Last week the Forward’s Nathan Guttman published an article about a group called the Jewish Guild for the Blind, saying that is was one of the fastest growing charities in the nation. He listed their revenue at around $50 million and points out that the chief executive’s remuneration is close to $1 million.
The Guild reaches out to a number of Jewish philanthropists and conducts direct mail solicitations to Jewish mailing lists. It’s nice to see a success story in Jewish philanthropy – except that the Jewish Guild for the Blind is not a Jewish organization at all.
“We are a healthcare organization, the largest of our kind in the country and not a Jewish Federation or social agency,”  the agency’s chief executive tells the Forward.
While the Guild’s roots go back to early in the last century, it has little Jewish identity now except for the base of contributors who provide its operating funds and its chief executive’s exorbitant salary and benefits. One might say that it is a charity that flies under a false flag.
This is not to say that as a charity this organization doesn’t do good things. We don’t know. What we do know, though, is that the organization misuses the word “Jewish” in their title and that this practice is not an uncommon thing.  Other organizations have also caught on to the fact that the Jewish people know how to give and by and large support the causes that solicit them. But a glance at the Guild’s website leaves no other conclusion than that the only thing Jewish about them is their name. They look much more like a medical service provider than a charitable organization. In fact, most of their funds, come from Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, which doesn’t take away from the fact that they still solicit funds in the way a Jewish agency would solicit funds from Jewish contributors.
Their $50 million budget puts them on a par with AIPAC and ADL. To the extent that the word “Jewish” helps them in raising that kind of money, it shouldn’t.
What to do?
First, be reminded that giving closer to home is always a good rule when writing a check, no matter how compelling an appeal might be. Professional appeals are effective because they are so professional and persuasive. Federations for many years filled the need of providing legitimacy for Jewish organizations who sought financial help within a community and that still holds today. They may not have the cachet of a suave national fundraising campaign, but they are representative of your friends and neighbors dedicated to helping local causes as well as meeting Jewish needs all over the world. One thing that the Jewish Guild helps us see is that it might be better not to go too far afield when it comes to charitable giving.
This story also underlines something we forget; namely, that Jewish giving should start within your local community and the Federations are the best place to make that happen.

– nrg