After our community united last year to complete our largest campaign since before the pandemic, we took some time to begin planning for the 2025 Campaign. Several years ago, our fiscal and campaign year shifted from a July to June cycle to January to December, or a calendar year. So, while in years past, it made sense to have a phone-a-thon in February and March, now it makes more sense to do that later in the year, which we will be doing at the end of August. And many communities around the country run an annual campaign that is three to six months, instead of all year long. So, to be better aligned with this timeline, we will be launching our Annual Campaign in July!
Our Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville Board of Directors has set an Annual Campaign goal of $3 million, which is roughly a 20% increase over 2024. Our board is fully committed, and the exciting thing is that as of publication, we are already halfway to our goal before the campaign has even officially launched. This was made possible by not only by the great work of our Campaign Committee, but also because many of our donors who have been giving at flat levels for many years have decided to increase their giving to better match the needs of our community.
And the needs are great. Antisemitism has increased over the last 10 years to levels that we have not seen in a very long time in the United States. Recent figures show that Jewish people are exponentially the most-likely group to be targeted by hate crimes in the US; 2023 numbers show that anti-Jewish hate crimes strike at 291 incidents per 1MM people, almost three times the next-largest minority population. As we all saw in Nashville last year, with multiple public rallies of hate groups that marched through our streets and vandalism issues, we are not immune to these challenges.
We have been working locally with the Mayor’s Office and Metro Council to address incidents and more importantly build strategies and relationships to address our concerns in the future. We have been working with large public-school systems like Metro Nashville Public Schools which has over 86,000 students, as well as smaller private schools, to address the needs of Jewish students and families. And, acting as a coordinator for all of Tennessee’s Jewish Federations, we have been using our lobbyists to help build funding for security, pass legislation that helps us protect our people, and make our state less welcoming to hate groups.
It has been heartening to see so many people come together to support our work at Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville, across the spectrum of political beliefs, young and old, multi-generational Nashvillians working together with those new to town and in surrounding counties, observant and non-observant, and even people from outside our community. They trust us to support Jews in Middle Tennessee, because the reality is that if we don’t, nobody else going to do it for us. And that was why federated giving was invented in the first place 150 years ago, because our community needed a bigger voice and support, and they realized the best way to do that was by joining together as a people.
And moving outside our community, we are doing work overseas. As I write this, we are scrambling to help community members get back from various trips in Israel following the conflict with Iran. And at the same time, we are working with our partner agencies to help our people in Israel during these challenging times.
Jewish Agency’s Fund for Victims of Terror is a key part in our rapid emergency response strategy, providing immediate and subsequent cash grants to individuals who are direct victims of terror and violence. Because in times of crisis, the most important way to support those in need is with cash and quickly. Some time ago, the definition of a “victim of terror” was expanded drastically and now encompasses anyone impacted post-October 7th in Israel, which includes the current crisis we face.
Another large part of the work Federation has been working on overseas since October 7th is expanding mental health services, a great need in Israel. In partnership with Israel’s Health Ministry, 16 community mental health facilities have been funded throughout the country, and are helping over 200,000 Israelis a year. In addition, six centers specifically for Israeli youth have been opened in partnership with Enosh, one of Israel’s leading mental health organizations, to specifically treat the complex psychological challenges they are facing in these unprecedented times.
Because we have been working with these partner agencies for so many years, we already have a playbook in place and they are great at telling us what they need and where. So, while the needs are great from all over the country, we know where we can help our donors make the biggest, most immediate impact and ensure that it is the most efficient way to help, and we appreciate them trusting us to use our relationships to further those goals.
I was just checking in on WhatsApp with the teenager who we hosted last summer from our partnership region, Hadera. Her time with us was magical for our family, and I hope that it was for her as well. We took her on bike rides through the Warner Parks, and then one day on a whim, we got up super-early to take her to Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana where she discovered American roller coasters are a bit larger than anything she had seen back home. My mom made her a classic feast of Southern food, and her mind was blown by seeing squirrels (something she didn’t even know existed).
I was thinking about her because she has been through so much in her young life. Through COVID, through the nightmare of October 7th and the non-stop aftermath of conflicts and sirens, to today, where her last weeks of school were cancelled, she’s stuck at home, and part of a missile struck her house (fortunately, everyone is okay, at least physically).
We owe it to her, her family, our children and community to keep doing this work to help Jews locally and all over the world. While at times it seems we are in a never-ending cycle of hate and violence, and that we are facing unprecedented challenges locally and abroad, it does my heart good to see all of the support we receive from our donors and supporters. It gives me hope, and I realize that we are all working together to engage in that universal concept of tikkun olam, or repairing our world, both here and everywhere.
And it all starts with your generous gift to the 2025 Annual Campaign. Every donation, large or small, joins together to create a force for good everywhere. Because united, we can make a difference for good.
The Jewish Observer is published by The Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville and made possible by funds raised in the Jewish Federation Annual Campaign. Become a supporter today.
