Donors unselfishly react to community needs

By DEBORAH MOON

article created on: 2009-01-01T00:00:00

“For us it (the economic crisis) means a change in lifestyle for sure, but many people are loosing their whole lives so this is no time to be selfish,” said Naomi Kaufman Price of her family’s decision to maintain their charitable giving despite a reduction in their income this year.

Jewish Federation of Greater Portland staff and Annual Campaign solicitors say they have heard that same perspective over and over as they talk to donors. Despite the economic downturn, pledges to this year’s campaign are down only 4 percent, card for card with 51 percent of donors not yet making a pledge for the 2009 annual campaign.

Joni Cady and her partner Jane Rosevelt decided to increase their gift 20 percent this year.

“We have several friends who have either lost their jobs, are being cut back in hours, or are threatened with layoffs,” said Cady. “We are worried about their prospects of being rehired. Even though we think we’re safe, it gets personal when these are your friends.”

Price took a buyout from her employer before the worst of the market decline hit. She said she and her husband had planned to reduce their gift to federation this year since they will loose her income over the next several years. Yet as the economy grew worse and worse, she said they decided they could not cut their gift.

“We can cut back on discretionary spending and maintain our gift much more easily than someone else can cut back on essentials,” she said.

Speaking during the recent arctic front that chilled Portland for nearly two weeks, Price said, “My furnace is going gangbusters; I don’t want to think of the gas bill. For us that’s ‘Oh dear,’ but other people may get their gas cut off—and that’s in this Jewish community.”

At a Dec. 3 meeting Jewish Family and Child Service reported requests for emergency aid in these difficult economic times are running 58 percent ahead of where they were last year, but the agency has been able to meet only 26 percent of that need.

“We can’t let people have their heat turned off so we can have another latte,” said Price.

As a member of the Federation’s Allocations Committee, which distributes donations to the annual campaign, Price said she is very aware of the needs in the community and how carefully federation strives to meet those needs.

Cady said it was learning about the allocations process that prompted her to give her extra contribution to Federation.

“Like most everyone, we have lost serious money on investments, but fortunately we don’t count on those at this point for annual income. We decided to increase our gift because it has been the same $500 for several years. We intended to raise it to $550,” she said, adding that after learning about the allocations process, “We increased our donation to $600.”

Cady said they have also increased their donations to a couple of Food Banks and continue to give a small amount to Dress for Success and Sisters of the Road, “both of which help to get people to a more stable and employable position.”