Jewish nonprofits Archives - Red Rooster Group

Handling the Big Questions

Howard Levy — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:02:46 +0000

Red Rooster Group has been handling some big-picture questions recently:

Should a huge, 100 year-old Jewish organization with an older donor base retrench its strategy to attract the younger generation of donors, and if so, how?
How can a Jewish federation serving a population with divergent interests build a cohesive community that boosts the fundraising of all Jewish organizations in the county?
How can a Jewish social service agency serving an Orthodox community unify its six operating divisions and address taboo social concerns, while instilling an obligation to support the organization?
In times of economic uncertainty and unstable relations in the Middle East, how can the number of people moving permanently to Israel be increased?
How can an umbrella organization for Jewish day schools demonstrate its relevance and viability in a time of decreasing engagement in Jewish education?
How can a Jewish venture fund remain relevant amidst increasing competition and fragmentation in the market?

These are some of the issues that we are addressing from the strategic and marketing perspectives. We relish the challenge of grappling with issues that have the ability to move the needle, create real change, and provide lessons for other agencies.

It requires a combination of understanding the Jewish communal and nonprofit worlds, drawing upon deep expertise in branding and marketing, and bringing a fresh perspective that takes into account social innovation, technology, and trends in the business and nonprofit sectors. It also requires a deftness in building consensus among divergent parties and the ability to define a clear process and move it forward.

Check back as we report on progress on these issues and share our experiences along the way. We invite you to share your experiences in these areas as well.

WAKE UP CALL: What are the big picture issues that your agency needs help with?

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Shema Koleinu Website

Howard Levy — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 20:05:19 +0000

Red Rooster Group designed the logo and website for this Jewish organization that is looking to attract unaffiliated and interfaith families and individuals in Miami area. The website portrays a welcoming environment and a non-intimidating feel for Jews of all kinds. The colors for this Jewish nonprofit brand provide a welcoming feel and reinforcing the brand colors. The new website kicks off their new event “High Holy Day Services.” The website is built in WordPress with a content management system that makes it easy for the client to update information.

>ShemaKoleinu.org

Branding

We developed a logo that presents the traditional Jewish symbol of a candelabra as a congregation of different types of people. The welcoming colors represent the organization’s upbeat personality. The logo was used as a backdrop during the religious services, acclimating participants to the new organization.

“What a thrill to work directly with the Principal of this company! Howard immediately listened to my needs and my vision, as a small company, and has truly helped turn my dreams into reality! He supports my vision and ensures a brand is created that clearly conveys what I am imagining, and it is a pleasure to work directly with him! I couldn’t be happier or more honored that this prestigious group has made such a positive impact on my future organizational goals!”

— Cantor Debbi Ballard

”I just wanted to write and say THANKS SO MUCH to you and all of your staff for a very successful “beginning” in our branding and marketing efforts this year. Our first-ever High Holy Day services were a HUGE success, and I wanted you to see how your efforts manifested themselves in our services. We had sold over 350 tickets and hope to hit 400 before the week is over. It was a great first time experience, and our guests told us how much they LOVED the SK artwork and logo design, and how it made them really feel like they were connected to something beautiful. We are thrilled, and looking forward to an amazing year. I consider everything we achieved a huge success, and I thank you ALL for your efforts in helping me create this!”

— Cantor Debbi Ballard

Links

See other websites.
See other nonprofit branding case studies.
See our work promoting Jewish organizations.
Contact Red Rooster Group for help with your website.

Red Rooster Group is a New York based graphic design firm that creates effective brands, websites, and marketing campaigns to increase your visibility, fundraising, and communications effectiveness. Contact us at info@redroostergroup.com.

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Top Jewish Charities

Howard Levy — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:32:02 +0000

2008 list of the largest Jewish nonprofits from The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list of the top 400 charities.

40. Jewish Federations of North America: $398,400,000
55. Jewish Communal Funds (New York): $299,300,000
71. American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee: $244,700,000
108. Yeshiva University: $182,880,000
111. United Jewish Appeal-Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York: $177,500,000
132. Jewish Federation/Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago: $157,300,000
181. Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties: $120,000,000
197. Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston: $107,600,000
239. Brandeis University: $89,400,000
241. Jewish Community Foundation (Los Angeles): $89,000,000
246. Birthright Israel Foundation: $87,600,000
253. Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America: $85,620,000
274. United Jewish Foundation and Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit: $79,200,000
276. United Jewish Communities of MetroWest: $78,800,000
286. American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science: $75,370,000
293. P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds: $73,900,000
308. Anti-Defamation League: $68,250,000
312. American Society for Technion-Israel Institute of Technology: $67,800,000
317. Jewish Community Foundation for San Diego: $67,000,000
346. Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland: $58,590,000
349. Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles: $57,930,000
355. The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore: $56,350,000
361. Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS: $55,290,000

The State of Jewish Charities 2008

JTA NEWS

More than 20 Jewish charities were featured on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Philanthropy 400, despite some serious drops in fundraising.

The annual ranking of top money-collecting nonprofits looked at charitable collections for 2008, a year in which many charities felt the pain of the recession and the early fallout from Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

The Jewish charities included on the list each took in more than $55 million, but they also saw some of the biggest individual drops in donations.

Major Organizations

The country’s largest Jewish charity, the Jewish Federations of North America took in $398.5 million but its donations fell by 25.3 percent. The tally for the umbrella organization of the Jewish federation system consists of money that passes through from local federations to the system’s overseas arms, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Jewish Agency for Israel, as well as federations’ dues to the national group, money from special campaigns and an annual grant the system receives from the U.S. government.

The Jewish Communal Fund of New York, a donor-advised fund that relies heavily on patrons who work in the financial services industry, saw a 26.9 percent drop. The Jewish federations in San Francisco and New York saw 28.8 and 21.3 percent falloffs, respectively.

And Hadassah, though its officials have worked hard to avoid being hurt by the fallout from the Madoff scandal, saw its donations drop by nearly half, to just over $85 million in 2008.

Meanwhile, one of the biggest gainers on the list was the United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey, which saw its contributions grow 71.4 percent to $78.8 million. MetroWest and the Birthright Israel Foundation, which took in $87.5 million in 2008, were new to the list.

The American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia dropped from last year’s list.

Federations

The top-ranking federation on the Chronicle’s list was New York’s, which despite its drop in support finished No. 111 with $177.5 million. In addition to New York and MetroWest, seven other local federations made the list: Chicago (132), San Francisco (181), Boston (197), Detroit (274), Cleveland (346), Los Angeles (349) and Baltimore (355). Communal funds in Los Angeles (241) and San Diego (317) made the list, in addition to New York’s (55).

Universities

Yeshiva University (108) and Brandeis University (239) made the list, in addition to the U.S.-based fund-raising arm of the Weizman Institute of Science (286). Several national organizations also finished in the top 400.

In all, according to the Chronicle, donations to the country’s largest charities grew by 1 percent last year. But many of the organizations listed closed their fiscal years in June or September, before the recession truly took hold. The Chronicle expects the 1 percent increase to drop precipitously in 2009, and perhaps further in 2010.

Looking to promote your organization?

Red Rooster Group has worked with the who’s who of the Jewish world.

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Jewish Nonprofits Choice Awards

Howard Levy — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:12:40 +0000

Have a favorite Jewish nonprofit organization? Nominate it for the Jewish Choice Awards sponsored by JTA, Jewish Funders Network, Natan and GuideStar to help recognize Jewish nonprofits that are making a difference.

The site features reviews from volunteers, board and donors about their experiences with their organizations. I just wrote a review of Hazon. You can view that listing and recommend your Jewish nonprofit organization at Jewish Choice Awards at GreatNonprofits.org

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