Another way to put that answer is that we are in the business of doing positive in the Jewish community.  It is our business.  And every business has multiple moving parts that have to be monitored and tweaked to optimize performance.  This past week, our Investment Committee gathered, as they do every quarter, to review our investment performance to determine if any changes in our philosophy need adjusted (I purposely wrote this in Pittsburghese).  I was very pleased to learn that our year to date return through the third quarter was over 10% and that our one year return has been 18%.  On $160 Million of community assets, each percentage point increase in return translates into many more dollars available to our agencies and synagogues.  It allows us to do “more stuff” for the community.

There are ways many of you can participate in our Foundation.   From a Donor Advised Fund (Philanthropic Fund) that can be used to manage all your philanthropy, to funds that can provide you with a steady stream of income at a very favorable rate, to more sophisticated planned giving techniques involving trusts to minimize tax liabilities, we can help you leave a permanent legacy (including our Centennial Fund for a  Jewish Future) for our community.  I encourage you, especially as we come to the end of the tax year, to consider speaking with one of our talented professionals.  You can click here to read more and to contact our team.

I started by mentioning the JBURGH program.  I want to congratulate them on being named one of the 50 most innovative Jewish nonprofits this year by Slingshot.  This is a tremendous honor and I think shows that cutting edge, creative, out of the box programs do not just come from New York and Los Angeles, but are happening right here in our amazing Jewish community.

Shabbat Shalom.

Jeff Finkelstein, President/CEO
Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh