloist, and their two children Sydney and Zachary.

There are two predominant arguments that are made for the value of day school: the Jewish and the secular. The Jewish argument states that day school is the best way to imbue traditional Jewish values in our youth—at any observance level—and build the next generation of Jewish leaders. The secular argument states that our schools do as well as or better than competing public and private schools in preparing our children for success in high school, college, and the working world.

But in our day and age, people—including prospective parents—have a stake in many other causes and value systems in addition to the “Jewish” and the “secular.” They may be environmentalists; they may be Zionists; they may be committed to reform in the American educational system; they may be collectors of fine art.

Jewish day schools have considerable value for those who care about Jewish identity and SAT scores, but their value doesn’t end there. We need to break through the binary and identify the diverse ways our schools speak to our audience’s varied interests. For instance, say I was a parent and you were talking to me—an environmentally conscious foodie. You would get major points if you engaged with me about your school’s relationship to food justice.

How might a school show its connection to a parent’s interest in food justice? They could feature activities that are happening in their school to promote these values. Across the country, Jewish day schools are working to create more just and sustainable food systems both within and beyond their schools’ walls. Denver Academy of Torah students have contributed to the building of a community farm in the heart of Denver, Colorado, serving and educating a diverse local community. In St. Louis, Missouri, the Saul Mirowitz Day School – Reform Jewish Academy is participating in a farm-to-table school lunch program that brings local fruits and vegetables into the school—along with an educational component featuring farmers and chefs from the area. Students at The Jewish Day School in Bellevue, Washington, run a food pantry for the local community. These are just three examples that illustrate how Jewish day schools are working to improve the food system and learning along the way.

How cool is that?

Day schools’ value goes way beyond the categories of Jewish identity and SAT scores. Hebrew, Israel education, and units on different countries help build our students’ understanding of a complex international landscape in a society where many schools barely teach basic geography . Tzedakah and social justice programs raise questions for students about the kind of society they live in and how they want to change it. Recycling, compost, and energy conservation norms at school, combined with Jewish values, stories, and knowledge, reinforce a sense of gratitude and care for the earth and its resources. The point is, when you’re cultivating prospective families, you should spend a lot of time learning about their interests in a broad way. While you’re at it, be sure to have in your arsenal a bunch of stories that present a textured, multifaceted view of your school’s impact.

Can you identify a “third way” that would speak to prospective parents in your community?

“Mommy, why are the boys so excited about eating at Old MacDonald’s?”

This is the question my five-year-old has about our upcoming trip to Israel. Not, “How long is the plane ride?” Not, “Will my cousins speak English?” Not, “How many days are we staying there?” It will be his first time in the Land of Milk and Honey, and all he can focus on is his brothers’ fascination with McDonald’s.

Oy.

In thinking of everything I should help him understand about his first trip to Israel, I have some questions of my own. Should I talk about the political history, about having a country that is all our own? Should I talk about Hebrew language, food, and culture? Should I warn him that we will see soldiers with guns over their shoulders? Should I tell him that there are 100 times as many Kosher restaurants in Israel as we have here in Boston?

If you are a Jew living in the diaspora, chances are you have a complicated relationship with the state of Israel, just like my five-year old. 

My husband comes from a family of fierce Zionists. Having all visited Israel dozens of times, they can—and do—spend hours debating the intricacies of the ever changing Israeli political landscape.

I come from a family that embraces the value and importance of Israel but more at arm’s length. My family avoids Israeli politics, preferring to stay on the side of language, culture, history, and—nachon—safety.

When working with Jewish day schools to create compelling value propositions, the topic of Israel naturally comes up. Each of our day schools has its own relationship with Israel. They may focus on Hebrew language, celebration of Yom Ha’azmaut, class trips to Israel, Israeli faculty and staff, courses on the history of Israel, Israeli dance teams, you name it.

Articulating your school’s relationship with Israel, and giving donors and friends the opportunity to experience that, is important for building donor relationships.

Several years ago I volunteered to serve pizza at my oldest son’s school on Rosh Chodesh. As a special part of the lunch, two visiting Israeli youth leaders prepared a game for the students to play during lunch. The cafeteria was filled with first, second, and third graders squirming in their seats. As the youth leaders began to explain the game in rapid-fire Hebrew, I thought to myself, “Well, this is going to be a disaster—they can’t possibly follow what she is saying.” Three minutes later, as they started the game, dozens of students raised their hands. The kids asked complicated questions in fluent Ivrit and it was clear to me that all the pishers not only understood but were excited to use their language skills.

As I left the cafeteria that day, I thought, “We have to show this to some of our donors who care deeply about the State of Israel. If they could see what I just saw, they would see that the impact this school is having goes so much farther than the Boston Jewish community.”

As you prepare for Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations at your schools, think carefully of how you can invite and incorporate your donors into the experience. How do you articulate your school’s relationship with Israel? Here are some of our ideas:

1)      Give donors tickets to “fly” to Israel on your Yom Ha’azmaut airplane.

2)      Videotape students conversing in Hebrew and share the clips with donors.

3)      Invite donors who visit Israel on their own to come to school and talk about their experiences in the classroom.

4)      Invite your local Israeli consulate to facilitate a conversation with older students and donors

5)      If your students take a class trip to Israel, ask them to keep a video journal to post on your Facebook page and/or share with donors who support the trip.

As I closed the last of our suitcases last night, in preparation for our departure, my five-year-old wandered in to my room and said “Ani ohev le’echol pizza.” I love to eat pizza.  He can’t wait to try that out at Pizza Hut in Jerusalem!

The following is a guest post by Rabbi Scott Bolton, Head of School at Reuben Gittelman Hebrew Day School.

Did you see the recent article by Peter Beinart about the Jewish case for school vouchers? Beinart wants us to wake up to the fact that in other places, such as Australia, Europe, or Canada, the government is footing some of the educational bill, and Jews are marrying in at higher rates.

The average $14,000 tuition that he quotes as being too high does not take into account that parents pay and are asked for way more than the base tuition. Let’s get real. There are fundraisers, supplies, trips, and a culture of attainment to keep up with. We are pricing ourselves right out of the market.

And I didn’t say it; Beinart did. “Jewish schools rarely have significant endowments or first-rate facilities, and teacher salaries are generally low. Thus Jewish parents are often asked to pay top dollar for schools with makeshift gymnasiums and antiquated science labs when they can send their children to the best private schools for the same amount of money, or the best public schools for almost no money.”

He goes on to report: “Jewish philanthropy alone can’t solve the problem. As the Jewish Theological Seminary’s Jack Wertheimer has calculated, even offering an annual $2,000 voucher to the roughly 200,000 American children currently enrolled in Jewish schools would require an endowment of more than $8 billion, which is close to three times what the Jewish Federations raise annually for their entire range of programs.”

Church-and-state issues have been high on the agenda of liberal Jewish movements and individuals who do not want to see an erosion of public education at the expense of religious education. Some just don’t want any government involvement with religious institutions at all.

It is not, though, funding for religious education that we are asking for, if we want the government to put in robotics rings and rocketry labs. The time has come to ask for the support of our government for tablet computers, e-text books, and soil-testing kits, so that our children can become the scientific-math-oriented or arts-focused strong communicators that we need to lead our democracy into the future.

Beinart claims that “evangelical Protestants, Catholics and some African-Americans” support the vouchers solution. Monies for general education, a right in our nation, would follow the student in this way. Throwing our lot in with communities or constituencies who are supporting the approach may make some wary. We need to support the effort for vouchers or other types of government support because of our pure commitments to a strong America and a literate global, Jewish community.

Growing Jewish textual skills, multi-lingualism including, of course, Hebrew, and developing Jewish values and ethics literacy will not only lead to less intermarriage. It will lead to a more developed leadership cadre for Am Yisrael and the United States of America. It is patriotic to help our government figure out how best to spend precious educational dollars, and our schools are important places of learning, to advance Jewish and American citizenship. Children stronger in their Jewish identities and appreciation for a modern State of Israel—a great promoter of democracy and innovation—are better for university campuses and in communities.

Beinart worries about challenges in court constitutional messiness. The conversation could be more expansive than vouchers, though. Since we understand about economies of scale and not duplicating resources, we should be talking about re-creating the public-private partnerships in school districts and around counties. A science-and-engineering center for use by all parochial and public students (where kids come together to collaborate to solve real-world problems) would be incredible, just as private Jewish education could take place in another wing or separate building on an educational campus or somewhere a shuttle-bus ride away.

I imagine a school district bringing everyone together for learning all they need to until 1:30pm, shuttling children to their specialized and privatized schools of choice, if they do not remain in the public spheres of learning, and then playing sports either together or separately as well, depending on what we can afford.

I would hold that our focus on governmentally funded solutions not be limited to the voucher system but be part of a more expansive conversation about economies of scale, bringing American children together for what they can learn together and staying strong in our privatized delivery of Jewish education, to keep our community and literacy strong.

Writing a blog (my first) has been a daunting experience. What if it isn’t good? What if I don’t succeed at opening up a conversation? These thoughts have been running through my head for weeks—WEEKS!—so I have been putting off doing what I know is important.

Does this sound familiar? Are you putting off beginning your endowment and legacy campaign because it is hard to start? Daunting? You might not succeed? You already have too many things on your plate?

Let’s get through this together. I am eager to help you demystify the process of adding an endowment and legacy campaign to your overall development strategy. To start with, let’s address some frequently asked questions.

Why an Endowment and Legacy Campaign Now?

Jewish day schools are an essential part of a thriving Jewish communal ecosystem.  Dan Perla, Program Officer of Day School Finance at the AVI CHAI Foundation, captured this point last month at PEJE’s Endowment and Legacy Institute training in Baltimore: “Jewish day schools are one of the pillars of Jewish engagement which energizes the nucleus of Jewish life.”

Do you want to ensure that your day school is around for future generations? Do you want to ensure that parents who seek a values-based Jewish education for their children in your city can have one, regardless of their income? Do you take pride in the comprehensive day school experience that happens every day in your school? If so, the time to being planning your campaign is now. An endowment and legacy program allows those who are closest to your school to support their visions, their childrens’ visions, and their grandchildrens’ visions of a vibrant Jewish future.

But wait: Time for a reality check. What about the economy? Will potential donors agree that now is the time to start an endowment and legacy campaign?

There is no doubt that the downturn in the economy has caused a shift in thinking for donors. But other factors suggest that the time is now for endowment and legacy.

“Today’s population is aging and therefore ready to think about legacy gifts, and estate tax laws are changing and will continue to do so at the state and federal levels. Think of this as an opportunity to discuss charitable gifts every time estate planning is reviewed,” says Kevin Johnson in his book The Power of Legacy and Planned Gifts: How Nonprofits and Donors Work Together to Change the World.

An opportunity indeed. So what’s the next step? It’s time to move from knowing this is the right time to start a campaign to actually getting the ball rolling.

How Should I Start?

Whether you are the head of school, a development professional, or a parent at a Jewish day school, roll up your sleeves and get ready to work.

To help get you started, we have created online tools and resources at the Endowment and Legacy Institute’s Knowledge and Resource Center on the PEJE website. First, take the Readiness Quiz to see how close your school is to having the necessary pieces in place to start. Next, download the Endowment and Legacy Campaign Workbook, a step-by-step approach to building endowment and legacy into your school’s development strategy, which you can adapt to your school. Then, take the time to read the articles we’ve posted. You’ll learn valuable information on topics such as gift acceptance policies, investment policies, standard models of practice, and more.

That wasn’t as hard as you thought, was it? Congratulations, you are well on your way! Now on to the next step . . .

What Must I Do to Ensure My Endowment and Legacy Campaign Is Successful?

Armed with knowledge, it is now time to map out how to integrate endowment and legacy giving into the culture of giving at your school and into development your work plan. To be sure, there are many steps along the path. But remember: you believe in viable Jewish day schools for an enduring Jewish future; you have already acknowledged the need to start a campaign; and you now have plenty of resources and smart tools at your disposal.

So here are a few next steps that will advance your journey toward sustaining your day school:

• Make sure you have the right players in place, both lay and professional, to engage and inspire potential donors.
• Begin to build your school’s case statement. The purpose of the statement is to convey to your community what you are proudest about at your school. Is it your Torah study program? The new science curriculum? Or is it the integration of Jewish and secular learning? Think about the features that make your school unique. Not only will those special qualities speak to the passion of your potential donors; they will also make your case statement a compelling one.
• Your team is in place, your case statement is written, and it is time to fully plan your campaign. Go back to the Campaign Workbook on the PEJE website, print it out, and use it as a model.
• Once donors are identified, it’s time to sharpen your cultivation skills. Who is the right person to reach out to your donor? Who can best listen to the donor and engage him or her in a discussion? The fact is, all campaigns have a better chance of succeeding if you understand the importance of cultivation.
• We recommend that you hire a coach if you can (see the PEJE Coach Directory) to help guide you in making decisions that will lead to effective action.

Can I Really Do It?

The simple answer is a resounding YES! Just remember:

• You don’t need to be an expert on the technicalities of a planned gift;
• You do need to have a case statement;
• You do need to know who your prospects are and how to properly cultivate them;
• You do need to stay motivated; and
• You do need to understand that endowment and legacy campaigns, unlike annual or capital campaigns, have no specific end point—so it is important to keep to your workplan.

I am feeling good about finishing my first blog and know that you will feel great once you really start your campaign. Check back with me and let me know how you are proceeding. Join the conversation about endowment and legacy—in fact, start the learning process by adding your voice to this blog. We can’t wait to hear from you!