Studies tracking charitable contributions consistently find that the American Jewish community is overrepresented. Philanthropy is a tremendous point of Jewish pride, but all too often, the objects of our largesse are not Jewish causes. Leaders of Jewish organizations will tell you that they are scraping the bottom of the barrel. If that isn’t challenging enough, Jewish institutions are now finding that they can no longer expect community-wide participation to sustain their activities. Where funding once came consistently, in small denominations from a broad donor base, today, ninety percent of the funding will come from a small number of private philanthropists.
How are Chabad Houses funded and what defines the partnerships that enable them to grow in an era of rapidly evolving philanthropy?