I related that some of the initiatives our Board Chair Lou Plung described earlier in the meeting could only happen when there is that one “proverbial table” where each organization can come together to work on collaborative responses to the challenges we face, including: 

• Our new Volunteer Center - A place to recruit volunteers not for one agency, but for all
• AGEWELL Pittsburgh – A collaboration of the Jewish Association on Aging, Jewish Community Center and Jewish Family and Children’s Service, keeps our seniors living independently.  Federation serves as a neutral partner.
• The Centennial Mega Mission - This past summer we brought 290 participants from all parts of the Pittsburgh region and all types of Jewish affiliation to Israel.
• The Community scorecard – This initiative is to set community wide, multi-year goals.  It will take all organizations working together to achieve.

I went on to describe a few other great efforts:

• Jewish community health plan – We have formed a group to purchase healthcare for all our agencies, synagogues and other Jewish organizations. We have 950 lives covered and have saved thousands upon thousands of dollars for our community.
• Educational Improvement Tax Credit fundraising – This program allows corporations to support our local Jewish day schools and preschools. We secured $3.1 Million this past year of $75 Million in the entire state, perhaps the most of any group. Our success is due to our doing this in a unified, organized fashion.
• Centennial Fund for a Jewish Future – This new endowment initiative to raise permanent dollars for the sole purpose of funding programs and efforts that strengthen Jewish identity and funds those programs through multiple agencies.
• Community Relations Council - We give the community the ability to speak with one voice and support Israel.
• Jewish Community Foundation - Our Foundation with 160 million dollars, including assets from all of our beneficiary agencies, many synagogues and other agencies, is managed professionally in a way no single organization could do on its own.
• Supporting Jews and Jewish communities worldwide - We provide a channel to impact Jews around the world in a way no individual could accomplish on his or her own.
• Unrestricted financial support - We provide more unrestricted dollars to each of our agencies than they receive from any other source. Unrestricted dollars are the most important for a nonprofit as they allow the organization to adapt to changes so that they can care for their clients.
• Help in times of stress - When an agency or organization has problems, we are able to come in and provide assistance with expertise and talent from our volunteers and professionals. And if we have to, as a final part of the process of working with them, we can provide financial resources.

I then wanted to talk about our “entrepreneurial” side.  We are not always the originator of the ideas, but we help make new concepts a reality:

• JBURGH - We were early funders of JBURGH, a program of the Hillel Jewish University Center, to connect with our community’s 20 something year olds
• Brain Builders - This program helps our seniors and is run by Jewish Family and Children’s Service
• The all new Moishe House - This house in Squirrel Hill with four 20 something year olds living in it is providing over 80 programs to their age cohort during the year.
• Onward Israel - This international project provides internship experiences in Israel to give college students both a resume builder and an Israel connection experience. 

Jim Collins, the famed business author and researcher, says that "Enduring great organizations are characterized by a fundamental duality. …timeless core values and …a relentless drive for change and progress.” I think what I have shown is that this is totally reflective of our Federation.  We touch more Jews in our community than any other single organization. 

That is our value proposition. That answers the question, "Why Federation?" We make the impossible and the improbable possible! We bring organizations together to work on the really big important stuff. We touch lives, including your own.

Thank you to all of our financial supporters for making it all happen. 

Shabbat Shalom.

P.S.  I hope to see you all on Thursday, October 18 at 7:00 pm at the JCC in Squirrel Hill for our next Conversations for a Jewish Future speaker – Dr. Alan Hoffmann of the Jewish Agency for Israel.  Click here to sign up.