From: "rob brickman" <rob.brickman@canrem.com>
Subject: jewish charities, round i
Reply-To: "rob brickman" <rob.brickman@canrem.com>
Organization: Canada Remote Systems
Distribution: soc
Date: 1 Jan 93 17:40:04 EST

SG>  Two things: 1) "Because they make an obscene amount of money, therefore we
SG>should make an obscene amount of money."  Sorry, I'm not buying.  What other
SG>people do should never be a standard for Jews.
Steve, this works both ways however.  Were the Jewish community seen *not* to be
paying as much as the non-Jewish community, it would be thrown in our faces. The
more important consideration is not whether the levels of remuneration are
"obscene", but whether a)the skills needed to effectively manage a large
organization can be found in someone whose salary is much lower and b)whether in
light of the skill set identified, the appropriate person could be enticed to
join the organization.  As I've already documented in another posting, most of
the community executives I know work extraordinary hours -  days, nights and
Sundays meeting their commitments.  

SG>         2) What bothers me (and I think many others as well) is not so
SG>much the high salaries but the question of how and how well the money is used.
SG>Looking at these salaries, it's hard not to feel that one's charity is
SG>being wasted or misspent.  Study after study shows that people are willing
SG>to give more taxes or charity *if they really believe their money will help*.

As I've said before, the *only* way to ensure that funds go where they should,
and that the community is held accountable for its costs is to become involved
in the allocations process.  As a former auditor, let me tell you that by the
time you hear about waste and overspending it's almost too late.  (If you're
interested, I'll post the skeptic's definition of an auditor).

SG>   What also bothers me is the fact that these organizations eventually
SG>tend to have their own social and political agenda as well.

These agendas do not exist in a vacuum.  They are, believe it or not, a
response to what the decision makers in the community perceive are tenable
positions to take.  The "Green Line" issue you raised is a good example.  If
the UJA leadership in your community perceived that Peace Now supporters are
numerous and would withold payments substantially affecting the campaign, what
would you expect them to do?  And what if they didn't hear from others in the
community who took an "Eretz Yisrael" approach to funding?  How would their
"agenda" reflect the latter group?  Answer: It probably wouldn't unless that
group became as vocal as the first one.  (Please kind readers, no flames on
this; it was simply an example)

SG>Now, far be it from me to deny charity to poor people, whoever they are;

But this is *exactly* what you are doing when you hold back your donation
rather than working for change.

SG>  Rob, I tried this once.  I called the UJA office in NY in a vain attempt
SG>to get a financial statement of any kind.  I spent a half hour being
SG>shuttled from office to office, only to wind up back where I started from.
Try again.  Tell them that you have serious concerns about how your money is
being allocated. Tell them that while you are committed to honour (sorry, honor;
I'm Canadian!) your pledges, you want to satisfy your concerns before sending
the money.  Trust me, you'll get what you want.  If not...ask them to send
you a piece of letterhead.  Send letters to the top five names saying exactly
what I said above.
By the way, your idea of the Rabbi's fund is excellent (in addition to your
general community support, of course!)

SG>...you left out one line:  "I hate to see charities become large, wasteful,
SG>arrogant, self-serving bureaucratic organizations that only promote their
SG>own agenda."
Without putting words in my mouth...!  The accountant in me obviously concurs.
The community volunteer in me concurs.  But what I hope I've communicated is
that these organizations promote a given agenda ONLY if they perceive that
there is no material objection.  I would love to see you use your passion on
this subject Steve to do just that.

Rob Brickman
---
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