The Jewish Funders Network (JFN) has long sought to be an open, welcoming place for Jewish funders who hold a range of political viewpoints and levels of religiosity, from Orthodox members to those who never go to synagogue. Founded in 1990 and based in New York City, JFN is the top funder affinity group in the world of Jewish giving. Each of the more than 3,000 members from 15 countries gives at least $25,000 a year toward a number of charitable causes, ranging from poverty in the Jewish community to the arts and climate change. In 2008, JFN established an Israeli branch, JFN Israel, to connect and support Israel-based funders, many of whom were new to the kind of wealth that facilitates philanthropy, largely due to tech.
As Rabbi Rebecca Sirbu, the executive vice president of JFN, told me last year, JFN is not a religious or political organization, nor does it recommend specific grantees or positions. “Our members are anyone who gives within the Jewish world or wants to be giving through a Jewish lens. I think they connect with us because they understand that giving back is a Jewish value,” she said.
All that harmony is great for funders and grantees, but seems fragile in the year since the Iran-backed terror group Hamas and other Palestinian militants attacked and captured hostages inside Israel, plunging the region into a new round of war and prompting global outcry, a fractious student protest movement, and accusations of genocide against Israel within the highest levels of the international legal system.
I reached out to Sirbu to talk about how the funders affinity group is faring in this highly polarized moment outside and within the Jewish community. This interview has been edited for clarity.
I recently read a headline that said, basically, that Hamas succeeded in turning Jews against each other. I’ve certainly seen tension among Jewish people in my own circle who have very different views on the war and Israel’s current leadership. Have you seen division in your group of funders?
No, thankfully we have not. We held our annual conference in March in Tel Aviv. We were concerned that we would have a much smaller conference than normal. In fact, we had the opposite. We completely sold out and had 100 people on the waiting list. People felt a shared commitment to the Israeli people. We have people across the spectrum, politically, including Israeli Arabs. We had Bedouin Israeli Arabs on stage who spoke. There was a Bedouin community that was part of the attack down south and there are Bedouins who are still being held as hostages. One Bedouin was rescued recently by the Israeli army. The outpouring of support for anyone who went through such trauma was just palpable. I have to tell you, the conference itself was so emotional, just being there. We cried. This is not a conference where people cry.
Wow. I’m not sure if I’ve ever cried at a conference. Last year, you said that JFN had grown by about 35% between 2020 and 2023. How has the attack by Hamas and ongoing war affected membership in your group?
There has been a very large increase in the Jewish philanthropic community since the attack on October 7. We just did a member survey asking how people changed their giving since the attack and the ongoing war, and 86% reported an increase in their giving. This was not an official survey looking at 990s; it was anecdotal, based on self-reports. From our internal, nonscientific asking, over 50% of foundations have increased their giving this year by more than $250,000 since October 7, and over 25% of individuals have increased their giving by between $50,000 and $250,000.
That’s a big jump in giving! What has JFN been doing for members in relation to all this?
We have really been serving as a resource for philanthropists who have a lot of questions and interest in what has been going on. Since October 7, almost every other week, our CEO has put out an email newsletter updating people on the situation and what is going on in Israel. We started a new project in Israel called Israel Rises, a website that allows people to see directly the needs of communities in the south. We have a regular weekly newsletter that now includes updates about what’s going on in Israel, and we’ve done regular Zoom updates. Our executive director, Sigal Yaniv Feller, in Israel, is phenomenal, and she and her staff have done an amazing job collecting information about the needs and what’s going on in the nonprofit sphere, government sphere and military in Israel.
We have been growing our peer networks. In Israel, the mental health peer network has grown, the education peer network has grown, because the needs have increased because of displacement — which impacts schools. Whole cities in the north have been emptied out, like the entire city of Kiryat Shmona, a city of 25,000 people, right on the border with Lebanon. Schools have to take in those kids. The impact in education has been countrywide. Right now, the north has been suffering more than the south because of almost daily bombing coming over the border from Lebanon, so there is a large no-man’s zone in the north and full cities that are emptied out.
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What kinds of things are members funding now?
There are needs in every area. A lot of mental health needs. Treating survivors of the actual attack on October 7, family members of survivors, and then the entire country has PTSD. Also, the number of displaced people in Israel is huge, not just the southern communities but also the northern communities. They have needs for everything you can think of: economic health, mental health, job searching. There has just been an outpouring of help for everybody.
There has also been a rise in funding of initiatives fighting antisemitism. One is working to protect campuses and those who live on campuses, not just in terms of protests but also legal ramifications for students who have felt harangued or attacked. There is a legislative angle and educational efforts so that people understand better the history of both the Jewish people and the founding of the state of Israel. Through much of history, Jews themselves have been the victims of hatred and bias, and there have always been Jews living in what is now known as the state of Israel, from biblical times.
Is there funding for peace or for Palestinians in Gaza?
We have a peer network group called the Social Venture Fund [for Jewish-Arab Equality and Shared Society] that has always — pre- and post-October 7 — funded shared society initiatives between Jewish and Arab Israelis. That is their goal. They have continued to fund that and there is some increase in funding. It funds programs to help promote the ability for Israeli Arabs and Jews to live together within Israel. There is funding hoping for peace initiatives. People want peace. Everybody wants peace.
From news coverage of anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian activists on campus, it looks like there is a generational divide in terms of who is concerned with what issue. Are you seeing a generational difference in terms of funding priorities from your members?
No, we’re not seeing that. A lot of people in Israel have questions about this current government and what it is choosing to do. But that is separate from supporting the needs of the population that has been traumatized by what has happened over the past year. The people who are giving are giving to help Israelis.
What would you say is surprising or notable about the way JFN members are giving in relation to Israel now?
I think the philanthropic community now is changing its mindset from emergency response to a long-term response. We don’t know when the war will end and we can start rebuilding, but there will be a huge need. It’s like billions of dollars. Entire communities have been leveled within Israel from the Hamas and Hezbollah bombing. Many were completely burnt to the ground. People are trying to think very strategically about how they are giving their money and how they will give over time.
