Tzedakah has become big business. With the amazing amounts of wealth created in the post war period (the recession notwithstanding we are blessed to be the wealthiest Jewish community in history) thousands of organizations compete for billions of dollars in philanthropy. Myriads of professionals advise how to best maximize the benefits of giving. People no longer just write checks; we have donations of art, stocks, real estate. Estate planning and foundations allow us to give from the grave. Directors of Development are key executives helping organize the dinners, journals concerts, speakers, slogans, and marketing campaigns, in this growth industry.
Despite the great efforts expended towards fundraising many needs are going unmet, presumably because of lack of funds. Day school tuitions continue to rise beyond the means of many – in fact the last number of years has witnessed many economic dropouts and decreasing enrollment.
Yet at the same time the Madoff scandal has brought to light the staggering amounts sitting in endowment funds. Billions of dollars already earmarked and donated for charitable purposes were ostensibly wiped out overnight, the losses even forcing a number of Jewish charities to shut down. These losses just compounding the billions that have been lost in the stock markets. Imagine the impact on Jewish life had these billions actually been spent. The charitable stimulus could have helped us fight an assimilation rate hovering at around 50%, provided additional help to the one is six Jews living at or below the poverty line. It could have offered millions for our day schools, teacher training and retention, programs for children with special needs, programming for college campuses. Funds desperately needed to help settle Jewish immigrants, battered woman, for subsidized housing, at risk children, security for our institutions, and the many programs in need of support in Israel.
In short it could have helped transform our community today, more so than the unspent and now never to be spent lost billions ever could.
It is most noteworthy that arguably the most successful Jewish initiative in recent years, Birthright Israel (offering free trips to Israel for those between the ages of 18-26) consciously decided not to set up an endowment fund. Rather all of its resources were invested to send more youth to Israel today, an investment that will pay dividends for years to come.
Ironically the great supposed benefits of endowments, allowing a constant flow of income to the organization, in times good or bad, has proven illusory. That flow has been greatly reduced (and at 5-6% was never quite large enough). While governments the world over are pumping money into the economy many large charities are looking to cut back, afraid of further depleting their shrinking endowments.
While some form of endowments may have their place, with so many needs right before our eyes it seems hard to justify having millions and billions invested for the future. Jewish law is based on the premise that present needs must take priority over uncertain needs in the future. Can we afford to save for tomorrow when so many Jews are disappearing today? This is especially so when investments run the risk of negative returns.
Spending down our endowments will generate enormous benefits today. It will also deny us the ability to rest on our laurels, forcing new and creative ways to meet the unknown challenges that await us in the future. Focusing on present needs may also reflect an important theological notion. Prophecy, the Talmud asserts, rests only with children and fools. The future plans of the Almighty are beyond human compression. We must not put off dealing with the challenges of today because of concern over an unknown and unknowable future.