by Marilyn Silverstein
NJJN Bureau Chief/PMB

June 9, 2009

Ask Andy Frank to sum up the impact of the economic downturn on the annual campaign of United Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks, and he answers without hesitation.

“I’ll give you two words — devastating and heartbreaking,” said Frank, executive director of the federation.

By this time last year, Frank said, the federation’s annual campaign had raised $2,150,000. Today, the campaign projects $1,808,000, although fundraising continues.

“Right now, we’re projecting a 16 percent cut overall in our overseas and local allocations,” he said. “The practical impact is very clear: We’re not going to be able to provide the kinds of services we need and want to provide, locally and overseas.”

The federation helps fund local Jewish social service and educational activities as well as humanitarian projects in Israel and other overseas communities.

“We have people with basic survival needs,” Frank said, “and we can’t do the job we want to do and the job we’re morally obligated to do — and that’s devastating.”

Although the federation has not yet determined its final allocation figures, its constituent agencies have all been informed that cuts are coming, Frank said. Members of federation’s board of trustees will cast their final vote on those allocations during federation’s annual meeting on Monday, June 22, at 7 p.m., at The Jewish Center in Princeton.

Wrestling with the question of where those cuts will fall has been very difficult, according to Howard Cohen, federation’s vice president for allocations.

“It’s been grueling — it really has,” said Cohen, who also serves as cochair of the Jewish Community Campus Development Council. “Unfortunately, each dollar we do not raise means a cut in our local and overseas allocations, and the needs for local agencies are greater than ever. The situation this year has been tough.”

In response to the dismal state of the economy, the federation is reducing overhead by 22 percent, reordering priorities, restructuring the campaign, and embarking on a strategic planning process for the future.

Measures include weeklong staff furloughs, cutbacks on staff hours, and “pay cuts of some magnitude for everybody,” said Frank.

Federation has also reduced its expenditures with New Jersey Jewish News and cut back on its dues to the NJ State Association of Jewish Federations and United Jewish Communities. Frank said he has been meeting with federation executives from across the state to find ways to join forces and save money.

Glimmer of light

Outgoing PMB federation president Daniel Brent thanked the organization’s staff for bearing the brunt of the reductions. “I’m grateful that the staff is undertaking these sacrifices,” he said. “We all need to work harder to make sure that our beneficiary agencies receive what they need.”

Brent said he is sending letters to federation donors, asking them to revisit their gifts to this year’s campaign in light of the way the past six months have played out.

“The real message I want to share is that the fear is worse than the actuality,” he said. “There are people who are really hurting economically — people who have lost their jobs and are suffering real setbacks — and then there are many people who are frightened because they see that their portfolio is reduced.

“I would encourage them to remember that there are people who depend on us, and now is the time they need us the most.”

One glimmer of light in the gloom has been federation’s move to allocate $20,000 from a restricted fund managed by the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Mercer to meet the most pressing community needs, Frank said.

In late May, federation sent out two checks — a $15,000 grant to the Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County for both its Ohel Abraham Kosher Food Pantry and its emergency cash assistance fund, and a $5,000 check to Greenwood House to subsidize home health care for the frail elderly.

“It’s a tough time,” said Lisa Smukler, who will be installed in a two-year term as federation president on June 22. “People are afraid to give. And while people are giving less, the needs are increasing.

“Obviously, I feel it’s a big challenge,” she said. “Nobody wants to go into a situation that’s so difficult. But I felt I had a responsibility to take on the challenge, and I hope I can do a good job.”

Smukler said she is looking forward to working with the incoming campaign chair, Mark Merkovitz.

“Our goal is really to educate people about what we do and hope they contribute,” she said. “I just think that the more people get involved in federation — in the fund-raising aspect and the allocations aspect — the more they’ll understand how important their gifts are.”

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