I recently heard a prominent non-profit leader lauding his organization’s success by saying “we spend 7-8 million dollars annually.” This struck me as odd, because as a businessman, in no way does that define your success; on the contrary, spending more money is seen as a negative. This speaker should not have been boasting about how much money his organization spent, but rather about how they had accomplished all their goals. If they did, could they have done so with fewer resources? Can it be done more effectively? These are questions being asked of the non-profit industry as a whole, from the donors, the public, and sometimes even recipients. For an organization without revenue or even a product, as is often the case with non-profits, it is often difficult to find key performance indicators. Therefore, its effectiveness is not easy to measure.

          Rob Paton, in his book Managing and Measuring Social Enterprises, lays out a typical social initiative scenario and its success as reported by an organization - for example, with the statement “we saved hundreds of thousands of lives.” What the organization and the public often do not realize is the larger picture. A great example is his case study of Biafra, Nigeria in 1967. Paton describes how rebel forces took over the town depriving the people of food and resources. Churches and other organizations gathered together to supply relief and aid. “Unfortunately, these operations introduced considerable amounts of foreign exchange into the rebel territory... It is now clear that the attempt to save lives prolonged the conflict and helped create what became an appalling famine.” Scenarios such as this are common. There is a tragedy and good people jump to the rescue without proper strategic planning. Many cases are not this drastic, but, nonetheless, they cause a drain on society’s resources.

          There are many individuals and groups with tremendous energy and enthusiasm who would like to make a significant impact on the world. Unfortunately, they just do not know how. They are aware of the issues both local and global and want to take action but lack the proper tools and paradigms with which to do so. Time and money are spent discussing the issues and running programs, yet there is no way of knowing whether these tactics were successful or not. Arguably, they are not successful and may be doing more harm than good. Unless analyzed, there is no real way to know.

          Realizing this need and some of the other issues facing Jewish non-profits, I along with the help of three friends, have launched J-SET, a fellowship whose goal is to empower Yeshiva University students with the skills to make a difference as Jewish leaders in the non-profit world. On February 19, at 8pm in Furst Hall room 501, J-SET will be hosting an open panel discussion on the current issues facing Jewish non-profits. Panelists include Rabbi Stephen Burg of NCSY, Gali Cooks of the Kaplan Family Foundation, and CUNY board trustee Sam Sutton. Our panelists represent both ends of the non-profit spectrum, the organizations as well as the donors. With their help we hope to start making a real difference in the Jewish non-profit world. Come and be empowered.

Meyer Laniado