News articles emerged this week about a prominent (very wealthy) mega-donor who had made inappropriate comments to the female staff of one of the major organizations he supports. The organization removed his name from their board list on their website and a source inside the organization said they will not be returning to this funder for a major on-going grant. This situation begs us to ask – how do we sustain our organizations financially if a donor’s behavior/words are not in alignment with our values? One Jewish mega-donor made a statement on Fox news slamming Democrats as ignorant. This same donor has been known to make misogynistic remarks in mixed company.
On a smaller scale, many pulpit rabbis are fearful of taking an ethical/moral stand on political/justice issues for fear of offending major congregation donors. So what’s the Jewish community to do? I would like to believe that the high road will ultimately lead us to donors whose values align with our organizations. The recommendation is to not stand alone as an isolated organization facing these issues. Development professionals and lay leaders need to work together – across organizations – to identify donors whom they can go to together in order to speak about these critical issues. Open the dialogue, set expectations, and make clear values-driven collective decisions. The power is stronger in numbers and donors will see the collective support and steadfastness behind these core issues if we work together.
JewishGPS 
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