In an effort to establish a clearer identity, the United Jewish Communities renamed itself the Jewish Federations of North America and adopted a new logo that it hopes will be used by the network of more than 500 Jewish organizations under its umbrella. Together, they distribute more than $3 billion a year to support social services and education, but their collective strength has long been lost in a welter of different logos and names that James Tisch, a former chairman of the umbrella organization, calls ”the alphabet soup of Jewish philanthropy.” The federation in Boston, for instance, is called Combined Jewish Philanthropies (Boston), while the affiliate in New York is the UJA-Federation of New York. Affiliates that have strong local brand equity will have the option of using their own logos in tandem with the new one.

It won’t risk muddying the waters further, since none of the agencies are called United Jewish Communities – most of them are called Federations. While this is a good move that will help clarify the “alphabet soup” of Jewish agencies,” the real work needed is explaining to a younger generation of donors why their mission is still relevant. Many “legacy” Jewish organizations established over half a century ago to address a different set of problems are grappling with how to re-focus on a Jewish community that identifies with Judaism less than its parents. Unfortunately, if their new logo is any measure of their thinking, the task remains great.

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